Let’s clarify, explain the facts

Published 6:17 pm Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The recent article about the candidate debate (“Candidates square off”, Auburn Reporter, Oct. 18) contains some inaccuracies. First, my name is Michelle Binetti, not Marianne Binetti. Marianne is my cousin. She is content to be a horticulturist and is not a candidate for office.

Another inaccuracy is the allegation that I “went on to criticize some of the City’s recent spending decisions.” I didn’t criticize anything; I cited facts. Facts are neutral. Whether or not you like a fact is up to you. That the City paid over 7.6 million dollars for the two City blocks it recently sold for $1.7 million is a fact. That the City incurred 30 years of bond payments of approximately 3 million dollars a year for a new jail is a fact.

It is also a fact that those bond payments are in addition to the actual daily costs of keeping people in jail that is now 50 percent higher than before. Pointing out facts isn’t a negative. It is in the importance that the candidates place on those facts that differentiates us.

Our priorities need to be public safety, good roads and taking ownership of our fiduciary responsibility, respecting the community’s hard earned dollar as we would in our very own household. We need to remember that it is a privilege to represent the best interests of the citizens of Auburn.

I am ready to serve in a greater capacity because I care about the future of Auburn and giving back to a community that has given so much to me.

– Michelle Binetti, City Council candidate