Jason Lee: 2010 City Council campaign
March 29, 2010 by admin
Filed under Council Candidates
The following blog posts are from the 2010 City Council election campaign.
Submitted Monday, March 29:
Arcadia has a rich historical and cultural heritage that we need to preserve.
Jason Lee
As a member of Arcadia’s Historical Society and a history buff, I am all for identifying, inventorying and preserving all of Arcadia’s historical buildings, sites and landmarks. We owe a tribute not only to our city’s founder, Lucky Baldwin, but also to the men and women who followed him in making Arcadia such a great city that we know today.
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Submitted Thursday, March 25:
Trees are what has made Arcadia green and aesthetically attractive. Trees are part of Arcadia’s strong appeal as one of the most desirable and prestigious residential communities in the entire nation!
Our city’s current Oak Tree Preservation Ordinance prohibits the cutting down of oak trees, with the exceptions of them being safety and/or structural hazards. However, it does not contain an express enforcement provision, i.e., penalties associated with the unpermitted felling.
If I am elected to the Council, I will immediately work to amend the said Ordinance to include a hefty penalty to deter the unpermitted cutting down of oak trees and to expand the Ordinance to protect other legacy trees such as pine trees.
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Submitted Friday, March 19:
One and half months ago, fellow Arcadia City Council candidate Mickey Segal and I had a dialogue about the 210 Freeway noise issue.
Shortly thereafter, we fully discussed the issue on the phone, over breakfast and dinner. We have fully reconciled our differences of opinion. If both of us are elected, we will be congenial colleagues.
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Submitted Monday, March 15:
One of the perplexing problems faced by Arcadians is traffic congestion.
A major contributor to this problem is the fact that every morning at least a few thousand parents have to drive to drop of their kids at Arcadia Schools. In the afternoon the same number of parents have to drive out again to pick their kids. There are six elementary schools, three middle schools and one high school in Arcadia. During both the drop off and pick up hours long lines of cars snake around these schools creating traffic jams.
I am writing this posting for my blog to make a suggestion: Maybe instead of having a few thousand parents driving cars, dropping off and picking up their kids from the schools, we may think about busing the kids to and from school. Busing the students will alleviate traffic congestion, reduce air pollution and do away with the expense of dropping off and picking up kids while saving the parents the time and freeing up their schedules.
A natural corollary of busing the students is the cost, but driving the kids to and from the school will also cost the parents anyways.
Does this sound like a good idea?
Submitted Friday, March 5:
Last night on the patio of Matt Denny’s Restaurant, we had our first candidate forum, which was sponsored by the Arcadia City Employees Association.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank ACEA for giving me this invaluable opportunity to meet with and introduce myself to city employees, as well as the public in general, to tell them about my qualifications and professional experiences and to answer questions on important issues facing Arcadians.
I want to reiterate here that the best resources of our city are these hard working employees who have been responsible for providing the excellent public services and for maintaining the high quality of life for Arcadians. It is their hard work that has contributed to making Arcadia the best city to raise kids in California.
Submitted Feb. 19:
This past Wednesday California Gubernatorial Candidate Meg Whitman, formerly the CEO of the hugely successful eBay! online auction site, was in Los Angles rallying support for her campaign.
I was at this event and had a chance to meet with her to to discuss some of the issues currently affecting California. We both agree that in order to make California a better place, jobs must be created, spending must be reduced, and education must be emphasized.
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(In fact, we agree on so many things and because she and her staff value the importance of my views, she and her team recorded my comments about her for a media release and one of the Meg Whitman campaign videos that you can see by clicking the previous highlighted words).
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It is these core values which I hope to apply as Council Member of Arcadia, if elected. I will do this by stimulating business growth in Arcadia, reducing unnecessary spending by the City and making sure that Arcadia Schools remain some of the best in the nation.
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Submitted Feb. 7:
My wife Daisy and I walked the long Highland Oaks Drive talking to the residents living on both sides of the street today, Sunday.
The Highlands is the northernmost section of Arcadia nestled against the foothills. It is probably the most beautiful area in all Arcadia, with California ranch style houses, lush landscape and big oak trees dotting the area, set against the clear azure sky, with patches of white clouds leisurely drifting. It is quiet and even secluded, except that the tranquility if broken once in a while by a speeding car racing down the street.
The speed limit for the residential area is 25 miles per hour. However, it is apparent that some of the cars are racing down the street at 40 mph. Residents have complained to us that there needs to more speed limit signs. We walked the entire Highland Oaks Drive and only spotted one or two speed limit signs.
