Editor, Manteca Bulletin,
Steve DeBrum’s intent to run for Mayor again is a shoo in for this man for he can raise huge sums of campaign money.
I see him as nothing less than a puppet with the strings pulled by developers. Manteca needs a change.
Manteca has virtually stood still under his leadership. For years Main Street has been a disgusting entrance to this city. Old tin buildings and Walmart has been the only indicator that a city is somewhere down this entrance. There has been no change or intention to remove old buildings on Industrial Park Drive that have been vacant since before I came to Manteca almost 14 years ago. This area needs modernizing and there has been no interest. This area should be a dual zoning area for Industrial and residential.
This mayor campaigned on the pretense that he had a plan to completely renovate Manteca — what happened to it?
Now he and the council is focusing on yet another project that benefits the Woodward Park area only in traffic flow. The Union Road interchange really isn’t a priority need, but residual RDA will be used to pay for this project. I personally think this money should be used on upgrading this city and on the people’s needs, instead of focusing on the Woodward area’s needs only.
This mayor and council spent $8.7 million on preparing an area for a resort hotel we don’t even have a commitment for. He fines the residents for violating water restrictions while allowing development of more homes that use the water we save. I have traveled recently to the Bay Area and they have embarked on an extensive plan to opt for multi-story Apartments.
This city assesses new home buyers to preserve land, but this Mayor and council continues to flood Manteca with more homes. Is it fair to assess land for preservation when the council isn’t in the preservation business? 
I left the Bay Area 14 years ago and in that period of time the vast land mass has been covered with concrete in developing huge business interests and developing high rise apartments to accommodate the huge work force concentrated in the Bay Area. Knowing this, how long do you think it will take to fill Manteca with single family homes? This council’s actions have  been centered on what developers want and it’s time we had a mayor and council that focused on the needs of this city.

Fleener Richards
Manteca