Zeanah Recall Effort Stirs Up Both Sides

Open response to letter from Megan Green published Oct. 12:

Dear Megan,

Since I started working on the recall of Elois Zeanah almost one year ago, I have only responded to one letter to the editor, but I wanted to respond to yours because you are only a couple of years younger than most of my employees and I think it’s particularly important for young people to understand why this recall is so important.

This recall is about the truth. I moved to Thousand Oaks about 15 years ago, about the same year you were born. When your parents had you, I am sure that they were full of hopes and dreams for you and from your letter I can see that they are probably coming true. I also had hopes and dreams to raise my family and build my business here in Thousand Oaks and I have been so lucky to be able to do that.

When I opened my stores in Thousand Oaks and began my adult life here, my dream was to have a company that didn’t make the same mistakes as other people I had worked for. I didn’t care if I had one store or the 10 I ended up with; I wanted my company to have employees that were proud of it, a company that was fun to work for, a place where when people came to work they felt safe and like they belonged.

My husband and I lived in Thousand Oaks for 14 years until we bought a home in Moorpark last year. My office is still in Thousand Oaks, where it’s always been. Most of my employees live here and my heart is here just as much as if I lived south of Santa Rosa Road instead of north of it.

Megan, whoever told you that I want Dos Vientos developed lied to you. I have nothing to do with any developers. I don’t own any land and when I built my store in Newbury Park, I didn’t even know what Dos Vientos was. That is a perfect example of what this recall is about: a politician who won’t tell the truth.

We have a City Councll member who does not tell the truth about many things and that causes some people to be confused about what the truth is. Lies can cost a city millions of dollars and that has happened in Thousand Oaks. Lies can cause a city to be afraid, distrusting and cynical and that has happened in Thousand Oaks. When that happens, it takes a lot of people to come forward and put their reputations and personal money on the line.

Many people believe that Councilwoman Zeanah is not good for our city and have joined together on this recall issue. It has not been easy for us. Zeanah says we are doing it because we will receive financial gain from it or because we want to run for office ourselves.

That is not true; we are doing it because we believe that our good names and businesses and reputations aren’t worth much if we are not willing to put them on the line for what we believe in. More than 31,000 people signed two petitions to recall Zeanah, and that is the truth. When a politician does as much damage to a city as Zeanah has done to Thousand Oaks, it is called malfeasance. It is also called irresponsible government.

When it is best for the city that a politician no longer serve, it is up to the people to vote to make that decision. People died for that constitutional right long ago. It is also your right, Megan, not to agree with us and I respect you for that. If you choose to order your pizza someplace else, we have many worthy competitors who will serve you well. But it was important to me to tell you the truth.

JILL LEDERER

Chief executive officer,

BTR Inc.

Thousand Oaks

*

“Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion” -- Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Whig member of Parliament.

It appears to this longtime, usually silent resident of Thousand Oaks that this is exactly what we get from Councilwoman Elois Zeanah: industry, judgment, independence of mind, without betrayal.

Zeanah attempts to hold the city government accountable to its charge to serve the public interest. In all matters. So whether or not her judgment and my opinion concur on a specific issue, she speaks for me.

And I, for one, am convinced the city, any healthy democracy, needs more, not fewer, Zeanahs.

CHARLES W. MACUNE Jr.

Thousand Oaks