VanderKolk Criticized

Is money the root of all evil? With Ventura County supervisors and top level managers, is there any doubt?

With great disappointment to many of us, it seems even our new, youngest supervisor--Ms. Maria VanderKolk--has become addicted to feeding at the public trough. Apparently not satisfied with her starting salary of $73,765.74, pay and perks, she spoke in favor of maintaining and/or increasing extra pay for attending meetings. When her colleagues mentioned that was already part of their job, she dropped the subject.

Has she even abandoned the environmentalists that put her in office by putting the Ahmanson Ranch housing project on the fast track? She voted to build the new jail in the middle of a green belt. She voted for the “golden handshakes” that will give county’s top management, already qualified for generous retirement pay and benefits, extra going-away pay, increasing their present obscene “lifetime” retirement booty at the cost of laying off other county workers (peons).

Eighteen days after she voted for their generous pay and benefit increases, the Ventura County firefighters and sheriffs associations held a fund-raising barbecue in her honor. Prior to that, she had raised $33,438.42, which is peanuts compared to some of the other supervisors, but she’s learning fast!

What is happening to our government? It will only get worse unless you--citizens, taxpayers and voters--get involved. Don’t let this fade with time back to the status quo, as they hope it will.

DON HOLLINGSWORTH

Camarillo