2 for Fontana

Originally published in the Press Enterprise, pe.com,

at 10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Fontana is no longer a small, mostly rural steel mill town situated near the tail end of Route 66. Instead, it is a thriving metropolis. The city that three decades ago had a population of 37,000 now boasts 188,000 residents. And Fontana government, once marked by stumbling amateurism, now offers strong professional competence.

In the past two years, for example, Fontana opened a new county library branch, restored a community theater and shifted fire protection from a county-run district to a new city-controlled district.

Few cities can boast similar progress, and those accomplishments offer strong reasons to return incumbents Janice Rutherford and Acquanetta Warren to the Fontana City Council. Rutherford has served on the council since 2000, while Warren has been on the council since 2002. They offer voters a good combination of city government experience and familiarity with Fontana needs.

The incumbents support a careful approach to city finances that sets aside a healthy reserve and regularly funds street, curb and other physical improvements in the city. Fontana, with a $76.7 million general fund budget this year, is in good financial shape, despite the broader economic downturn. In fact, the city brought in so many sales-tax producing businesses in recent years that the council was able to phase out the residential utility tax in 2004.

Both incumbents show a commitment to public safety, and point to the 65 police officers the city has added in the past eight years, along with adding citywide paramedic coverage in 2002. And both support the city's efforts to bring new overpasses to Interstate 10 at Cypress, Cherry and Citrus avenues, which will help traffic flow in Fontana.

Warren and Rutherford also voice strong support for community services, particularly for youth. The city has opened new parks, and the incumbents sensibly propose joint efforts with school districts that can put school playing fields to use for city sports programs.

Janice Rutherford and Acquanetta Warren have done a commendable job on the Fontana City Council, and voters would do well to retain them in office.