Mountain Views News          Saturday, April 9, 2016

4

MEET THE CANDIDATES

Mountain View News Saturday, April 9, 2016 

A WORD FROM THE PUBLISHER 

JOHN CAPOCCIA Candidate, Sierra Madre City Council

 
In the 500 plus consecutive weeks that I have been publishing a 
paper in Sierra Madre, I must say that this has been the most democratic 
and civil city council race I’ve ever seen. I’ve also spoken with 
several 50 year plus residents who agree. The council has two vacancies 
and we have two candidates that are running for re-election, and 
one candidate who is running as a write-in. One of the council candidates 
will not make it, but the race has been as it should be, full of 
differing opinons and yet respectful. Perhaps in the candidates spare 
time they could teach our national candidates a thing or two about 
how to focus on the issues and be mature! We also have two candidates 
who are running unopposed and they are to be commended 
for stepping up to the plate. Sierra Madreans are big on identifying 
what they don’t like and what they would do if they were in charge, 
but this election cycle we’ve learned that a lot of that is just talk, no 
actions. 
Every election cycle the Mountain Views News asks all candidates 
to share with readers why they chose to run for their respective seats 
and those summaries are presented here, in their own words. 
But, the greatest challenge we have in Sierra Madre today is how 
to preserve it. To the person, every voter is here because they like 
the small town character, the village like atmosphere, the serenity, 
and the safe environment. Sierra Madreans love having their local police, firemen and merchants know 
them by name, and love having the ability to reach out to civic leaders with ideas. However, in order 
to protect this town, it is necessary for small sacrifices to be made. Being an independent, self sufficient 
city is what everyone says they want, but unless the voters are willing to pass this Utility Users Tax 
measure, that will not continue. Mayor Capoccia has submitted an editorial that discusses at length the 
importance of passing Measure UUT. Take a little time to read it and go to the city’s website or the Yes 
on Measure UUT website and learn more. 
The Mountain Views News endorses those candidates that support YES on UUT, John Harabedian 
and John Capoccia, and the YES ON MEASURE UUT ballot measure. Candidate Gold is a contributor 
to the opposition campaign. By the way, congratulations to Mayor Capoccia because in his first campaign 
this paper did not endorse him. He has, however demonstrated that he is a great representative of 
the people of Sierra Madre. CAST YOUR VOTE ON TUESDAY - YES ON MEASURE UUT.


I’m running for re-election to the Sierra 
Madre City Council because I want to 
ensure that Sierra Madre retains its 
distinctive character and charm for its 
current and future citizens. Having 
lived here and volunteered here for 32 
years, and having raised three children 
here with my wife Marta, I deeply 
appreciate the many attributes that 
make our town special.

 During the past four years, I’ve 
provided strong leadership, have 
demonstrated sound analytical skills 
and have collaborated effectively with 
my fellow council members to:

 Fight over-development by 
completing the General Plan update 
and implementing sensible measures 
to limit undesired mansionization to preserve our 
small-town character

 Halt the degradation of our water supply, and 
implement steps to secure its long-term viability

 Ensure that Sierra Madre’s citizens get the most 
for their hard-earned tax dollars 

 Ensure that our city government 
is transparent and open, where 
citizens work with their elected 
officials and city staff to manage 
the present and chart our future

 Much remains to be done, 
especially to stabilize our 
finances and infrastructure. My 
four years serving you as 

 Councilmember, Mayor-
Pro Tem and as Mayor have 
given me the wisdom and 
experience to ensure that your 
city government is managed 
efficiently and effectively to 
serve you. Working together, 
we can overcome our challenges 
and ensure that Sierra Madre will have a bright 
future. I am honored to serve you on Sierra 
Madre’s City Council, and I thank you in advance 
for your support.

 Susan Henderson, Publisher/Editor

JOHN HARABEDIAN Candidate, Sierra Madre City Council

 
I am running for reelection because there is important work to be done that requires 
experienced leadership.

 As your councilmember, I have worked the past four years protecting Sierra 
Madre in the face of challenges relating to the City’s budget, water supply, and 
aging infrastructure. The next four years will require continued diligence on all 
of these fronts. Sierra Madre will remain a safe, cost-effective, and full-service city 
as long as we, as community, continue to demand quality public services, while 
providing the necessary resources to provide such services.

 As your councilmember, I will continue to maintain the City’s high level of public 
safety, restore the City’s aged infrastructure, and protect the City’s independent 
water supply.

 If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at jharabedian@
cityofsierramadre.

 No matter who you vote for, vote YES ON MEASURE UUT.

Editorial

YES ON MEASURE UUT – 

A VOTE FOR SIERRA MADRE

By John Capoccia, Mayor

 On April 12, Sierra Madreans will vote on 
Measure UUT. Measure UUT is asking you to 
set the Utility Users Tax at 10%, which is what 
it was from 2009 to 2015, when Sierra Madre 
enjoyed balanced budgets and growing reserves. 
Sierra Madre is now facing a $500,000 deficit 
in the current year, and a $1,000,000 projected 
deficit next year, because of the step-down of the 
Utility Users Tax. These massive budget deficits 
are not sustainable. Deep cuts that threaten our 
town as we know it are imminent without the 
fiscal security provided by Measure UUT.

Measure UUT gives Sierra Madre a choice – 
Do you want to continue to provide the means 
for our town to prosper, or shall there be cuts 
that could have far-reaching and unpredictable 
effects? Your City Council unanimously 
agrees that if Measure UUT does not pass, 
our recreational and community service 
programs will be decimated, library hours will 
be dramatically reduced, maintenance of city 
facilities such as parks, roads and sidewalks will 
be compromised, and the loss of revenue could 
result in outsourcing one or more departments 
such as Police, Paramedic or Library. 

It is simply not realistic to expect that our town 
can thrive after losing such a large portion of our 
General Fund revenue. 

Many that are in favor of deep cuts to the City’s 
budget have a thread of commonality – they are 
more concerned about themselves and keeping 
a few extra bucks in their wallets than they are 
concerned about preserving our historic Village 
of the Foothills, and they’ll resort to the spread 
of misinformation and employ underhanded 
tactics to get you to side with them. Some of 
them don’t even live here, or haven’t lived here 
long enough to understand or appreciate Sierra 
Madre. Many are devoted to anti-tax dogma 
and are willing to sacrifice our beloved Sierra 
Madre to demonstrate their ideological purity. 
Sure, there are some upstanding citizens with a 
legitimate concern that growth of government 
has gone too far and excessive taxation hinders 
economic growth, but here in Sierra Madre, 
your local utility tax pays for the services and 
programs that Sierra Madreans value. I urge 
these folks to take a hard look at the facts, and I 
know they’ll side with those that love this town 
and will vote YES on Measure UUT.

Here are some of the weak arguments put forth 
by those opposed to Measure UUT and why they 
should be ignored:

1. If we outsource the Police Department 
by contracting with LA County Sheriff, we don’t 
need the UUT. Yes, we could save perhaps 
$200,000 per year (for now) by contracting with 
the Sheriff. We could reduce police presence and 
permanently close our facility and save more, but 
that will result in slower response times and more 
crime. So where will we make up the remaining 
$800,000 deficit without compromising safety? 
What happens a few years from now if we realize 
we made a mistake? - Too bad! Once our PD is 
gone, we’ll never get it back. The UUT is a small 
price to pay to keep local control of our police, 
which has faithfully kept Sierra Madre as one of 
the safest communities in the nation.
2. Sierra Madre can’t afford the 10% UUT 
and needs to live within its means. That’s bunk. 
We can afford it and we have. The rate was 10% 
from 2009 to 2015. If we couldn’t afford it, why 
did voters overwhelmingly approve Measure U 
in 2008 at the higher 12% rate? To cut costs, 
we’ve contracted out landscape maintenance, 
our pool, and now all of our recreation 
programs. Was that a good idea? Some think 
not, that we’ve gone too far with cost-cutting. 
Sierra Madre’s per capita income is $81,395, 
which is higher than Arcadia’s. Monrovia has 
a per capita income of only $64,949, yet they 
have FIVE (yes, 5) voter-approved additional 
assessments against property, that when added 
together, cost Monrovians way more than what 
Sierra Madreans pay on their utility tax, even at 
the 10% UUT rate! How is it that Monrovia can 
“afford” to pay even more than Sierra Madre, 
especially when Sierra Madreans earn 25% more? 
It’s not a question of affordability, it’s a question 
of whether you value the things that make our 
town special and whether you’re willing to keep 
it that way.
3. When voters approved the 12% UUT 
rate in 2008, it came with a “promise” that it 
would sunset. The “no” folks are not very clever. 
Witness their recent mailer, where they attempt 
to mislead you with a partial quote from the 2008 
impartial ballot analysis. They crudely omitted a 
few critical words from the city attorney’s actual 
text. Here, I’ve added the critical words back 
in (in bold face type) so that you can have the 
full story. It reads: “Unless approved anew by 
the voters, the rate will decrease over time...”. 
Clearly Measure U was meant to be reconsidered 
by the voters prior to the sunset, which makes 
sense if you read the Citizen’s Ad-Hoc Finance 
Committee’s November 8, 2007 report to the 
City Council. The second bullet on the first 
page states that “The council should consider the 
political necessity of the sunset clause, although 
the public safety needs are not expected to 
subside”. Obviously, the committee recognized 
that the revenue needs were ongoing, and the 
sunset clause was included to reassure voters 
should conditions change. Well, the committee 
was right, the conditions haven’t changed, and 
we now have a deficit after years of balanced 
budgets because of the step-down of the UUT.
4. Public sector pensions are too generous. 
If we cut the city’s revenue then they won’t 
have to pay for the pensions. This is a tea-party 
favorite, and is patently absurd. If you look at 
the experience of Stockton and San Bernardino, 
both of which filed for bankruptcy, pension 
obligations were protected, while public safety 
and other city services suffered. And of course, 
this happened after a lot of very expensive 
litigation. A city cannot simply walk away from 
its pension obligations, even in bankruptcy, 
and especially without first gutting all the other 
services including public safety, that the city 
provides for its citizens.
5. The budget keeps rising, which means 
that the city hasn’t cut expenses. The city has 
cut expenses - this has been well documented, 
so I’m not going to go over that again. I will 
however, draw attention to the reports from 
the annual UUT Oversight Committee. The 
committee’s existence came in to being with 
Measure U in 2008, and its purpose is to 
ensure that the incremental revenue raised by 
Measure U goes to public safety. The last UUT 
Oversight Committee Report dated November 
10, 2015 states this: “...the UUT Committee has 
concluded that for the year ended June 30, 2014, 
the increase in public safety expenditures over 
the base year of 2008 ($1,920,695) exceeded the 
increase in UUT revenues over the base year 
($1,277,795) in the amount of $642,900...”. This 
means that there was $642,900 less from the 
general fund than what was available to spend on 
non-public safety in the last fiscal year compared 
to 2008. How is this possible? Because of budget 
cuts, that’s how! 
6. Lost UUT revenue will be replaced by 
the continual rise of property values and the 
corresponding increase in property tax revenue. 
This was the main argument put forth by the 
authors against measure UUT in 2014, and they 
were just plain wrong, but they managed to 
fool enough people to defeat the measure. And 
because they were wrong, we now have a deficit 
and are spending hard-earned reserves. Now 
they’re pushing dissolution of the Sierra Madre 
PD as the budget savior – and guess what? 
They’re wrong again!


 Your City Council is unanimous in support 
of Measure UUT, because they know that we 
cannot keep Sierra Madre the special place that 
it is without sufficient revenue to support the 
services and programs that our citizens expect.

 Let’s not take for granted what we cherish. 
We have safe neighborhoods, fast response 
from Police, Fire and Paramedics, eclectic 
neighborhoods, a picturesque, charming 
downtown, and unspoiled hillsides. We have 
low density, effective anti-mansionization 
laws, no traffic signals, a fantastic library 
and high property values. Sierra Madre is a 
great place to raise a family and is the envy of 
other communities. Let’s ensure that future 
generations feel the same way about this special 
place. 

 We all dislike paying taxes. However, here in 
Sierra Madre your utility tax dollars provide 
for your safety and security, terrific library 
services and community programs. Your local 
tax dollars are used efficiently and effectively 
for your benefit, allowing your city to keep 
development in check to preserve this special 
oasis. I don’t need to remind anyone that Sierra 
Madre has no Walmarts, K-Marts, strip malls, 
auto malls, hotels or racetracks to pad the city 
coffers like our neighbors. Nor do we have ANY 
additional property tax assessments like many of 
our neighbors. Yes, we have a utility tax and we 
rely on it to keep Sierra Madre special!

Please, join those that care about Sierra Madre – 

BARRY GOLD Write-In Candidate, Sierra Madre City Council

Hi, I am Barry Gold a “Write-In” Candidate for 
City Council. 

 My wife Judy and I moved to Sierra Madre 4 . 
years ago from Arcadia where we saw firsthand 
what can happen to neighborhoods when you 
have a development free-for all. That is why I am 
so passionate about preserving Sierra Madre and 
decided to run for city council.

 I have been at the forefront of the effort to 
control over-development in Sierra Madre. I was 
one of the original supporters of the Preserve Sierra 
Madre coalition. Over the last two years, no one 
has attended more Planning Commission and City 
Council Meetings and spoken up in support of 
preserving the character of our town than I have. 

 I supported the General Plan Update, the 
Code changes lowering maximum allowable floor 
areas and CUP thresholds, the approval of the 
Demolition Moratorium to protect our historic 
properties.

 If I am elected to the city council I will be a 
strong and consistent advocate for continued 
historic preservation, stopping over-development, 
preventing mansionization, and protecting our 
open spaces. 

 Preservation is 
not the only issue 
that I feel strongly 
about. Judy and I 
are supporters of 
the Library and the 
Fire/Paramedic 
Department. We 
are subscribers 
to the Paramedic 
program and have 
donated to the Fire 
Department and the 
Library.

 As a member of the Revenue Committee I 
recommended a 9% UUT rate with a sunset clause. 
I want some of the UUT funds to be used to make 
more infrastructure improvements. 

 So that I can help with these and other issues and 
better protect Sierra Madre from inappropriate 
development I ask for your support. Please write 
in my name on your ballot when you vote on April 
12th. 


MICHAEL AMERIO Candidate, Sierra Madre Treasurer

 As a native Californian, my educational back ground includes graduating 
from Serra High School in San Mateo, and San Diego State University 
with a BS degree in accounting. I met my wife Cyndy, in San Diego. After 
graduation we moved to Pasadena and then to Sierra Madre, where we have 
lived the past 13 years. Cyndy and I have three sons who have all attended 
St. Rita School and participated in Sierra Madre’s Little League, Pony League 
and Cub Scouts. We proudly call Sierra Madre our home.

 I have been an accountant for 27 years, 23 of those years with the CPA 
firm Lucas Horsfall in Pasadena. Our firm is an accounting, income tax and 
consulting firm. Lucas Horsfall has been in business since 1957, providing 
analysis, guidance and experience in financial management and operations. 
We currently have over 2000 clients and 62 employees. In addition to working with individuals, businesses 
and not for profit clients, I oversee our firm’s finances, including insurance matters, personnel matters, our 
pension plan, and the firm’s banking relationship. 

 As treasurer, I will share my years of financial experience, work to make the City accountable for 
expenditures and investments, and will ensure financial transparency. I commit to the following: 
trustworthiness, impartiality, and professional knowledge working with figures. I am open to dialogue 
when questioned and will be methodical in ensuring the City maintains clear records. 

I am running for City Treasurer because I care about Sierra Madre. I am concerned about our City’s 
financial future. I am not one to complain and not put forth effort for the cause. I will do my best to 
remove obstructions and solve issues that divide our City. Thank you and I respectfully ask for your vote 
for Treasurer.


MELINDA CARILLO Candidate, Sierra Madre City Clerk

My two boys and I moved to Sierra Madre six years ago after having lived in Germany 
for many years and in the UK where I attended graduate school. My children 
attend St. Rita School and are very active in Sierra Madre Little League and 
Sierra Madre Pony League.

For the past 6 years, I’ve owned a small Spa Boutique business, specializing in 
skincare in the South Lake District in Pasadena which has now been relocated to 
Sierra Madre. I feel my integral experience as a business owner will allow me to 
be a proficient City Clerk as well as my experience living abroad and being part of 
different communities.

It’s an honor for me to serve my community as the next City Clerk. I have always 
found ways to give back to my community no matter where I have lived in the 
past, and I am grateful today for having this opportunity and thankful to live in such a wonderful community 
and beautiful environment.


TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2016

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com