Had the developer of the Highlands, Mr. George W. Elkins, been alive, I think he would agree with me in regards to erecting more speed limit signs because the curvy street he had designed and built does not have enough bends to deter speeders.
Submitted Feb. 5:
As a concerned Arcadia resident, a concerned parent and a concerned City Council Candidate, I had meant to raise this issue for discussion before Hon. Joann Steinmeier requested a “clear definition of the term’” in a comment (below) about my blog addressing the 210 Freeway noise.
A preliminary investigation conducted by talking to parents and students while I walked the precincts, reveals that the “over-crowdedness” of AHS means that there are too many students in the school, some 3,700. The facilities cannot meet the needs of so many students. For instance, parents have complained that their sons and daughters come home hungry because they did not eat lunch at school. They did not eat lunch at school because the lines for the lunch were too long. By the time they get their food, it is time for them to go back to class. Parents complained that very often several students had to share one portion. These high school kids need the appropriate amount of nutrition and protein to keep them function well both in the classrooms and on the playground due to the mental and physical exertions which are typical of high school kids.
We need to find a solution to this problem. We need to initiate a feasibility study about splitting AHS into two campuses, or alternatively about constructing additional facilities to meet the needs of these students.
Submitted Jan. 31 (with Feb. 11 update below):
During my recent door-to-door campaign canvassing in the Lower Rancho area, I heard complaints from a few residents there about the loud noise coming down from the 210 Freeway.
The Lower Rancho Area is probably the most desirable and prestigious residential area, along with the Upper Rancho, in Arcadia, with large lots and ranch style houses. The drawback is the loud noise coming down from the highway traffic.
I will closely work with the State Department of Transportation to have a higher block wall erected along the south side of 210 freeway to block off the traffic noise from reaching down to the Lower Rancho residences.
The noise problem will become worse when the Gold Line Extension starts operating. As a City Councilman, I will do all within my power to advocate the noise reduction cause for the Lower Rancho and the College Area residents to truly afford them “the quiet enjoyment” of their properties.
Feb. 11 update to this topic:
I wish I could promise EVERYONE a reduction in freeway noise. A reduction in freeway noise for everyone would be fantastic, wouldn’t it?! However, I will only worry about Arcadia residents living on both sides of 210 Freeway. It would be ideal to have a higher sound wall built on the north side from Baldwin to Santa Anita, of the same height as the sound wall from Michillinda to Baldwin, and to have such a higher sound wall erected on the south side stretching from Michillinda to Santa Anita.
Application statement filed with City Clerk’s office:
Jason J. Lee
Age: 47
Occupation: Attorney at Law
Education:
- * B.A. in English Literature
- * M.A. in Journalism
- * Juris Doctorate
Qualifications & Experience:
A former BBC Radio Program Producer based in London, I covered world events. I have internalized the qualities of my impartiality, objectivity, and fairness. No I spend half of my time attending hearings and trying cases in the court. I can easily transition to City the Council. I will apply my analytical skills as a mediator & facilitator to solve complex problems. I will also utilize my business management skills to manage the city’s resources. If elected I will quickly respond to my fellow residents’ questions and complaints and take actions to address them.
Past Civic Services and Community Involvement:
- * Board Member, U.S. Army L.A. Advisory Board
- * Member, L.A. County Sheriffs Department Chinese Advisory Board
- * Rotarian, Arcadia Rotary Club; Paul Harris Follow
- * Member, Arcadia Chamber of Commerce
- * Director, Arcadia Chinese Association
- * Member, Arcadia Historical Society
Goals:
- * Keep Crime Rate & Taxes Low
- * Keep Quality of Life & Property Value High
- * Improve Facilities for Seniors & Youth
- * Work Closely with School District to Resolve AHS’ Over-Crowdedness
- * Pro-Business, for Well-Planned and Controlled Development
This is one of six blogs provided by ArcadiasBest.com to the six candidates running for three seats on the Arcadia City Council in the April 13, 2010 election.
Candidates are free to submit whatever statements they want here and comment on each other’s blogs.
Readers are encouraged to submit comments below each blog, which will be public for everyone to see, and to which anyone, including the candidates, may respond.
All editiorial by the candidates and comments by readers and the candidates must be approved by ArcadiasBest.com. No profanity will be allowed. Your full name and contact information (contact information not for publication) is required if your comments involve any specific or particularly harsh criticisms or claims that are not generally known or not immediately and easily verifiable.
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I applaud your response and prove my point once again. Apparently, you can STILL put people down after they show that you need to examine yourself and not speak to Arcadians in that manner. For one, it is not plagiarism; I quoted you and referenced it to the date and time you said it. Anyone can scroll up and read it. Here is a definition of plagiarism for you: wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn . In no way would I EVER say those were my words. I am not that mean spirited.
