About 100 Temescal Valley residents attended the Dec. 10 Corona Planning Commission public hearing on the city’s annexation proposal. Sixteen people spoke out against it — no one spoke in favor. (See: Corona: Annexation push moves forward)

It was apparent that commissioners had done little or no homework on the issue, especially when one asked a city staff member, “How did we get here?” So it came as no surprise when commissioners voted unanimously in favor of the annexation — just rubber-stamping the proposal to move it forward to the public hearing before the City Council.

A couple of days after the meeting, I was talking to a friend who has City Hall connections. He said he overheard a manager tell a city worker that the annexation was a done deal based on the low number of Temescal Valley residents who turned out for the Planning Commission hearing.

I would love to see 1,000 Temescal Valley residents at the yet-to-be-announced public hearing before the City Council. That’s what it’s going to take to show the city we’re serious — and there is strength in numbers. United we stand, divided we fall.