Editor, Manteca Bulletin, 

Carol Lazetera’s letter of Aug. 28 has extolled the many virtues of Steve DeBrum and assumed I do not attend many functions in our city.  In the past I have attended many, many city council meetings and spoke at many as well as at a planning commission meeting which Neighbors United requested me to speak at.  I was also on the Citizens Water Conservation Committee, for 2 years I worked with a group of churches that fed and clothed the homeless, attended and spoke at a forum on the homeless, and last election attended a forum of the candidates .  I have attended and supported many local charity and fundraising events as well.  What has Ms. Lazetera done?  Once again, it seems as if attending all these charity events, community events and fundraisers seem to be an important criteria to be a Mayor and/ or council member.  There is absolutely no reason why Mr. Debrum could not continue and in fact even devote more time to doing these things if he were no longer Mayor.

As for the “newly paved” streets in the old part of Manteca I am amazed  slurry coating seems to be the Band-Aid of choice for the city.  Our court of 8 houses looks like a jigsaw puzzle and has been coated twice in 26 years. Both times the cracks were back in about 6 months.  There is a crack that runs from our driveway across the street to our neighbor’s driveway and is approximately 3 inches wide with weeds growing that we keeping trying to kill.   A short time back we had approximately 6 water main leaks within about a year.  We all live in fear that the street in the not too distant future may become a giant sinkhole.  This is one example of how well they have maintained our “old Manteca”.

You write about the “new businesses” and how people can “work close to where they live”.  I have talked to many of the people who work in the various business and many of  them live in other towns not Manteca.  You have only lived here “almost 15 years” and have always been in the “DeBrum Era” while we have lived here over 26 years prior to and during the “DeBrum Era”.  Years ago the population was half of what it is today and downtown had some nice little shops and very little, if any, vacant. You didn’t have to look over your shoulder going to the library or walking downtown. The downtown merchants didn’t have to spend multiple times a week cleaning human waste or garbage from behind or in front of their stores and replacing broken windows and covering graffiti because of the homeless. We didn’t have a plethora of people begging at multiple shopping centers.  This is what you call “great progress”, Ms. Lazetera?  Exactly where did you move to Manteca from if you consider it so?

To all of the Manteca voters I say, “when you have hired someone to do a job for you as we have the Mayor and city council do you continue to employ them if they are not doing the job to your satisfaction or do you hire someone new?”  Granted there are no guarantees that a new person will do better, but it would be foolish to stay with the one who has proven they cannot.

Sandra Ahrens

Manteca, CA