| | Published October 15th, 2008
| Letters to the Editor
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Orinda
Dear Editor:
A recent letter by Clyde Vaughn attacks Steve Glazer regarding discussions by the Orinda City Council on the issue of moving the power lines that cross the village side of our downtown. This matter of the effect of the high wire lines on Orinda's downtown has been under discussion by a citizen's Task Force for the past 12 months. No recommendation whatsoever has come before the Council. Members of the Task Force wanted to understand the cost and timeline if a formal study by PG&E were to take place. City staff posed these questions to PG&E and provided the responses to the Council.
The Council heard the staff report and took no action. Any resident can review the Council minutes at http://old.ci.orinda.ca.us/agendas/pdfs/c080318m.pdf. The minutes of the meeting show that every Councilmember, including Mr. Glazer, spoke in opposition to moving the towers into a residential area. In fact, the minutes of the meeting say: "Councilmember Glazer received clarification that, if the Council took no action on the matter, staff would not be authorized to proceed with a study and no action would be taken." This was the exact outcome, in total contrast to the fabricated account of the meeting put forward by Mr. Vaughn.
While Mr. Vaughn has the right to his opinion, misstating the facts of a public record is a disservice to all and to the democratic process. Sadly, this is a long-time pattern with Mr. Vaughn, who regularly ignores facts and puts forward erroneous opinions.
When Mr. Glazer ran four years ago for the Council, he faced the same type of smear attacks, but was elected by an overwhelming majority. I am pleased to support his bid for re-election to the Council. As our former Mayor and as a Councilmember, he has worked diligently and successfully to promote transparency in city government and consensus-based solutions to problems.
Sue Severson
Mayor Pro Tem
Orinda City Council
Dear Editors,
Victoria Robinson Smith, long time Orinda resident and lawyer, is running for reelection to the Orinda City Council. I am glad to be able to recommend her for reelection. She has been a caring and intelligent councilmember, and is now a thoroughly experienced one too. Her interest and understanding of the businesses of downtown Orinda benefits this sector, and is important to us all. I am the owner of the 32 year old Orinda Book Store, and have been impressed with Victoria Smith's appreciation of local businesses and her availability to them. I think her presence on the City Council is vital to the "heart of Orinda," and I urge you to vote to keep her in office.
Sincerely,
Janet Boreta
Dear Editor,
We are writing to urge other Orinda voters to join us in supporting the re-election of Mayor Victoria Smith to the City Council. She has been a tireless advocate of public safety, including disaster preparedness, Safe Routes to School, and over-all traffic safety, and has worked diligently to find a responsible means of repairing our roads. She has also been involved in the Chamber of Commerce 'Shop Orinda' program and efforts to revitalize our business areas. Her recent work on the Pulte and former library developments will help our city meet state requirements for affordable housing, prevent our loss of Measure C funding, and, hopefully, make it possible for people who work in Orinda to live in Orinda.
Victoria Smith has served the citizens of Orinda well on both the Planning Commission and the City Council. She deserves our support. We need her energy and creativity on our City Council. Let's re-elect Victoria Smith to the Orinda City Council!
Ellen and Joffa Dale
Orinda
Dear Editor,
I would like to encourage all my friends and neighbors in Orinda to re-elect Victoria Smith to the City Council. We need Victoria Smith's continued leadership. We need a city council person who understands critical infrastructure needs and is willing to work for solutions. Victoria Smith understands that infrastructure has a profound effect on our local economy and the people who live in Orinda. Among Victoria's many accomplishments are the repaving of Moraga Way and the passing of Measure E, the parcel tax that provides the extra hours so that our library stays open 60 hours a week. She created the Traffic Safety Advisory Commission to help neighborhoods manage traffic and has served for many years as a Parents Club volunteer with our schools.
Please join me in voting for Orinda's future. Vote for Victoria Smith.
