Leading up to the November elections, SWRNN.com will run a series of candidate profiles describing each potential contender for this year’s open City Council seats. Stay tuned for continued Election 2012 coverage.
In Lake Elsinore, four seats, including three city council and one city treasurer are up for election. Of the nine candidates campaigning for the seats, three are incumbents.
Robert E. “Bob” Magee, first elected to the Lake Elsinore City Council in 2003, is among the incumbents campaigning for re-election. (Courtesy photo)
Robert E. “Bob” Magee, first elected to the Lake Elsinore City Council in 2003, is among the incumbents campaigning for re-election. Over the years he has served as mayor four times and is currently seeking his third term on the City Council.
Magee first moved to Lake Elsinore 26 years ago to take a job in the city’s planning department. And although he would later pursue a career in the private sector, Magee would become an integral part of the city in year’s to come.
In addition to his city council duties, Magee has served as Vice Chairman of the Riverside County Historical Commission, was chairman of the Riverside County Transportation Commission and has served on the State Board of Fire Services.
In 2001, Magee became executive officer of Forest Wood Fiber Products, which employs about 25 people in the region. His wife, Gina, is the executive director of the Trauma Intervention Programs of Southwest Riverside County.
His son, Richard, has been deployed to Afghanistan twice and is currently stationed in Fort Story Virginia with the U.S. Army.
Magee has faced some difficult issues, including a $1.1 million dollar operating deficit when he took office in 2003. He worked to create a rainy day fund for tough times that now contains nearly $6 million. He has also focused a great deal on public safety issues.
“We went from spending $4.6 million on police services to $9.7 million and crime went down,” Magee said. “We went from one fire station in 2003 to three today, with the fourth built and waiting for staffing in the next budget cycle.”
Today, Magee said he is working to keep spending low and make council members accessible to the public in order to listen to and respond to needs.
In the future, Magee plans to continue working toward smart growth, while remaining fiscally responsible.
His plans include “opening the Rosetta Canyon Fire Station, working with Caltrans to further improve our on and off ramps, improving Highway 74/Riverside Drive and working with Riverside County to help them clean up Grand Avenue.”
He also plans to grow tourism by continuing to improve the lake, beaches, campgrounds and sports venues, while working with the business community to bring more jobs to the city.
Jennifer Dean is a local writer and regular contributor to SWRNN.
Loading ...
http://www.lakeelsinoreelections.com/
Hey Ellie
I like your election blog, however, I differ in that I put Bob Magee at the top of my list. He has shown great leadership, integrity and work ethic. I don’t always agree but he’s as good as we’ve ever had….
Good going there Bob, I hope Natasha Johnson gets elected in order to restore civility, ethics & a fiscal responsible City Council. We need to focus on abating properties that are unsafe, require a moritorium on apartments & create a environment where the citizens believe their opinion matters. One would have thought the Straghotti, Winkler, Washburn days were behind us until Melendez,Hickman and Weber reared their ugly heads.