I am a businessperson, I went to Claremont McKenna to earn a degree in Economics. That is what I know, and learned. Becoming an Enrolled Agent taught me legal skills and how to deal with the government. My wife works for the County of Orange.
My father worked through the Department of State, and I made many connections as a kid and young adult.
I have been dealing with the city if Anaheim and its Government since the 1990's, and also know many folks there.
I have been a Theme Park fan as a kid, and have kept that passion my entire life, and that has allowed me many connections. I got into reporting on Disney by request of some Web Site owners, since they knew I could deliver good photos of construction projects, something I followed as a hobby. Since I started so early in the Social Media morphing for a secondary source of information, I was one of the first to be given Press Credentials to gain access, and once one park did it, others including Disney also recognized my second job/hobby.
So I came in the back door, and worked by way up, and made the connections, and now count many Senior Theme Park personnel as friends, including some retired Disney Legends.
Do I have a biased view, well, as with any person, including reporters, I do bring in my life history in how I think and report on things.
Do I have strong opinions, yes. Have they gotten me into trouble with Disney Management, yes. They want the news presented one way, they way they want it tailored. I preferred to cover Disneyland more realistically. So I got the lunches with Management asking to be "nicer" in my coverage, but I also got respect from many CM's due to that, including those who tried to tailor my coverage. To this day, a retired PR CM calls me up to discuss the current state of affairs, especially dealing with the city. He did it while still working for Disney, and it worked both ways. While each side had a public message/image they wanted to represent, they also knew the true realities of things, and wanted to know what others think.
In this day of change, I still go down the path of the knowledge I possess, use it, and learned in my childhood that the best course of action is to do things yourself, keep an open mind and learn, and not to care about what others think of me, but more of how I can help myself and others at the same time. I am happy to help others up, and to improve themselves, and don't let people try to label me.
My wedding had both a hand fasting, and a traditional service. Getting married in a church, and having a Christian pastor was important, but we also had a diverse group, and then went and rode a roller coaster before our reception. Traditions are important, as is History, and you need that to have a full life, but you also have to be open to other things. And sometimes you disagree with things. But then, some of my best friendships have come from disagreeing with them. And if you get involved in the political world, especially in the past, you had to have that skill. And in this current state of the nation regarding politics, it is a skill that many are missing.
In Economics, you learn that the system is based on facts, not feelings. If you don't learn that, then you are in for a rough ride.
If you want to place that in regards to the ALWI, I can tell you the Initiative was written very poorly, and by a group of lawyers who didn't have much skill in election law. They tried too hard to give their clients everything they wanted, but failed to watch the wording in how it would be interpreted by the government and the courts, They won't be the first, politicians have written some very bad tax laws that have delivered results they didn't want, but the IRS had to do what the law said, not what the politicians wanted. And that what happened with the ALWI, and since it was not clear in many matters, it is tough to decide what the government will have to do, because it becomes law if the voters pass it. Now, to make matters more complicated, the Unions are using the initiative to push a political agenda, and to accomplish things unrelated to the actual initiative.
It is a big chess game, and yes, Garden Grove is being used as a chess piece on the board. Are they a pawn? I would say no, but they clearly are not the King or Queen. more like a bishop or knight. Unfortunately, the pawns are the voters and employees in the Resort District. Do I have empathy for them, of course, but all I can do is point out who is trying to mover the chess piece, only they can make the change.
