Ben Cantu has some advice for Gary Singh.

*Manteca is in danger of being divided in three — south of the 120 Bypass, “old Manteca”, and north of Lathrop Road. Work to avoid that from happening

By that Cantu means those in the north and south rarely, if ever, cross over to the other end of town although they go into Central Manteca. Cantu’s fear is a disconnect is taking place.

*Singh, as mayor, is going to have a tough time changing things because the “old council” will be in the majority.

Cantu believes the re-election of Mike Morowit to the council from District 4 after a four-year hiatus when combined with council members Charlie Halford  and Dave Breitenbucher will result in a return to how the city operated when Steve DeBrum was mayor.

*The city is not in a good place and is treading water at best. Cantu said Singh has to build on the foundation he says has been created during the past four years with what Cantu calls "a new government."

That’s a more succinct way of Cantu saying what he has been stressing for the past four years — and back as far as at least 14 years when he first ran for office: Manteca has been barely “been getting by” for the past 40 years or so because growth hasn’t been paying its way or delivered on the often promised of new amenities.

“This is a city that took 60 years to get a needed new corporation yard, 30 years to get a needed new animal shelter, and hasn’t been able to get a new library in 50 years,” Cantu said.

Cantu said he wishes Singh the best when he turns over the mayor’s post to him tonight during a 6 p.m. council meeting at the Civic Center, 1001 W. Center St. Singh defeated Cantu and newcomer Lei Ann Larson in the Nov. 8 mayor’s race.

But Cantu expects Singh to deliver on the opportunity that Cantu said he helped create during the past four years by being the one who pushed the hardest for a close look at municipal financials. That close look — while it uncovered no illegal activity such as embezzlement — showed that the city’s books were in such a mess that no one knew exactly how much money was in specific accounts or earmarked for various projects.

The mess — due to the general ledger being undermined by departments keeping separate books — is still in the final stages of  being sorted out.

Cantu said the current council needs to not squander the foundation that has been laid for them to get the city back on track.

He views the rough spots city hall went through in the past three years as essential to make sure a sturdy financial framework is in place to build the city into a more desirable community.

The next step Cantu is said for the council to have “the political will” to ask — and make the case — for new taxes needed to address a wide array of growing problems including deteriorating streets.

Cantu said he has no regrets.

He would of, though, had preferred Singh waited another four years to run for mayor so he could have finished what he set out to do when he got elected as mayor in 2018. Cantu believes he would have defeated Larson in a head-to-head race.

“I would have supported Gary wholeheartedly in four years,” Cantu said.

Cantu said he is going to keep a close eye on what the council and city does going forward.

The 71-year-old did not rule making another run for office out if he sees things were going south.

The earliest opportunity, if he is inclined to do so, is in 2024 when the council seat that covers the area he resides in — District 1 — is on the ballot. Halford occupies that seat.

“Gary and I agree on  a lot of things but the big difference is he tells people what they want to hear and I tell people what they need to know.”

Cantu said he has basically accomplished what he set out to do four years ago this month when he was sworn in as Manteca’s 9th directly elected mayor.

“I ran on the promise I’d fix the problems,” Cantu said.

 That basically required getting Manteca’s financial house in order.

It also meant, from his perspective, of not letting developers run the city.

He noted it was pressure from the  development community over the years that blocked sufficient Public Facilities Implementation Plan fees being put in place for growth to at least pay their way  for infrastructure and amenities needed upfront.

Cantu pointed out the PFIP that was implemented starting over 30 years ago was supposed to fund a number of things including three interchanges.

“It (the fees) didn’t even fund one,” Cantu said. “We have ended up with incomplete roads and fallen short with other needs.”

Canty noted Mountain House has a robust square footage tax on all new growth that assures general government can be funded at the needed levels.

As a result, Mountain House has $900 per capita to fund city services while Manteca has $593 per capita to do the same.

Cantu said his other major accomplishment is what he calls “putting a new government in place.”

When I told the city manager (Tim Ogden at the time) that I was going to make sure Manteca got a new government, he laughed in my face,” Cantu recalled.

Today, Cantu believes key positions at city hall are staffed with people best suited to move Manteca forward.

How that happened, though, led to a series of lawsuits after people were terminated, a period of revolving doors on the city manager’s office and several other departments, as well as a scathing Grand Jury report.

Cantu dismissed much of the fallout as being the result of turmoil such a transition usually triggers.

As for the Grand Jury report itself, he noted most of the things they pinned on the city as doing wrong were already on the way to being implemented when  the report came out.

He also said the report did not find him personally responsible for transgressions, perceived or otherwise.

And while he can’t point to a major undertaking that is visible to the public that has happened during his tenure as mayor, he said he has left something much more important in place — a more solid city government  framework invisible to the public eye that is critical for securing new amenities going foward with efforts to address streets and other issues that have piled up over the years.

“I have no regrets at all,” Cantu said.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com