Manteca Mayor Posts Half-Truths On His Website

I finally saw an advertisement on the MB regarding Mayor Willie Weatherford and had to click on it.  I was taken to his website.  It's a giant one-page advertisement with one image taking up the entire page.  I want to go through it so we can see just how honest this website is.

1.  "The local job market has increased to over 24,000 jobs"

What is wrong with this picture?  Do we even have those many jobs available with the mount of businesses in the City of Manteca?  No, we don't.  How is it so when we are currently at a 14.2% jobless rate in Manteca?  How can he rationalize the shear number of people who live in Manteca and those who are at legal age to work?  We have a population of 65,000 living in the City of Manteca.  Out of that number we have retired and school children which make up a considerable amount.  Then we have those who stay at home and raise the family.  Then we have several other categories that do not work either.  This with the amount of retail space and unoccupied LARGE buildings and warehouses, we just don't have the numbers he's touting.  If Willie is trying to say to us that we've enlarged this city enough to allow this number, then he can say it.  But, he's not!

2.  "The value of Manteca property has doubled, affording a major benefit to your city services"

The value of homes in Manteca has dropped.  It's going to continue to drop once January 1, 2011 arrives because of the Obama tax increases from the new health care bill that passed.  More homes will go under and more people will move away from Manteca.  What major benefit to our city services has this happened other than all the layoffs and cut-backs and forced early retirements in order to bring city budgets under control?  Just recently, the city manager Steve Pinkerton took a pay cut. 

3.  "Taxable sales have tripled - as a result of increased visitors - providing more services at no additional costs to residents"

Today's Headlines: "Manteca retail sales drop just 2.4%".  California as a whole plunges 15% in 3Q comparisons.  He's right about one thing...taxes have increased, but not for revenue generating services.  Our taxes in Manteca are the highest in the county.  We are part of some of the highest in the entire State.  I don't care what he might think or write about, EVERYTHING COSTS! 

On November 2, 2010 - Who will YOU be voting for?  More of the same?  Or, simply vote them out?