Lazar, Fox Would Make You Mad Too

Two letters you published on Dec. 7 attacked me for my opinions, called me an “angry” person and stated that my family “should be ashamed” of me.

It seems to me that anyone who reads about votes of City Council members Andy Fox and Judy Lazar or watched council meetings could feel angry. I brought my family to an area that was to remain semirural. We moved here to lead happy lives in an uncongested area and to spend a lot of time giggling and laughing. It’s hard to enjoy my retirement years without feeling outrage when every day I have to drive by the golf course pole forest that Fox brought to us and Lazar’s award-winning copper curtain.

It’s hard not to be angry when I watch Fox, Lazar and Michael Markey break apart and change our General Plan, all the while saying they support our planning standards. Yet I have to watch them as they vote to give sweetheart deals to developers and lobbyists who contribute to their campaigns. Look at their votes on Dos Vientos, the Target shopping center and Woodridge.

One letter you published stated that the city deserved better than my “extremist rantings.” The writer may characterize concerns by citizens like myself as “extremist” because we care about controlled growth and want accountability. Perhaps it doesn’t bother her that Thousand Oaks is referred to as “thousand stumps” by citizens of nearby cities who watch the wheelings and dealings of Thousand Oaks politics.

As for how my family feels about me, they are proud of me. They watch the people that these writers praise ruining our city. They see that their No. 1 concern is not quality of life for residents but building a big bureaucracy and helping developers earn bigger profits.

It is not ordinary citizens like myself who ask only that our elected officials be held accountable for their votes who bring us the Winnie Mandelas, O.J. Simpsons and Saddam Husseins, as the letter-writer states. It’s people like Fox, Markey and Lazar, who insist that they know best and can do anything they want without being held accountable.

JACK DAVIS

Thousand Oaks