Veterans Corner: The Mayor & Council Should Respect the Will of the People!
My name is Ed Pope. I am a U.S. Army veteran and a 50-year Irvine resident who has been working to preserve and honor our City’s history with the old El Toro Marine Corps Air Station — which is now the Great Park.
Through two signature-gathering efforts and an election, the voters in Irvine have made it clear that they support a beautiful Veterans Memorial Park & Cemetery on the former military base at the Great Park to honor the memory of the base and our City’s military history. But, the will of the people continues to be ignored.
I served in Berlin during the height of the Cold War and saw firsthand what silencing the people in East Berlin looked like. I learned how important it is for the voices of the people to be heard … and heeded.
When I came home, I spent 35 years teaching my students that your vote is your voice in America. And that, through the ballot, the will of the people always prevails. Except, it seems, here in Irvine.
