The Changing Glendale

Being a native of Glendale, I have witnessed the many changes that have occurred in my seventy six years of life in this wonderful city. Many of the changes have been good. Many are what come with the changing times and lifestyles of our time. However, some are not so welcome. The loss of the Redline streetcar which connected south Glendale to downtown Glendale and north Glendale and with downtown Los Angeles. The ever increasing businesses and multifamily properties that have created many traffic and parking problems throughout Glendale. However, the most aggrieving change that I have experienced over the years has been with our city government in general, and the city council in particular. There is no more civility by the members of the current city council and their relationship with the public who come to speak at council meetings to voice their concerns and issues that affect their quality of life. Time and time again, concerned residents come to speak during oral communications and are dismissed by the council members as being uninformed and labeled as gadflies. The resident speakers present the council with facts taken from city documents and records, only to be chastised as trouble makers. I can remember the days when the city council members appreciated being informed about issues with their constituency and respectfully accepted their complaints and concerns without belittling their character, which is so often the case with the response given by the current members of the city council. I witness their actions week after week, and have personally experienced their action.

I have been active for many years in the city going to city council meetings on behalf not only homeowners, but all residents of Glendale. I participated in the defeat of the proposed Oakmont V housing development which would have been a detriment to the quality of life for many Glendale residents. I have participated in many budget sessions trying to influence the city staff and city council to be fiscally responsible in their decision making process. I am the past president of the Glendale Homeowners Coordinating Council and the current president of the Montecito Park Neighborhood Association. I am intimately familiar with many issues facing the City of Glendale.

My current activity has been to join the newly formed Glendale Coalition for Better Government (GCBG) under the leadership of Frank Gallo. The main purpose of this organization is to provide a united voice of many to hopefully engage with the city council to bring about a more civil interaction between the council members and staff to mitigate issues which we believe are detrimental to the City of Glendale. We encourage our membership to be active in city government and be aware of all the issues which face the residents of our city. The homeowner associations across the city have been active for many years in this same endeavor. However, the GCBG is created to serve every resident with in our city borders.

I encourage any Glendale resident who believes that the actions and service provided by the city council and city staff need improvement to attend a GCBG meeting and strongly consider to become a participating member.

Sincerely, Albert Hofmann