Disagree but Get the Facts First

As chairman of the Huntington Beach Planning Commission, I would like to correct the misinformation contained in the Feb. 2 letter to the editor from Huntington Beach resident Ronald Hobbs (“Planners, Council: Builders’ Puppets?”).

Mr. Hobbs’ concern appears to be that the Planning Commission has not taken action on the proposal by the Huntington Beach Union High School District to develop the Wintersburg site at the corner of Golden West and Warner, and it is true that this matter has been continued by the commission to the March meeting.

Unfortunately, at that point, he has chosen to invent some very serious allegations regarding the reasons for this action, and specifically to impugn my reputation, implying somehow that I would not be in favor of a project which would benefit the schools because I am a realtor. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only did I not vote on this matter, I did not even participate in the discussion since I own property near the school site and I did not want to risk any conflict of interest.

I believe in the democratic process and the rights of the citizenry to disagree with decisions made by local officials, but I believe all of us have the obligation to seek out the real facts and state them truthfully.

JAN SHOMAKER, Chairman, Huntington Beach Planning Commission