Atascadero is making progress with Tom O’Malley as mayor. He should be re-elected.

I am pleased to support Tom O’Malley for Atascadero mayor. Currently, we have candidates stating that there are too many events in Atascadero and that too much focus is put into the tourism industry. I could not disagree more. Events bring in revenue from visitors while also helping to create a vibrant community for our residents — and more dollars for Atascadero’s economy.

I have been proud to work with Tom through the Atascadero Tourism Business Improvement District board. Started by local hoteliers, assessments are collected from hotel guests and reinvested into marketing opportunities for our city. Again, helping to bring visitors and fuel our local economy.

This board also collaborates with the city of Atascadero to help revitalize local businesses through helping to fund community and visitor events such as Atascadero Wine Festival, Cow Parade, Cider Festival and Restaurant Month.

Before stating that there are too many events in Atascadero, I invite the other candidates who question the tourism and event efforts to attend one of our public meetings. With Tom’s leadership, we are making great progress for our little town. Let’s keep a good thing going and re-elect Tom O’Malley for mayor of Atascadero.

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 7:46 PM with the headline "Atascadero is making progress with Tom O’Malley as mayor. He should be re-elected.."