In addition, I don’t like to put my full name online, and I don’t see anything wrong with it. Google can search anything these days, and I just don’t like to make my personal life searchable online; it’s called precautions. What can you do with my last name anyway? Why is this so important to you? Are you trying to search for me? That’s disturbing.
Lastly, if you actually read my post, it has factual evidence and is rational and logical, hence the quotes of the phrases you stated in previous posts. Now I am questioning your stance as a lawyer if you cannot see the factual evidence right before your eyes. I somewhat regret writing in my previous post that you might be a good lawyer. Apparently, it still seems that you will be treating us this way, since you stated in your previous post that you would “speak out and stand up against” my concerned words to you “whether from the courtroom, on the city council, or on any other occasion.” (Note: not plagiarism and not out of context because your post was directed to my words to you).
The main point of my post is… PLEASE STOP SPEAKING TO ARCADIANS IN THIS MANNER. It really does not feel good when a candidate that is supposed to be helping Arcadians, in actuality, belittles them. You already did not have my vote and the votes of my neighbors, family, and friends, and your last post confirmed it. However, even with that, I wish you luck because you will be needing it.
Suggestion for you: please examine yourself and the way you speak to us (the people you would be representing IF you become council)
Mood at this moment: not in any way angry, but very disappointed and upset
Biannca:
Thank you and many, many other supporters for your encouragement!
Jason
I feel so disappointed by the way how you react to the blogers on this website. You have no respect toward anybody except yourself. You kept on emphasizing that your an attorney, well, let me ask you, are you here to serve the people in Arcadia or you are just simply trying to get more business for yourself through this campaign?! Being arrogant only shows how shallow you are. You are abusing our people by your rude tongue even before you are elected. I’m sorry to say but maybe you can try it again with your dictatorship in some other countries.
P.S. Dont even ask if I’m real or not, cause i think you should ask that exactly same question to YOURSELF!!
Doris:
Are you Doris Selmer? If you are, my competitor Sho Tay’s Campaign Contribution Disclosure Form 460 shows you contributed $198 to his campaign. Is that right? You are Sho Tay’s supporter, are you not?
Jason
Again your answer has proved to me that you are a small-minded imperious despot. Sorry to disappoint you but my last name in NOT Selmer. Maybe you can try to dig out my social security number and find out where I live, so that you can get rid of your opponent to be elected.
Mr. Lee: A third party advised me that you are making accusations against me and taking my name in vain in your blog. I can assure you I was not the “Doris” who wrote the comments. How dare you make such an assumption! What kind of a lawyer are you? I have no interest in your blog whatsoever. Furthermore, I have no interest in anything you have to say. You came to our door to assure us you are a man of integrity. So much for your assurances.
By the way, you have your facts wrong. I contributed $99 to Sho Tay. My husband contributed the other $99. Sloppy research on your part.
Mrs. Selmer:
My facts are correct. You only have Sho Tay to blame because he lumped your $99 together with your husband’s $99 and reported them on Form 460 as $198 contributed by Doris Selmer, which is sloppy campaign contribution accounting. It is a violation of the Campaign Financing Laws because by what he did, he concealed your husband Jerry Selmer’s contribution of $99 to him.
The above facts are on file with the City Clerk’s Office. You can to there and take a look for yourself. How does my question above have any bearing on my integrity?
Jason,
I noticed that you have some negative comments in your blog. When you responded you used very sharp, harsh and somtimes rude languages. You are a tough guy to deal with. And you sometimes hurt the egos of the people who tried to critisize you, put you down and make you feel sorry but still they failed to achieve their goals. Because you stand firm.
But i noticed that most of the problems are that they felt hurt because you do not speak nicely and politely. There were really not many actual issues discussed other than that with Mickey Segal, a reputable community leader and also a candidate of this race. Many people got offended because the way he talked to MS, like they were offended themselves.
Moreover, many comments came from person without actual identities. When one does not dare to reveal his/her identity, he/she can talk without responsibility, i believe that is why Jason is harsh on that very point.
Besides, they may come from the supporters of other campaigns who critisize Jason to achieve other purposes.
Of course, Jason could use milder languages to appease these commentors just like most politicians.
But do we really like politicians who just say nice words to please you and get elected but after that he just forgets you and you can never reach him?
