Opinion articles provide independent perspectives on key community issues, separate from our newsroom reporting.

Letters to the Editor

Joan P. Smith: Mayor who led faulty courthouse deal prepping for campaign

In spite of opposition, Mayor Garrad Marsh and the Modesto City Council are forging ahead with their plan to build a new courthouse. They have overpaid for property and have wasted taxpayers’ money. This should be taken out of their pockets, as it was their bad judgment.

The long-suffering taxpayer has had services cut due to poor planning. Essential services such as police protection for this drug- and crime-ridden city; not to mention roads in disrepair and many other needs which we already pay for.

The mayor is now fund-raising in a bid for his second term. He has received donations from developers and attorneys and former public officials, raising more than $55,000 from September through December, 2014.

Joan P. Smith, Modesto

This story was originally published March 9, 2015 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Joan P. Smith: Mayor who led faulty courthouse deal prepping for campaign."

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