Local elections are often the most important elections, and I encourage everyone in Signal Hill to vote on March 3. Tom Benson is one of the most qualified candidates for City Council that we have. He is smart, he has a good track record, and he has served more than 25 years on the planning commission.
I believe Mr. Benson will become our Council member in the future; however, I believe the winner in this election will be the status quo. Mr. Benson made a deal with the incumbents to not place election signs around Signal Hill. This benefits the incumbents. In addition, there were no debates to help separate the challenger from the incumbents. For nearly 20 years, the same voters have voted for the incumbents. The way to win is to get new voters to vote.
Many people have described this election as having no defining issues. It was Mr. Benson’s choice not to bring up defining issues such as building high-density affordable-housing next to Signal Hill Elementary School, which could affect the safety of our children, and that our water bills will be increasing by nearly 10 percent as a result of recent decisions.
Mr. Benson has done a lot of good work for our city and has worked harmoniously with our City Council. I believe Mr. Benson will be elected City Council person when he runs again, provided he puts the interests of the residents above the interests of the incumbents. Next time, no deals to keep the election a secret and no deals to not debate how to make our city better. The status quo always favors the incumbents, never the challengers.
Matt Simmons
Signal Hill
