Fight graffiti problem; don't fight each other
Dueling publicity events last month highlighted a split in the Bakersfield City Council and prompted readers to urge their elected official to return there focus on what really matters: Battling graffiti and not each other.
CITY RUNS BY 'CHICKEN LITTLES'
It is a real hoot to see City Council members Sue Benham and David Couch running around like Chicken Little because fellow Council members Jacquie Sullivan and Zack Scrivner put on a graffiti workshop.
Sullivan and Scrivner, it would seem, were doing their job to help educate the public on how to work cooperatively with the city to fight graffiti.
Instead of undercutting their colleagues, the "Benham Brigade" should have supported the program by active involvement. Instead, they worried about how to get more camera time for themselves.
I thought we learned to play well with others in second grade. But apparently not all schools teach that philosophy.
TRACEY MITCHELL
Bakersfield
Make punishment harsher
How can City Council members help fight the graffiti problem when they can't even stop fighting among themselves?
I laughed when I read about the two council members who invited the media to watch them paint over graffiti. Painting over graffiti is not the answer to the problem; it is just a Band-aid over a gushing wound.
Each time a wall is repainted, it creates a fresh palette for the worthless individuals who like to deface property.
A few years ago, there was an American who was caught defacing property in a foreign country. His punishment was caning. He was actually hit with a cane several times for his crime and he deserved every hit.
If there is not harsher punishment for the individuals who graffiti, I think people will start taking the law into their own hands. I personally don't want to see that happen, but people are tired of having their property destroyed by these losers!
BRANDON ADAMS
Bakersfield
MEETING WORTH EFFORT
Zack Scrivner and Jacquie Sullivan versus David Couch and Sue Benham.
What a wonderful way to get the (vandalism) graffiti problem before Bakersfield residents and businesses.
I was told that before something sinks in with the public it has to be repeated nine times. This beats that.
I went to the meeting. It was worth the three hours and one minute of time.
REGINA JOHNSTON
Bakersfield
REPLACE OUR 'LEADERS'
The action by Councilman David Couch and Councilwoman Sue Benham taking an opportunity for publicity by probably holding a paint brush for the first time in their lives and the other council members who didn't even bother to show up because they didn't think it was worth their time, tells voters that these people we elected are not members who can be trusted or counted on.
These council members, even though they have a difference of opinion, should show a unity among themselves. It is a shame that whatever differences they have, could or couldn't be settled like adults, instead of squabbling like children.
I am appalled that this type of leadership exists by those we trust to make good solid decisions for the community. All seven council members should have shown up to the town hall meeting and agreed to go out to the Bakersfield Boys & Girls Club as a group -- each taking up a brush.
These leaders should get their act together or we should think about replacing them.
DAVID A. FLORES
Bakersfield
CITY'S WELL-BEING THREATENED
I have grown weary of seeing our neighborhoods covered with graffiti. Every public and private space is a potential target to these people.
I guess that I should be surprised by this behavior, but I am not. These people come from homes that value nothing but their own existence.
They are not taught to get an education and work hard. They are not taught to have a sense of community. They are not taught the difference between right and wrong.
They value 19-inch rims and vulgar music. I know that many of these people are poor and some would say this is the root of the problem.
That is a cop-out! I am poor, but my children know the difference between right and wrong. My 5-year-old clearly recognizes that it is not acceptable to spray paint on his neighbor's fence.
We need stiff jail sentences for these people. This is a problem that has risen far above the nuisance level. It threatens the overall well being of the entire community. Community service alone is not the answer.
JOHN GEORGE
Bakersfield
