Gridlock in Los Alamitos
Posted in Los Alamitos | By Blair Newman and Dave Emerson | Tags: Los Alamitos City Council, Los Alamitos real estate, politics, traffic
Los Alamitos, the second smallest city in Orange County, sits just east of Long Beach on the Orange County/Los Angeles County line. Because most of the city is in the 562 area code, many people think its in Los Angeles County. It shares it’s zip code and post office with Rossmoor, a large, upscale unincorporated trac. Los Al shares its highly-regarded school district with Rossmoor and Seal Beach.
Los Alamitos has been my home town for twenty years. It’s a great place to live. In many ways ranging from location to schools to climate it may be one of the best places in Southern California for someone with a middle class income to buy a home. (In fact, I just happen to have a beautiful 5 bedroom pool home on a cul de sac that we recently listed–details and virtual tour at LosAlDreamHome.com.)
Like any town, Los Alamitos isn’t perfect. Two things about it bother me the most. Although Los Alamitos has fewer than 7,000 registered voters, it’s in the big leagues when it comes to traffic congestion and hostility on it’s City Council. It’s a case of periodic gridlock on the streets and at city hall.
As a Realtor, my job for the last 28 years has involved getting buyers and sellers to work together for their mutual benefit. I’m a big believer in “win-win” negotiating. So I decided to toss my hat in the ring for this year’s Los Alamitos City Council election, to see if I could get our divided City Council to work as one team instead of two. In a town this small, we have more things that unite us than that divide us.
I recently started a blog, LetsFixLosAl.com, for several reasons:
- To promote a greater spirit of teamwork on Los Alamitos’ City Council.
- To suggest and promote strategies to reduce the occasional gridlock on Los Alamitos’ streets.
- As a 21st century town hall meeting in cyberspace where citizens can discuss these issues 24/7/365.
Oh yeah. The blog seemed like an inexpensive way for a political neophyte to compete for two council seats against three former mayors and another neophyte.
LetsFixLosAl.com is less than a week old, and only has a few posts up, but I plan to add to it several times a week, chronicling first-hand the adventures of a newbie small town politician. At this point, I’d also appreciate input from both local residents and anyone else with a good idea to share.
Check it out, and let me know what you think. It should at least provide some interesting insights on politics from a front-line perspective. Pretty much what we try to do with Southern California real estate on this site.
Tags: Los Alamitos City Council, Los Alamitos real estate, politics, traffic
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