what i believe

With a few days remaining until the election, I am reaching out and asking for your support and vote in my District 1 Antioch City Council race.  There is a very real chance that the votes in District 1 and District 4 could be split, and we could end up with the same city council we have had for the last two years that has divided our community. 

I am running for City Council to bring representation to City residents that is honest, positive and collaborative and to bring the dysfunction and divisiveness of the past two years to an immediate end. District 1’s current representative, Tamisha Torres-Walker’s leadership has fallen short in addressing the broad needs of our community, staffing departments at effective levels, and in building the internal and external relationships so critical to effective governance, stability and unity. 

Saying “enough is enough”, is really not enough. We deserve elected leaders that want to work hard and take on the difficult and sometimes controversial challenges facing our community and that can promote our assets and opportunities.  I can guarantee you that I will do my research, demand facts, build consensus to ensure we make decisions that will help our community and residents prosper.

As the former Antioch Vice Mayor and Antioch Unified School Board Trustee, I can hit the ground running in bringing positive change to our community.  Although there are many challenges and opportunities to work on including homelessness and the revitalization of north Antioch, I have outlined below my top five (5) priorities and what I will immediately work to achieve if elected.  We are in the home stretch of our campaign and if you would like to support my campaign, please visit joymotts.org. 

1. We must immediately act to bring forward a transparent, open, community involved, nationwide search to hire a new permanent City Manager.  Antioch deserves the best and brightest in leading our city staff.  Our City Manager must have extensive knowledge and experience in city management, public works, engineering, community development and more to successfully manage the critical needs of our city, support the City Council and help move our city forward.

2. Our Police Department is dangerously understaffed, and we currently have at any time only 5 to 6 officers on patrol for a city of over 117,000. When I was on Council, I supported staffing the police department to 116 sworn officers.  In just two years’ time we currently, we have less than 75 sworn officers and with the real possibility of losing more.  I will work together with the Chief of Police supporting his community policing model and in helping to build back our Police Department staffing levels so that we can effectively keep our residents and businesses safe.  We can do this at the same time as we work to ensure transparency and that our Police Department is held to the highest ethical standards.  We must support them with the tools, training and expertise they need to create a safe and inclusive community.

3. I will demand for the hiring of additional Code Enforcement Officers to address blight and illegal dumping as this department has been critically understaffed for decades.  Broken windows and abandoned and boarded up homes and businesses are a magnet for crime.  I will ensure that voter approved Measure O is fully implemented to help maintain and manage the hundreds of investment properties in Antioch that are not being properly maintained. The lack of accountability for irresponsible property owners is hurting our property values, tenants and residents and our quality of life.

4. Our Economic Development Department needs knowledgeable, proven, experienced staffing that will enable us to compete in today’s economy, by supporting existing businesses, infrastructure and bringing employers with good paying local jobs to our community and residents. This will also help increase tax revenues to support and stabilize our city’s finances and services that for far too long have been heavily dependent on volatile property tax revenue. Our adjoining cities are leaps ahead in strategies to support a vibrant job market. We need to be leaders, not followers.

5. Relationships, collaboration, consensus building is lacking at Antioch City Hall, this must be immediately addressed. Currently, some Council members are being blocked from speaking with staff, which is an outrage.  City Council members hire two people, the City Manager and the City Attorney. City council members must have access to those individuals and city staff to ensure they have the necessary information they need to make the very best decisions for our community. We need strong partnerships, such as the Antioch Unified School District to support student success, Chamber of Commerce to support our local and small businesses, and revitalization developers to help with in fill market and affordable housing. The key to Antioch’s success is a community working together with a common goal of helping every resident thrive.

I hope to have your support in accomplishing this.  Please remember to make your voice count by November 8th.  Vote Joy Motts for Antioch City Council, District 1!  Choose Joy!