In the opinion of a recent writer (Guest Commentary, Jan. 22, “Local Democrats: Reflecting, learning and moving forward together” ) the local Democratic Party needs to reshape its policies. This change is needed because the Democrats did not win in the latest election. On a national level, it has been said that the Democrats are “clutching their pearls” at the latest election results and repercussions.

While I am decidedly not a fan of the current national Republican leadership, I can certainly see why so many voters are willing to give them a chance. Indeed, here locally, we have 40-50 years of Democratic Party control and leadership to thank for our current state.

When I first moved to our area in the late 1970s, the progressive movement that was produced by the recently arrived university was taking over power from a longstanding conservative local base. Those progressives stated that they wanted to thwart future growth through sound environmental regulations. The only problem with that approach was that, in this country, you can’t tell people where they can live. And Santa Cruz County has always been an attractive place to live. The actual way that the local Democratic Party tried to slow growth was that once they had control, they rewrote the rules for the county Planning Department, such that the once straightforward process of applying for and receiving a building permit became stupid. It didn’t make those few projects that did make it through better, but instead only more expensive.

The same Democratic Party also fought tooth and nail against any attempt at infrastructure improvement, particularly fighting against the widening of Highway 1, improved water supply, location of new dump sites and so on.

Today, Santa Cruz finds itself to be an underfunded county with numerous issues facing it. How many of our current problems are due to the longstanding policies of the local Democratic Party?

Is it not probable that our tax base is insufficient, precisely because we have failed to build that base and the infrastructure to support it? We have one of, if not the, most expensive housing markets in the nation. Highway 1 widening, which should have happened many years ago, continues to be fought by people whose motives and political connections are unclear.

It appears to me that numerous studies have been conducted on the rail/trail, none of which have shown the rail portion to be fiscally viable. I think that a train would be nice. I don’t think a train would be nice if there is insufficient ridership, or the possibility of large and ongoing county indebtedness to keep it going, or both.

I think that whatever rules and regulations are currently guiding our Planning Department need to be eliminated and replaced with rules adopted from some different jurisdiction that will serve to expedite building permits. A reasonable gauge of success would be the level of improvement issuing CZU permits. A recent Sentinel “Date in History” noted that the Golden Gate Bridge was completed in four years. Getting a permit to build a house in this county can currently take longer than that. Our local government does not recognize the value of time. Permitting in this county is expensive, but that expense pales in comparison to the cost of the time our planning process costs.

Our county needs a government that plans for the future, and does so efficiently. That will require a focus on roads, jobs, infrastructure, education, water, sewer, garbage and building the tax base to pay for it. The local Democratic Party has failed at this for too long. It is certainly time for a change. Hopefully we can find leaders with a pragmatic approach to our real problems rather than what we are currently witnessing on a national level.

Bob Montague is an Aptos resident.