Soka and Development
With all the talk about cleaning up politics, you would think that more of our elected officials would be interested in investigating the recent Calabasas Taxpayers Committee scandal, and the allegations that the Soka organization is attempting to buy or influence the local elections (“Inquiry Into Mailer Is Sought,” Times Valley Edition, Sept. 15).
Isn’t it more than simply suspicious when one day Mike Lewis (longtime Soka lobbyist) claims that “he had no interest in Calabasas politics and didn’t even know any of the people who live there,” then, one month later, the same Lewis states “the taxpayers’ association was unrelated to his work for the school (Soka) and was financed by donations from himself, his wife, Lorraine, and his partner, Jeff Jenkins.”
He got caught. Soka got caught. How stupid do they think we are? And isn’t anyone going to do anything about it?
I’ve read repeated remarks from Alexis Byfuglin and a very small handful of Soka supporters, condemning the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy for hiring “high-priced lobbyists” to try to stop the Soka development.
Hurray for the conservancy. This is what I want my tax dollars to be used for.
LISA CLARK, Monte Nido
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