Campaign of Lies Against Soka

* I hope that the media and the people following the Soka University issue can see that Soka has been the victim of a tirade of unfair investigations and lies hurled at them by the likes of Joe Edmiston, Terry Friedman and Tom Hayden.

Assemblyman Friedman charged that Soka University secretly backed candidates for the Calabasas City Council. He demanded an investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Soka was cleared.

Sen. Hayden charged that Soka University did not deserve its tax-exempt status. He demanded investigations by the IRS and the Franchise Tax Board. Soka was cleared by both agencies.

Joe Edmiston of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy tried to seize Soka University’s property by eminent domain without approval from the state. A Ventura Superior Court decision invalidated that procedure. The condemnation procedure has been stopped. Soka is in the clear.

A lie is a lie. Despite the number of times it is repeated, it still remains untrue.

The truth is that the already developed and the already disturbed Gillette property has been used for educational purposes for 40 years. The truth is that the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy showed little interest in purchasing the property until the university renovated it and cleaned it up.

The fact is that the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and its related agencies have already allocated approximately $750,000 in a three-year crusade to seize Soka’s property. This is what should be investigated. This public agency has cavalierly spent our tax dollars and has nothing to show for it.

ROSLYN J. WOLIN

Westlake Village