Tracy's fault lines

I ran into Mayor Brent Ives at Girard's Deli today, and shared an interesting observation from his ongoing campaign for mayor.

He said that in knocking on doors to drum up support, there are plenty of people (a disturbing proportion, judging by the look on his face) who don't really know (or care, I'd guess) where the city's downtown is. It was disheartening to hear, but not surprising.

The underlying problem, of course, is that many people here are not connected to the city. Finding ways to bridge the gaps between the separate worlds of Tracy, as I suggested, is one of the prime challenges that will face the next mayor. That's something Ives truly understands.

But the next mayor should also consider that the continuing push to build far-flung subdivisions is one of the surest ways to worsen the city's fractured profile.