I believe Jason’s shortcomings is just his advantages. We do not need a politician on the city council, we need a person who walks every precincts to find out the issues of concern of every citizens, a person who can stick to his guns to guard the benefits of the citizens rather than that of the interest groups, a person with professional backgroud like jason as a business and real estate attorney who may help us walk out of the legal tangle with Westfield so that we can get the Caruso project start as soon as possible to help our financial status, a person without any baggages so that all his concerns are that of the citizens, and nothing else.
If he is a basiclly rude person, he will not dare to walk the precincts in the past 6 months, it will not help his campaign. On the contrary, Jason is a caring person who has real concern of the citizens of Arcadia, for example, he proposes to raise the height of the sound walls to solve the problem of the noise from the highways on the neighbors.
Let us question Jason about the real issues, let us use the real names, ( what is wrong with that?)i believe he will satisfy you. If not, just keep asking and nail him down.
If Jason gets elected he will be a valuable duo with Mickey Segal, because Jason is an attorney in real estate and business, and Mickey is a CPA. They both will be a tremendous asset to the Arcadia city council and citizens.
That is why i support Jason to be one of our next councilmembers. You know you can vote for three.
Dear Dr. Chang:
Thank you for your understanding. Thank you for pointing out my shortcomings and strengths. Thank you for telling the public the truth. Thank you for your moral support of my candidacy.
A good council member should be a servant for his/her people in Arcadia and how can a man like Jason represent all the citizen here if he does not even listen to his people with respect?!
Also, I noticed Jason was the only candidate who has been questioning on people’s identity here–oddly, why he is being so sensitive if he does not have any guilty conscience?!
P.S. Mr. Lee: I assume you know Mr.Chang very well, otherwise you wouldn’t know he is a doctor and mention in your comment.
Doris,
You are correct, Jason is my friend. Becasue i have been on the city council twice before, so he has consulted me on some of the campaign issues. At times, i even volunteered to tell him the right information that he needed.
But i must confess, i did not tell him how to deal with a person on the blog be it with names or not.
A politician should be humble to any criticisms whether it is from a friend or enemy. He should be patient and try his best to respond to any questions during the entire campaign.
If he gets elected, he even needs to be more humble and listen to the voices of the citizens. Whether he knows the names of the citizens or not it does not matter.
Therefore, i believe, Jason, you owe all those people who were hurt by you in the past months on this blog apologies.
You have repaired the relationship with Segal after a fierce debate weeks ago, you should do the same things with all others now.
No body is perfect including you, so you should
amend this matter, and move on.
People will forgive you.
If you really are qualified and willing to serve for the community, which i think you are, then
I believe the citizens of Arcadia still will vote for you.
Dear Dr. Chang:
Thank you for your well-meaning criticisms. Mickey Segal and I are best friends now not only because we are both professionals but also because we debated certain real issues affecting some Arcadians.
I am always willing and ready to talk about real issues. During the discourse, when an allegation is made or when a conclusion is hastily drawn without proper foundation, I habitually demanded to see corroborating facts or evidence. Jumping to conclusions creates misunderstandings and conflicts which we all should avoid because we want harmony in Arcadia.
In the process, if I have been too aggressive, too blunt, or some people may perceive it as abrasive or hurtful, I would like to offer my sincere apologies to those who have felt this way. Learning to be humble while blogging, I think I can do it, because in real life I am a very humble, personable, amiable and meek individual. Dr. Chang, you know me well. The several thousand voters whom I have met and talked to personally since I started walking the precincts of Arcadia, know that. I hereby offer my cell phone number 626-215-0559 to anyone who has any doubt, for him or her to call me. I will talk to him or her or go to meet him or her in person for him/her to check me out.
“Learning to be humble while blogging, I think I can do it, because in real life I am a very humble, personable, amiable and meek individual.”
Jason:
If a person who is humble he/she will be humber no matter what they do. It just sounds like you are trying to be humble because you do not want to loose your vote. The bloggers here are no different from those who you go talk with everyday in Arcadia, I do not understand why you are acting differently toward different groups.
In addition, you think “some people may perceive it(your attitude) as abrasive or hurtful,” well, let me tell you–that’s because you were NOT simply just being aggressive, you were also being very RUDE to people. In Ms. Selmer’s case, how could you even claim that “when an allegation is made or when a conclusion is hastily drawn without proper foundation, I habitually demanded to see corroborating facts or evidence.”
Again, I think you should first learn how to put your own interest after all Arcadian’s interest, then maybe come back later.
Jason,
I am glad that you have followed a good advice.
I hope we can address the issues without the requirement of a real name.
Meanwhile, i hope that all of us can move on.
Let us focus on the issues, and only issues.
I recently heard you say that the city council should dip into the reserves to hire additional police officers. Have you considered the long-term cost of this proposal? How will the city afford to pay the salaries of these additional officers in the future, not including their pensions?
