Sanders is back

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders was re-elected in California's June 3rd primary election. He received a strong 54.3 percent of the votes, with Steve Francis (who I voted for) getting 34.4 percent. Sanders will be in office till 2012 because of term limits.
Although San Diegans have been paying more attention to the presidential nominees, it was a good race. But will it unravel a good term?
San Diego television was bombarded with commercials of Sanders and Francis, praising and attacking them through the usual air wars.
It's no secret that most people went out and voted that day just for the mayoral race. So what were San Diegans really voting for when they re-elected Sanders?

My take on his plans:
-He spent $102 million last year to fix the city's debt
-And this year he plans to put $146 million into the paying off debt and deferred maintenance
-Change the pension system to decrease the pay and increase the age for city employees to retire
-Fix the roads because a survey said "66 percent of our streets aren't acceptable"
-He boasts he's cut more than 650 city employee jobs to fix debt
-Calls his strategies "budget discipline," aka fiscal conservatism

Injecting millions of dollars (from where, I don't know) into deferred maintenance might sound good to the typical person because it's vague. The money will actually go to streets, capital improvement projects, paving, pothole repair and slurry sealing, Sanders said in a San Diego Union-Tribune interview. So people re-elected Sanders to cut jobs and city employees' benefits so that our streets are pothole-free.
And is this the same "deferred maintenance" that clogs up the freeways at imperfect times to create traffic congestion, road blocks and detours? Sounds like a fun way to spend city money.
Sanders said "The major thing you're going to see are street improvements." So if this is what San Diego wants, then that's what it got. Street improvements. You excited?
I can only think of two things I like about Sanders. One- his memorable speech back in September last year, when he publicly switched his stance to support same sex marriage because his daughter is a lesbian. And two- his veto of the city council's pay raise bill for the mayor and for councilmembers.
I know what I want from this city and I'm unfortunately not getting it: the alcohol ban on beaches to be removed, more events to increase tourist flow to jump-start the city's economy, cheaper bus and trolley fares and a mayor who isn't so afraid to take chances.
You can't always get what you want. But America's finest city deserves the best.