October 16, 2010
Robert F. Sylk
"My Ideas for La Quinta"

I am running for Mayor of La Quinta because I have the enthusiasm, leadership skills, and experience to lead our city into the next decade.

La Quinta is a great city but needs fresh faces, new ideas and the wherewithal to make those ideas into reality particularly as we update our General Plan and make other choices about our future.  The quality of life and long-term viability of La Quinta are both at stake in this election.

Economic Development

I believe we need to develop new and sustainable forms of revenue, without raising taxes or placing a burden on our city:

• Establish Mayor's Office of Business and Economic Policy
• The City should inform valley residents that new and used cars are "1% less in La Quinta."
• In cooperation with local businesses, offer La Quinta residents a special discount on goods and services and incentivize residents from neighboring communities to shop in La Quinta.
• Encourage local business owners when hiring to give a preference to qualified La Quinta residents.
• Co-sponsor events while others are in-town such as the Bob Hope or La Quinta Arts Festival.  For example, let's have a food and wine festival next door to our Arts Festival.
• SilverRock is a "diamond in the rough."  We need to find a new partner to help us get it developed, while money is available at historically low interest rates.
• Let's take a fresh look at how we market La Quinta as a destination.
• Appoint blue ribbon panel to identify suitable businesses for La Quinta's future, and help existing businesses grow and prosper, not limited to the village, so we can create more jobs and heightened economic activity.

Public Safety

• Mayor to appoint a blue ribbon task force to assess the state of law enforcement in La Quinta, along with evaluating the long-term feasibility of creating our own police department.
• Our law enforcement could have civilian members who would come from each neighborhood.  They would review law enforcement activities throughout the city and provide advice on public safety issues to the city council and police department.
• Develop community outreach program to encourage neighborhood watch.
• Create neighborhood associations that interface with city council to improve community relations and public safety.
• Better oversight of the code enforcement stressing community outreach and develop new program that assists homeowners and renters, as oppose to frivolous citations that waste the Riverside County court’s time and punishes La Quinta residents.
• Our patrol officers need to get out of their cars, ride bikes, motorcycles, or Segways to boost their visibility and mingle with La Quinta residents to prevent crime.
• Introduce new after school and summer programs for our children that provide educational and recreational opportunities, thus helping families and reducing juvenile crime.

Balanced Growth and Development

• Establish a First Time Home Buyer Program for the City of La Quinta that brings together qualified buyers with real estate owners, developers, and banks to provide quality affordable housing throughout our city.
• Commence major development on SilverRock including a promenade featuring "state-of-the art" movie theatre complex, fine dining, upscale retail, miniature golf, and a boutique 5-star hotel.
• Our mix of hotels and motels in La Quinta is too limited.  If we are to compete effectively we need more sleeping room choices, otherwise TOT revenue and jobs go elsewhere.>
• Annex Vista Santa Rosa which will allow us to develop more affordable housing and build a new Green Technology Center.

Open and Transparent Government

• Greater fiscal responsibility (avoid shady investments, inflated pensions, unnecessary giveaways)
• Council members must recuse themselves to avoid the perception of a "conflict of interest."
• Public meetings should be televised and streamed online, so we can foster much greater community involvement.
• Council members need to be more accessible, including periodic visits to neighborhoods throughout our city.

These are a few of the many ideas that I share with fellow newcomers Joe Maldonado and Tim Campbell.

It's time for a change! A fresh vision for the next generation of La Quintans, with a focus on making our city the Coachella Valley's premiere destination and the gateway to the historic Santa Rosa Mountains.

The folks who are running for re-election they have had their day in the sun. Instead of career politicians, we need new leadership and fresh ideas to remain competitive in these difficult times.

We cannot continue to do business as usual, or bring back the same old tired and discredited faces. We need bold leadership now to insure a brighter future for our children and grandchildren.

Please support Robert Sylk for Mayor along with Joe Maldonado and Tim Campbell for La Quinta City Council on November 2nd.

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