What a travesty to deprive the citizens of Diamond Bar of the opportunity to hear these candidates live on TV!  Ms. Gallegos (one of the organizers) blamed the lack of access to sound system and live-tv feed on the $500 charge she would have incurred from AQMD.  I'm sure all the candidates (at least the challengers) would have been willing to subsidize that cost at $80 each to ensure the quality of the night's presentation.  As it was, many of us in the audience could hardly hear the speakers. On top of that, Diamond Bar cable channel 3 chose to schedule a Bob Huff mocumentary instead of the candidate forum.  How can our city and its current council claim to have the best interest of the residents in mind when they will not even lift a finger to share this important election information with all of the residents?  Why bother having a cable channel and not use it to let voters see what is going on?  Maybe it's because if Diamond Bar residents were able to see this, they would learn the truth.  They would have seen  Ling-Ling wring her hands like Lady Macbeth everytime she had to defend her large contributions from outside the city.  They would have seen Steve Tye insist that contribution limits are of no use.  They would have seen that the challengers raised valid points and strongly prepared to lead our city to a better direction.

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I attended the debate last night and was dismayed at how Steve Tye can so arrogantly pretend to protect the citizens of Diamond Bar.  He states his number one concern is safety yet he welcomes an NFL football stadium which would host teams like the Raiders whose fans could rampage through our city, urinate on our lawns, attack our children, and destroy our property.  How can you be pro safety and welcome thousands of beer-drinking revelers hanging out at tailgate parties before and after the game and then swerving drunkenly through our streets on their way home or looking for more "fun?" 

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 Robert Velazquez was the only candidate that mentioned the need for better communication from the City Council to their constituents.  He was the only one who spoke up in favor of preserving open spaces, keeping the golf course, and beginning a working dialogue to establish one school district for all of Diamond Bar.   To these issues the other candidates threw in the towel.   Ling Ling went so far as to say that trying to get Diamond Bar in one school district was "not in our jurisdiction".   Wasn't it the uninformed voters that got it to that in the first place?  Velazquez did say it would take work to do it, but it is possible.  The others took a defeatist attitude, a status quo on all issues that need work and change.  This is especially true of the two incumbants. I wonder why?    S.Dhand spoke about having SAT prep classes for students from both the school districts.   What is that supposed to accomplish?   The point is that one school district equals one people of Diamond Bar.   Having a split school district divides us, and thus weakens us as a City.

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I attended the forum and here's my recap of the candidates:

S. Dhand- Sure he's a doctor, but most of his suggestions to improve DB is to have health clinics, and maybe open a hospital in the city.  All of which is not relevant to the city right now, and obviously is not possible without major money. 

Steve Tye- Seemed self-assured regarding decisions made while on City Council.  Experienced, cool under pressure.

Lucy Huang- Kept bringing up the fact that she's a "mother of three" (how that qualifies her to be on City Council is beyond me); would like to open more "wellness centers" to promote diet and health (again, relevance to make the city better?).  When asked how long they have been a resident in Diamond Bar, did not answer purposely because she has only been living in DB for 1 year.  The most unqualified candidate of the lot.

Ling-Ling Chang- A bit nervous, but did have the most information and research regarding how to improve Diamond Bar.  She came off as a very strong and independent woman.  Had great ideas on how to improve traffic and the economy, and to make Diamond Bar safer.  Seemed like a lot of the candidates 'copied' her answers, since they did not do the research beforehand.  Grew up in Diamond Bar, so has a vested interest in the city.  A very capable candidate.

Ron Everett- Very indifferent.  Follows the status quo and nothing else.  Does not seem to be very passionate about Diamond Bar.  Seems like he could care less if he won or lost, either way.

David Liu- Very hard to understand.  Not a lot of confidence in speaking.  His claim to fame is that he's a civil engineer and would've gotten more money for Diamond Bar in the Majestic deal.  Too little, too late.  A candidate that does not inspire much confidence.

Robert Velasquez- Articulate speaker.  Has good ideas for Diamond Bar, such as making the city a part of only one school district, albeit a very unrealistic goal.  Lots of his ideas sound good on paper, but are impossible to implement.  We would like to stop world hunger, but is that going to happen?  Very Obama like.  All talk, little action.

That's the summary in a nutshell.  Go out and vote!

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