Pam Pulley
Orinda
Dear Editor:
As an interested resident of the City of Orinda I routinely attend city meetings whether of the City Council or one of the City's committees, taskforces or commissions. There is usually a mechanism for giving input through the public forum component at city meetings. I certainly support having input in that fashion. I realize there are some restrictions about how meetings can be run in compliance with the Brown Act. I am supportive of the idea that city government involve its residents and obtain their input on matters of importance for governance.
I am not the first resident to suggest the idea of a "citizen ombudsman " to be utilized by the City of Orinda in representing its constituents. It would be helpful if there was a designated liaison that residents could go to with the authority to look into matters beyond what other staff have time for. I conceptualize this position as a quarter to half time position. The City could partner with the local universities in sponsoring an internship which would make this a low cost endeavor. The School of Public Policy at U.C. Berkeley, the School of Business at St. Mary's College and an appropriate department at J.F.K. University would be natural potential partners. These schools of higher education have as part of their mission maintaining ties to local communities. Internship programs are promoted at these colleges as a means of giving students real life experience.
Communication between City Hall and the residents of Orinda is a crucial element to effective representative government. The proposed citizen ombudsman program has the potential for helping Orindans with their concerns and complaints. We have local talent that is available to help us in developing such a program. This would be a supplement to the existing open20forum and would not undermine those important efforts.
Very truly yours,
Dr. Bob Larsen
Orinda
To the Editor:
Orinda has many qualities of which we can be proud: our schools, our climate, the beauty of our surroundings.
We can also look to our leaders. One of them, Victoria Smith, has served our community with particular distinction: as a Planning Commissioner, Member of the City Council and Mayor. She has been a key figure in dealing effectively with the major issues facing our city.
Victoria is now up for re-election as a member of the City Council. Those who believe in good government should support her with great enthusiasm.
In these trouble times we need representatives who understand the issues and who will exercise fiscal responsibility in dealing with them. We urge our citizens to vote for Victoria Smith for re-election to the Orinda City Council.
Bea and Dick Heggie
Orinda
Dear Editor,
Victoria Smith is a keeper. She is a careful financial steward with a reasoned, analytic approach to problems. As a true advocate of Orinda's best interests, she has been a long-time Parents' Club volunteer, organized the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee and has worked tirelessly to improve our public roads.
Victoria's deep concern for our community's needs and her broad experience through work with the schools, the Chamber, advisory groups and the City Council combine to make her an outstanding leader in Orinda.
Vote to keep Victoria Smith on the City Council.
Jean Lyford
Orinda
Editor:
We support Mayor Victoria Smith for her basic traits: integrity, intelligence, common sense, commitment to and understanding of Orinda, and a strong sense of fair play-qualities that are critical to continued excellent leadership in our community.
Chris and Anne Marie Kniel
Orinda
Dear Editor:
I had the good fortune to spend two years on the Orinda City Council with Victoria Smith and have closely followed her performance since then. Victoria gets top marks for her performance, especially this year when she has been Mayor. In fact, I don't think very many have done as good a job as she has done serving the people of Orinda.
Victoria is both hard working and intelligent. She always does her homework and asks good questions. She approaches issues with lots of common sense and savvy. She uses her good judgment to make excellent decisions and always articulates her reasons in a clear and concise manner. Most importantly, Victoria's only agenda is doing what is right for Orinda and its citizens.
I know Victoria will continue to be an excellent Council member and urge Orindans to vote for her on November 4th.
Bill Judge
Former Mayor of Orinda
Dear Editor,
I first met Victoria Smith in 2003 while serving as a Planning Commissioner for the City of Orinda. I remember watching her transform from a newcomer to one the most effective Commissioners within just a few meetings. She was always well prepared, reasonable and well spoken.
After serving as a Planning Commissioner, Victoria was elected to the City Council and has served as Mayor. If you go to a City Council meeting you will see what I mean about being effective. She does her homework on every item on the agenda and it shows. She makes informed decisions, speaks clearly and is to the point.
As a council member, Victoria had the foresight to spearhead the creation of the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee, of which I am a member. With her guidance we completed Traffic Calming guidelines for the City last year. With her strong support, we are now worki |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA