Political Banter in Thousand Oaks

* Almost lost among public response to the vicious propaganda of the real estate developer-instigated campaign to throw Elois Zeanah off the City Council is the startling fact that Zeanah must win 50% plus one vote of all votes cast in order to retain her seat for the last year of her term.

We all take for granted in elections that whoever wins the most votes . . . the election, whether it’s 55% of the votes, or 40%. Simple plurality wins in most elections. But that’s just not true in California when it comes to recall elections. It’s imperative for all Thousand Oaks voters to make a special effort to cast an absentee ballot on the Nov. 4 ballot against the recall if we want her to continue her fight for slow, responsible growth in our city and keep our community from becoming another San Fernando Valley.

A “No” vote keeps her on the council to fill out her term working for the vast majority of Thousand Oaks residents, residents who so far have elected her to two terms to do what she has been doing, honestly advancing the interests of the majority of our citizens and working against the back-room tactics of certain local officials and commercial interests intent on build, build, build indiscriminately. Dos Vientos. Woodridge. Thousands of new homes to beat the rapidly approaching “build-out” limit. Then what? Extend the limits? Annex more land? It’s not what most of us want for Thousand Oaks.

It’s unfortunate that the state’s $250 personal contribution limit on candidates running for office isn’t applied to recall elections. Which is why the big-money developer interests seized on the loophole to pump more than a quarter-of-a-million dollars into a professionally purchased propaganda campaign to unseat Zeanah. That’s four times more than has ever been spent on a City Council race. And there are still weeks to go before the election.

If Zeanah falls victim to this campaign of lies that has needlessly divided our city, who’s next? Linda Parks? Then the council will be 100% pro-development, and it will be the fault of nothing but our own indifference. We must vote “No.” That’s a vote for Elois Zeanah, and we’ll keep her strong voice for community responsibility on the City Council.

ROBERT S. KNAPP

Thousand Oaks

* By any objective and fair measure, Dennis Gillette is the most qualified candidate for the Thousand Oaks City Council in the 30 years my family and I have lived in Thousand Oaks.

Gillette spent 25 years with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, rising to the position of assistant sheriff. That is where I met him, since I have been a deputy district attorney for 31 years.

Since then he has served in his present position as a vice president for administrative services at Cal Lutheran University, participated in numerous civic activities including youth sports, and is presently on the board of the Conejo Recreation and Park District.

This experience in high positions and numerous other civic and community activities plus the highest personal qualities add up to a candidate who is exceptionally qualified for the City Council and has the dedication and expertise to do the outstanding job I know he would do.

I hope voters will elect this outstanding candidate to the City Council.

PETE KOSSORIS

Thousand Oaks

* Why is the recall committee spending such big money to silence a sweet Southern belle? Why are they so afraid of her? Could it be that this soft-spoken lady carries a big stick?

President Teddy Roosevelt once said “speak softly but carry a big stick.” Our Councilwoman Elois Zeanah does just this.

She refuses to take contributions from developers and she is not afraid to stand up to them to protect our interests and our laws. If she weren’t on the City Council, the developers would have an easier time getting developments passed that break our laws and ruin our community.

I can’t believe Peter Turpel, Jill Lederer and other members of the recall committee have brought such divisiveness and nasty politics to our lovely family community. The hostility they showed the Thousand Oaks resident and lawyer Edward Masry is just as shocking. I want to thank Masry for his courage to stand up for what is right and to help those of us who live here stop the special interests from buying democracy.

MARIE KOERNER

Thousand Oaks

* We used to lament the passing of the harness and whip maker because of the automobile. They were victims of progress.

It was and is progress that has made Thousand Oaks the best place in the world to live and raise a family. This was brought home to me as we made the final payment on our 30-year mortgage.

Not only have we paid for our home, but thanks to this city we have raised our children and seen our grandchildren grow to be adults, and one of them has blessed us with great-grandchildren.

