Regarding my letter to the editor, “What about those eyesores?” (March 29, Auburn Reporter):

Nancy Backus responded and said she would “enjoy a chance to talk to me about my concerns” and that she can “be reached via email or cell phone.”

I contacted her by email, but perhaps she got so busy with more important matters, like her campaign for mayor of Auburn, that my response to her about my concerns had become a trivial, insignificant matter.

Or perhaps her response was merely lip service.

My concerns and questions, as I wrote to the Auburn Reporter, are those “eyesores” on A Street that traverse the railroad side of that street. They’ve been there for over a decade.

Those eyesores are really disgusting, and I think it’s a reflection of the political leadership of this town and of the condition of the town itself. These concerns of mine also were pointed out by some of the people in my neighborhood at Lakeland Hills.

My questions to Backus were: Is there some kind of code enforcement in Auburn for these eyesores that are on private properties? Are those dilapidated buildings and rusting structures legal to stay on private properties? Are they here on a permanent basis as part of the overall scenery of Auburn?

I really wish to know the answers. I chose to ask Backus because of the many “good things” written about her, that she would be the perfect mayor for the city of Auburn, so I thought she might be the right person to provide me and my Lakeland Hill neighbors with prompt and honest answers to our questions and concerns. But I turned to be wrong with my assumptions.

– Jesse Jose