Removal of Smog Panelist

Upon finishing the article about Ayala seeking the ouster of Schiller I was overwhelmed by a dual sense of disappointment and disgust.

I was disappointed, because it would appear from reading the article that politicians in this state will never do anything but pay lip service to the cause of clean air. Sure, they will appoint a board for this and a commission to study that. But in the final analysis, this reader wonders as to the actual intended purpose of such entities.

I felt an even greater sense of disgust at the apparently blatant presumption of politicians to expect, and in essence to require, that their board appointees forsake their personal and professional values, skills, experience and goals--the very qualities for which they should initially have been placed on such boards--in order to avoid “stepping” on any of the “appointers’ ” toes, or the toes of their friends.

It seems to me that Schiller can only be faulted for being an incorrigible truth-teller. She is not anybody’s puppet. This has been demonstrated by her courage to stand up and speak out strongly on the controversial issues related to clean air. Surely she realized that the truth was not always what people (including those who hold public office) wanted to hear. To me, however, truth is ultimately what people need to know.

The Ontario City Council member who criticized Schiller for informing her constituents about how she (the council member) had voted on certain environmental matters should be ashamed of her lack of respect for the will and intelligence of her own constituents.

MAGGIE O’ROURKE

Culver City