Por JEFF CLEMETSON | Mensajero de La Mesa<\/p>\n
Mark Papenfuss wants to bring \u201cthe voice of the people\u201d back to La Mesa City Council.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel that voice has been missing for quite some time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Papenfuss was born and raised in Los Angeles and moved to SanDiego in 1993 to go to school at SDSU and local technical schools, eventually earning a degree in internet and information services and has remained in that field of work ever since. This is Papenfuss\u2019 first run for public office, although he said he has been watching politics and researching the issues closely.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like where the direction of the city is going. I felt like the people were not being listened to,\u201d he said of his reason for entering the La Mesa City Council race.<\/p>\n
Papenfuss specifically pointed to the issue of the farmers market where he said polls showed a majority of people supported the market on La Mesa Boulevard but the city council \u201cdragged their feet\u201d over solving the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we almost lost the farmers market because of certain interests city council had and that was very frustrating to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The ADU ordinance was another issue he said a \u201cvast majority\u201d of people opposed to it, but was still passed by the council.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose two things were frustrating to me because I felt the city council was doing its own thing and not listening to the people,\u201d he said. \u201cI think the city council should listen to the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Policing in La Mesa<\/strong><\/p>\n Papenfuss also shared his criticism for what he describes as the council\u2019s inaction on police matters. He cited a report that LMPD had well over 100 use of force complaints against officers over a four-year period, but only a handful garnered any discussion or action. He said La Mesa Police could have taken these reports more seriously.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter the Helix incident, the city council and the mayor made a very strong stance that we can\u2019t talk to the police, we can\u2019t tell the police what to do. So we didn\u2019t talk to them, we didn\u2019t meet with them \u2014 and I don\u2019t like that response,\u201d he said. \u201cI think, even if you can\u2019t tell the police department what to do, you could still take ownership of and have a conversation with the police \u2014 sit down with the police chief and say, \u2018These are our concerns. What are you doing to address these? This is what we would like to be looked at.\u2019 And that wasn\u2019t done.\u201d<\/p>\n Papenfuss has similar concerns about the proposed citizen oversight committee.<\/p>\n \u201cI definitely support the oversight committee, but at the end of the day if they can\u2019t tell the police what to do, then if you go by the city council\u2019s logic, then what\u2019s the point?\u201d he said. \u201cBut I support it because, if nothing else, it brings more attention to the police force. It brings more accountability. It brings more responsibility and it brings up the questions I think need to be asked.\u201d<\/p>\n Papenfuss said he would support a move to make La Mesa a charter city to give more teeth to oversight.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, the city council should be the ones with the power. The mayor and the city council should be the ones that make the decisions and make the calls so I would support a change in the charter to reflect that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n When it comes to hiring a new police chief, Papenfuss said he wants a chief who is open to working with the oversight committee and the city council and is \u201ccommunity focused.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n COVID response<\/strong><\/p>\n Papenfuss is less critical of the city\u2019s response to the COVID pandemic, which he said has been good, pointing out that La Mesa must comply with county and state guidance on dealing with it.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand people want more freedoms, they want less rules and restrictions,\u201d he said. \u201cI get that, but at the same point and time we need to be responsible. We need to take steps to protect people as much as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n Papenfuss said the city allowing for dining areas to be extended outside onto sidewalks is an example of a good policy because it helps businesses and still offers some protection to people.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very hard line to navigate because you don\u2019t want to go to far one way or the other,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you go too far with the protections, you really hurt the businesses, but if you go too far the other way it can really hurt some people. But I do think the city is doing everything they can in this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n In dealing with the coming economic and budget fallout from the pandemic, Papenfuss said the city needs to shelve \u201cpet projects\u201d like MacArthur Park and fund help for businesses and public safety<\/p>\n \u201cI think we really need to focus on the safety of the community \u2014 the first responders of the city. Things like that really need to be the focus,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Growth<\/strong><\/p>\n Papenfuss also shared some ideas he has for economic growth in the city. He said he would use the success of the farmers market to bring people into the city and would like to get businesses outside of the Village involved by making space for them to have booths. He added that local businesses should be able to access money from the Village Enhancement Fund (which he described as the city\u2019s \u201cfun fund\u201d) to offset the cost of offering coupons to visitors.<\/p>\n To bring new businesses into the city, Papenfuss would like to see lower startup fees and taxes.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause anything you lose upfront, you\u2019re going to make up in the long run from tax revenue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n One area of growth Papenfuss wants to see slowed down is housing.<\/p>\n \u201cI am opposed to the direction the city is going in allowing these large apartment complexes, and I do not agree with the deals that are being made for these developers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He said the large-scale housing plans put a strain on not only parking, but on schools as well.<\/p>\n \u201cLa Mesa already has a much higher than average class size and these new large apartment complexes will only make this worse,\u201d he said. \u201cI think we need to protect our children and give them as much opportunity as we can for them to succeed and overcrowding our local schools more than they already are is not a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Papenfuss is also against selling any city-owned property, and that he is \u201cdisappointed with certain members of the council who are doing everything they can to sell off city-owned land.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Final statement<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not a politician,\u201d Papenfuss concluded. \u201cI don\u2019t have the obligations of career politicians. I don\u2019t have big corporate donors. I don\u2019t have people I have to listen to when it comes time for voting. I\u2019m a citizen who wants to do the best I can for the city and I have the ability to listen to the people of La Mesa.\u201d<\/p>\n