Dear Concerned Citizen:
Thank you so much for your questions. I have said that the City should try still harder to raise revenue for the city to maintain the level of services needed to serve and protect the citizens. There are several (I believe 7) vacancies in the Police Dept. due to the hiring freeze such that the department is not operating at full capacity. Being short-handed, the department is not maintaining the same level and frequency of patrols as when it was fully staffed.
The reserves are reserved for rainy days. We are in the worst recession since the 1929 Great Depression. A lot of people living in the surrounding cities have lost their homes, lost their jobs and are desperate for money. They have been targeting Arcadia, an upper middle class city. In order to prevent robberies, burglaries and thefts from occurring in our town, which will have a severe negative impact on the quality of life and the real property value, I said the City Council might consider using some money from the reserves to tide us over the current hard times. The money is to be used to fill vacancies, not to hire additional police officers. I said it to bounce the idea off the citizens and the public to see if it is a good idea or not.
I also said that we should recruit more volunteers to work together with the police to increase patrols.
Sincerely,
Jason
I recieved a flyer from you in the mail saying that you are not endorsed by any employee organizations. You took an interesting stance on the employee endorsements. I would like to know why you are not endorsed by the acea, firefighters and police association.
Hi Jason! So why is it that while committing to your precinct walks, my friend on first ave. was informed that YOU are the ONLY ASIAN running? This was not told by one of your supporters but by YOU personally. I do not believe that Arcadia respects liars. It is wrong and disgusting. Honesty is the best policy. If you want, contact me. I am a real person who would love to waste your time.
Dear Tracy with an E:
I never told anyone that I am the only Asian candidate. It has been widely publicized that there are 3 Asian candidates running for the Arcadia City Council.
You said that you are a real person who would love to waste my time. I implore you to stop wasting people’s valuable time, including your time and my time.
Sincerely,
Jason
Dear Dwyer,
You raised a good question why the unions did not endorse Jason.
i asked Jason the same question.
He said the POA did not even interview him before announcing the endorsement.
That was interesting.
But the fact that he was not endorsed by the unions gives him a freehand to deal with the union related issues, and he can put the benefits of the Arcadia citizens before he considers anything else.
Dear Tracy,
The sample ballots clearly indicate that there are 3 Asians running for the city council this time.
And this fact has also been seen on other news papers and on the forums.
It is hard to believe that there was even such an accusation/rumor against Jason that he claimed he was the only Asian candidate. And there was even some people who believe in these wrongful sayings.
As a matter of fact, Jason may be the ONLY candidate who has been walking the precincts in teh past 6 months.
Let us talk about the issues, but not personality murdering.
Thanks for addressing my comment, Shang Ching. But this question was directed to Jason, not you. I was not just referring to the POA, i was referring to all the employee unions. But since you said the POA did not interview jason, please tell me why? Did you fail to ask for an interview because you were not familiar with the old norm of the POA, never to solicit candidates? Or did you approach the POA and they turned you down?
What about the Firefighters?
What about the city employees? I read your entire blog and you posted a brief entry thanking the AEA for giving you an interview. You were clearly praising them and giving them a ton of credit. Ill be honest, it even sounded like you were brown-nosing (i hope you prove me wrong). So why did you not earn their endorsement either?
My questions may seem very invasive, but i really would like to know your answers. In your campaign mailers and blog comments you clearly took the anti-union approach. To a misinformed voter, it might sound like you completely avoided the unions association interviews in order to pass yourself off as the “uninfluenced representative of the people” . Jason (not shang), please clarify these discrepancies for me.
Dear Geoff Dwyer:
My mailer does not say that I am not endorsed by any employee organizations. It says that my “campaign is not financed by any labor union in Arcadia.”
I did not approach the police union for their endorsement. The AEA sponsored the first candidate forum on the patio of Matt Denny’s Restaurant where the candidates introduced ourselves and answered questions. I do not know whether or not that is an interview for endorsement. The firefighters union interviewed all candidates. I do not know the inner workings of these labor unions in Arcadia. I think your questions can be better answered by the decision-makers of these unions because they can tell you precisely why they endorsed certain candidates and not the others.
One fact remains true: my campaign is not financed by any labor union in Arcadia.
Sincerely,
Jason
Jason,
The electorate has clearly spoken. I hope this changes your approach when dealing with regular folks. If you want to be a public servant then it is imperative that you learn to communicate with compassion and not be so defensive. This is not a courtroom setting where you can bully and berate those who disagree with you. If you still want to make a difference in the community then get involved.
I hope to see you at the next PTA meeting.