None of this would have been possible if someone was barricading city limits and saying, “We have 30,000 inhabitants and we don’t want any more growth.”

Yes, there is more traffic now and more signals than 30 years ago, but we have a great city and there are not too many who would trade it for far away places.

Yes, we lament the passing of old friends like Holiday Hardware, Robbs and Oakdale Market for they were the victims of progress. There are those like Elois Zeanah and Linda Parks who have a vision against orderly progress. We are blessed with more jobs available (Amgen is planning to hire 2,000 more in the next two years) in this city. Thanks to that orderly progress our children can find work and don’t have to move away or, worse, commute for a living.

We thank God we made the decision to move to this wonderful city. If this city wishes to continue its orderly progress, the best [means of keeping] it a great city are to recall Zeanah and elect Dennis Gillette.

JERRY SEROTA

Thousand Oaks

* I was appalled to read a statement attributed to Elois Zeanah stating that those running to replace her should be ashamed of themselves, and what good person would run for her seat?

I was aghast but not surprised by this bold display of arrogance. It is just a further confirmation of her “my way or the highway” philosophy.

Here are three people of the community offering to step forward in good faith and help to heal the wounds inflicted by a seated council member, and that person shames them and infers that they are less than honorable. Is it any wonder that thousands of people have signed petitions for her recall?

We cannot afford council members who refuse to recognize the real problems and issues this city faces, who instead choose to concentrate on one single issue while ignoring all others, and who elect to play emotional hopscotch to try and win votes.

Vote yes, recall Elois Zeanah on Nov. 4.

LOUANN and RICK LEMMO

Newbury Park

* Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” I’ve remained silent too long, but I feel confident that it is not too late to speak my piece. I was prompted in this effort by Kim Kerns, a political science student at Moorpark College who telephoned me last week to get my position on the entire recall effort. She asked some very intelligent questions, the toughest being, “Why haven’t we heard more from you about your support for Elois Zeanah?”

I am, after all, the Thousand Oaks citizen who filed a successful lawsuit against the group trying to recall her, a suit that forced them to go back to the drawing board and collect all the signatures again.

Councilwoman Zeanah is still my candidate of choice, and her slow-growth platform (now supported by Councilwoman Linda Parks) remains my platform of choice. My only involvement in the recall effort thus far has been to challenge the validity of the first set of Yes! Recall Elois Zeanah petitions, since they violated every tenet of the California Electoral Law.

As law-abiding Americans, we all have a duty to ensure that the interests of Thousand Oaks taxpayers and voters continue to be protected. City Clerk Nancy Dillon made a mistake--that is neither my fault nor that of Zeanah.

Once Judge Hadden ruled in favor of my lawsuit, agreeing that the recall signatures had been illegally obtained and were therefore invalid, it was a fairly simple matter for me to recover the legal and court costs associated with that just effort.

I took some heat in the paper from Peter Turpel as being a phantom in this lawsuit, and that I was just fronting for Zeanah to quash the recall. It’s time I addressed that misstatement head-on.

For the record, if Peter Turpel had done his homework, he would have realized that I was not “unavailable for comment”--in fact, no member of the newspaper media bothered to call me until the legal fees and court costs had been awarded. (Note: My phone numbers have been listed for all of my 25 years as a resident of Thousand Oaks, and I have published them for all my students for the past five years.)

Let’s get this straight, Mr. Turpel. I wouldn’t know you if I fell over you--for that reason, it would be irresponsible of me to accuse you of being a front for anyone.

As to your suggestions and innuendoes that I have been a front for anyone or anything, let me offer you some advice: This is not a label which can be hung lightly on anyone who is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, who subsequently won a Fulbright Scholarship (University of Paris, 1965-66), and earned two master’s degrees after two tours as a combat pilot in Vietnam. Aside from my normal duties during a 20-plus-year naval career, no on has ever told me what to do.

