Mayor Morris

"Much accomplished", published in The Sun, Sunday, August 30, 2009

A recent letter asked what Mayor Morris had accomplished during his term in office, and if there are
more police officers on the streets; this is one response. Mayor Morris has accomplished a great deal for
our city, in spite of the recession and the many obstructions put up by some on the City Council. I am
glad to be counted as one of Morris' supporters.

By virtue of Measure Z, which Mayor Morris supported, the city Police Department has been able to add
40 sworn police officers and 15 non-sworn positions. This is a remarkable achievement. I believe that
prevention and intervention activities are important, so I wish more funds could be directed to
Operation Phoenix - less than 2 percent of Measure Z funds were directed to Operation Phoenix in
2007-2008, and the less than 4 percent which was budgeted for prevention and intervention activities
in 2008-2009 (including Operation Phoenix) had to be cut back to essentially nothing because of the
city's financial crisis.

In addition, under Mayor Morris' leadership the city has been able to accomplish many great things, in
spite of the roadblocks he and the city have been facing. A short list of accomplishments includes the
following:

1. Violent crime is at its lowest level in decades.

2. Murders are down by 45 percent.

3. Auto thefts are down by 37 percent.

4. A new city manager has been hired who has a great background and talents for leading San
Bernardino toward its potential.

5. A new chief of police has been hired who similarly has an outstanding background and potential for
leading our Police Department in continuing to reduce the crime rate.

6. Extensive improvements and new developments have taken place at the former Norton air base,
which is becoming a tremendous asset for our community.

I look forward to even more improvements in San Bernardino under Mayor Morris' leadership during
his next term in office. I am proud to be a citizen of our city, and very pleased that our city is in good
hands.

THOMAS GEHRING
San Bernardino