I am from the land of Lincoln and was born in 1948. Now that is not the land of Lincoln in Illinois, but rather
Lincoln Heights, California. It was good to see the Lincoln Heights posting on Mayor Sam Blog. We lived on Sichel Street and used to play at Lincoln Park. I too have photos on me as a child on an alligator at the Alligator Farm. We may have been poor, but it did not hinder our spirit. My father, David Sr. was working as a Banana Loader and that is the occupation listed on my birth certificate.
That is where I come from.
I went toPoly High School in Sun Valley and enlisted in the United States Navy in 1967. I was assigned to an Air Squadron and we were part of other squadrons assigned to Aircraft Carrier operations in South East Asia, the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic. I was privileged to see much of the world and many countries and meet many people.
I returned to North Hollywood and have been active in the community working with the homeless, those with Aids and HIV as well raising a family. My work back experience is that of an Insurance Adjuster and Investigator. As some of you know I entered the world of politics by running for Congress in 2002. I ran again in 2004 and do not regret the experience. I have also run for Mayor during the Independence effort, Los Angeles Community College Board and Los Angeles County Supervisor.
All these efforts have brought to me many insights into the topics we will be addressing on this blog. So, here is a little about me. I may not fit the mold some of you might think, especially when it comes to my position on some issues. But as I often remind people; Today I have opinions based on experience, subject to change without prior notice based on new information.
I hope some of you will provide the new information needed for me to continue to grow and learn.
David Hernandez
Tony Valle
Glassell Park, CA
February 22, 2008
City Of Los Angeles
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
Councilmember Jose Huizar
Police Chief William Bratton
Dear Mayor Villaraigosa,
The Problem
As a resident of Glassell Park, I write to express my outrage regarding the presence of violent gang members in my community who are comprised of both legal and illegal Mexican aliens. I remain outraged because of your advocacy for this constituency and your utter disregard for the serious problems that they create in a community. Gang activity makes itself known by the disgusting graffiti that we see all over our public buildings, bridges, street signs, private businesses, etc. Yesterday, Mexican gang activity made itself known by savagely murdering a father carrying his two year old daughter. LAPD police officers put their lives at risk as well, exchanging gunfire with street punks who do not respect human life nor do they care to be productive members of this society. When you proclaim in your public speeches that we should embrace illegal aliens because they are only “coming here to work”, you fail to acknowledge that many of the children of illegal aliens end up being recruited into gangs. Not to mention the fact that since we have no idea who is coming in across our borders, many illegal aliens are actually hardened criminals and murderers as well.
On the very day that Mayor Villaraigosa and Chief Bratton stood on a public stage to congratulate themselves for their courage in moving a public school bus stop away from a street that is controlled by gangs, the school bus that the Mayor was riding in for his photo-op was “tagged.” The Mayor’s response to a destructive criminal action was to proclaim that he would provide “mentoring” at his City Hall office for the tagger. By their silly and ineffective actions, both Mayor Villaraigosa and Police Chief Bratton conceded the street war to the gangsters by moving the bus stop rather than taking control of the streets away from the gangs. With respect to his “mentoring” program at City Hall for gangsters, Mayor Villaraigosa has only encouraged legions of taggers to continue their destructive work by not taking a hard stance and condemning tagging activity. City Hall should not be a place where gangsters come for “mentoring” sessions by sympathetic public officials: It should be a place where our leaders make decisions that result in better and safer communities for the constituents that actually obey the laws, pay the taxes, own the homes, own the businesses in this community, and who work to make their community a better place for their families to enjoy.
To summarize, the presence of Mexican gang members that resulted in murder and gunfire against innocent members of this community in Glassell Park remains a direct result of the advocacy that this constituency enjoys by Councilmember Jose Huizar and Mayor Villaraigosa. Gang members proliferate in this community because our public leaders are sympathetic to them. I have heard many speeches where our public leaders condemn those who oppose the presence of illegal aliens, but I have never once heard a speech condemning the violence perpetrated by illegal aliens against legal residents.
Solutions
The Mayor needs to acknowledge the serious problems caused by Mexican street gangs and state with clarity that he opposes them and will marshall resources to combat them and get rid of them completely. We need a zero tolerance program in this city (not a sanctuary program) for gangs, gangsters and graffiti. When a tagger is caught, make their sentence include spending every other weekend for one year in cleaning up graffiti in this city. There is no reason why taxpayers need to be burdened by paying for the damage caused by gangsters (and we shouldn’t have to see so much disgusting graffiti in our city either). Have former taggers go into our local public schools to talk to their peers about their reformation program. We need Jose Huizar to be more visible and vocal on this specific issue as well. By his silence and reticence, he appears to be either sympathetic or afraid of his “homies” who are perpetrating the violence in this community.
I am outraged by the actions of the gangsters. But they are just doing what gangsters sign up to do in the first place: To kill, steal and destroy. I am utterly dismayed by the inaction and silence of our public leaders who were elected by their constituents (not illegal aliens) to protect, defend and serve their community. I am urging our leaders to demonstrate that their loyalty remains first to America and the legal residents of the city of Los Angeles (not to your ancestral roots). I am Hispanic as well. But my loyalty remains to America first, and to my family and community.
Regards,
Tony Valle
Glassell Park, CA
Comment by Tony Valle — February 24, 2008 @ 2:46 am |