To paraphrase the quote of a relatively famous ancestor of mine, Gen. George S. Patton, “You never win a war by dying for your country--you win by making the other [guy] die for his.” It’s time to help Zeanah win her war by making this recall effort self-destruct.

To those of you who are critical about what I have done, that is your right. . . . It is a right which I fought to defend many years ago, and one for which I still hold the utmost respect. Let me point out one thing, however--part of my defense of that right involved landing a $20-million A-7E on a dark pitching aircraft carrier deck after returning from night combat missions over North Vietnam.

If you would agree that I probably learned a thing or two about making tough decisions in a hostile environment, I would submit that my experience pales in comparison to what Zeanah has been through during the past few years. She deserves your support and your thanks more than anyone I can think of. Vote no on the “recall Zeanah” ballot.

THOMAS B. HUMPHREYS

Thousand Oaks

* Thousand Oaks is a diamond in the armpit of urban sprawl. What produced the tremendous pressure that raised your property value? Flight from the L.A. tarpits and the uglification of our neighboring communities.

And why are we so special? Our community was established with a deep respect for its “golden egg.” Open space was guaranteed protection in the development of the General Plan. Our first Civic Center was the [realization] of this vision: low profile, generous natural landscape, and built for a modest budget. Times have changed, and so has leadership’s commitment to our General Plan.

When the Cultural Heritage Board toured Thousand Oaks’ first Civic Center for evaluation as a local landmark, only one council member was present. Elois Zeanah felt strong enough about preserving our award-winning building, our public assets, and our history that she alone attended the tour.

Her efforts to preserve the “Eyebrows on the Hill,” the Landmark Dos Vientos Barns and our General Plan guarantee my “no” recall vote on Nov. 4.

WILLIAM MAPLE

Thousand Oaks

* My family and I have lived in the Conejo Valley for more than two decades. In those more than 20 years, candidates for city office always ran as individuals. When elected, the council members worked with and respected their peers, though often disagreeing.

Always, that is, until 1992, when Elois Zeanah chaired the campaign of a candidate she had personally selected. Two years later, she ran a slate of three (two of whom had never--before or after--been involved in this community) in a more serious attempt to gain control of the city. Last year, she again championed a joint slate of two candidates in a similar effort.

In all the campaigns with which she has been involved, Zeanah has formed several committees in order to hide the contributions received from her out-of-town supporters. Note well, at least two committees were formed to fight the current recall effort! I wonder if there will be another early morning flier full of hateful lies and unsubstantiated innuendoes thrown onto my driveway over the coming weekend as happened last year. This was done by a group claiming no need to identify themselves since it was spending less than the [state]-required $1,000!

The many council members who served before her are largely responsible for the way our beautiful valley developed, with its nearly completed ring of open space. Excellent professional staff greatly aided the efforts of those fine leaders. According to Zeanah, she alone is responsible for the local quality of life. Despite her claims, since taking office, Zeanah has voted against all open space donations!

Zeanah’s track record includes:

* Organizing and orchestrating the negative, nasty, often vulgar comments of her supporters at council meetings.

* Introducing slate politics and organizing the city’s first political machine.

* Regularly making venomous allegations about the city manager, the city attorney, city staff and private citizens, without any factual substantiation.

* Making it her personal policy as a council member to refuse to meet with and listen to all the residents of the city. (Zeanah returns only the calls of those she agrees with or thinks she can use for her own purposes.)

* Coming to council meetings with her mind made up, thus denying issues a true public hearing. (One has only to look at tapes of council hearings to watch her read her prepared statements.)

* Prolonging council meetings by restating questions when city staff and consultants respond contrary to her desires.

Zeanah has antagonized and obstructed long enough. The wonderful attributes of this city can only withstand her undermining and demeaning efforts so long.

On Nov. 4, vote to recall Elois Zeanah.

NANCY D. GRASMEHR

Thousand Oaks