Way to go, West Covina!
This is what activism in action looks like, not just from the audience attending the meetings, but when elected officials on the dais pay attention to the needs and concerns of the people.
Mayor Mike Spence has worked hard to ensure that the residents, the taxpayers and ratepayers know what the developers, the Chamber of Commerce crowd, and environmentalists are trying to get everyone else to pay for. Unlike most city councilmembers, who don't read the proposals from the city manager and staff or who glibly go along with big government programs and wasteful spending, Spence is demanding accountability from all city agenda proposals, and he is educating his colleagues and the staff.
Gary Gileno and other residents in the city have also hit hard at Big Green programs designed to limit street traffic and get people out of their cars. As more people see what the waste of money is turning into, the city feels the push-back and backs away from these ill-conceived ideas.
What a great victory for West Covina. Let's hope that more California residents turn into activists to take on their rogue city councils, too.