Ten Ideas To Improve Our Imperial Beach Community:

Add your own ideas and grow the list by commenting.  IB is your community too.

1. Continue to attract families to live, work and play in IB.
2. Continue to "Make it Easy" to do business with the City, i.e. permits, etc.
3. Call on local residents to engage in local civic responsibility such as running for elected office, attending city council meetings and keeping our local leaders accountable for transparency and sound financial stewardship of our city treasury.
4. Volunteer with local community non-profit organizations such as the IB Optimist Club and IB Beautiful to make a positive difference.
5. Create your own neighborhood or street "Block" party.  Both a celebration and a new political party.  You and your neighbors can do more as a united group rather than a lone individual.
6. Consider an independent commission or election panel similar to the city of Escondido that is tasked with dividing the city into geographic election districts that elect one rep for each district.  Potential districts would be Seacoast Drive neighborhood beach area- 1 rep, Mar Vista Heights neighborhood-1 rep, Seaside Point neighborhood- 1 rep, Oneonta neighborhood- 1-rep, Bayside neighborhood-1 rep, The Mayor will still be elected city wide.  This reaches out to the areas of Imperial Beach that have been underserved and marginalized by city leaders in the past.  To read more about how Escondido is doing, check out the Wednesday August 21, 2013 local edition of the Union Tribune.
7. Suggest to the City Of IB to appoint a Safety Director that is tasked with the oversight of city wide safety issues such as vehicle traffic, bicycle lanes, public safety, pedestrian concerns and bus transit routes.  This appointee can also advise the city on ideas to be submitted to SANDAG and the Port District with regards to enhancing the overall safety of Imperial Beach.  The appointee will be a local resident who would work closely with the City Manager and Public Works Director.  I would love to volunteer for that position for a contracted period of one year.  I have the logistical and safety background as a former Marine Corps Safety Officer and as a Transportation and Logistics Fleet Manager with Nestle, Arrowhead and Calistoga mineral water.  I have many positive ideas to present.
8. Consider creating a volunteer safety program for locals that will train and ride along with Deputy Sheriff's and other law enforcement agencies to help monitor and observe our beach town for issues such as gangs, graffiti, DUI's, teen curfews, etc. 
9. Help local businesses with free quarterly workshops on how to market their products and services to out of town visitors and locals alike.  I would also volunteer to help our local Chamber of Commerce with these workshops.  I have a BS degree in Business Administration-Marketing from San Diego State University and started two successful businesses.
10. Continue to FOCUS on UNITING local business owners, homeowners, property landlords, the military, non-profit organizations, volunteer military groups and local residents to the improvement of Imperial Beach.  

Leadership calls on us to be united not divisive.  We must also have the courage to voice our ideas and opinions in a respectful and civil manner.  Take action and comment with some of your own ideas.  Thanks in advance for your ideas and participation.  The BEST is before us IB.