11-22-02letters

11-6
To the editor:
Once again the Ojai Valley News proves the positive power of the pen and the power of OVN's circulation throughout the valley.
As I arrived home this evening, among other calls from Ojai voters, I received a message to call Ojai City Councilman Joe DeVito. The call from Mr. DeVito was in response to my letter of Nov. 6, as printed in the Ojai Valley News.
I phoned Mr. DeVito and during our 15- to 20-minute conversation I learned several things about Mr. DeVito and I trust he learned several things about me.
Mr. DeVito admitted that the Web page address for his City Council campaign (devitoj@vcss.12k.ca.us) was, in fact, a part of the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Web site just as I noted. Mr. DeVito explained that one of the perks - my word, not Mr. DeVito's - to retired members of the school system and some former employees is that they can make use of the VCSS Web system. Mr. DeVito also explained that he pays the county for the monthly service provided. Mr. DeVito suggested that, had I spent five more minutes in my investigation; I would have known how the system works.
I explained to Mr. DeVito that my job as a voter was not to determine the intricate workings of a retirement package given to former and/or retired school system employees. My job as a voter was to determine what a candidate stands for, and that I did that based on the information provided by the candidate himself. I suggested that, had Mr. DeVito used some othe means for Internet access by constituents, there would have been no necessity for Mr. DeVito to have phoned my home.
I learned that Mr. DeVito thought that my "characterization" of him was inaccurate when I wrote, "Joe DeVito is a current member of the Ojai City Council and, in an effort to continue to get paid by the taxpayers, Joe DeVito is running for City Council again."
Mr. DeVito went on to apprise me that the salary for City Council members was $75, and he went on to tell me of his numerous years of service to the city of Ojai, the Ventura School System and the many other civic committees, groups and organizations on which he has served. As I stated in my letter to the OVN, I was aware that Mr. DeVito was a 16-year incumbent member of the City Council and three-term mayor of Ojai.
I reminded Mr. DeVito that he lists his occupation on the Internet as "Incumbent." Most people would agree that the word "occupation" means your job, what you do for a living, what you do for income.
Factually, Mr. DeVito is a current member of the Ojai City Council and my statement is accurate. Factually, on the Internet, Mr. DeVito himself, lists his occupation as "Incumbent," which means that he is getting paid by the taxpayers and my statement is accurate. Factually, Mr. DeVito will continue to be paid by the taxpayers since he won the election yesterday and, once again, my statement is accurate.
In my telephone conversation with Mr. DeVito I learned that Mrs. DeVito suffers from a medical condition which elevates as a result of stress. I learned that reading my statements in the OVN heightened her stress level.
Like most opinionated people I am not quick to apologize for factual commentary, however, Mr. DeVito acknowledged that he understood that it was not my intent to cause any discomfort to Mrs. DeVito nor any other member of his family.
This brings up an interesting point for discussion. Should verifiable truths and personal opinions about politicians be tempered with a "lighter pen" predicated upon the potential impact of truth and opinion?
Toward the end of our phone conversation, Mr. DeVito thanked me for putting his campaign phone number in my opinion letter to OVN because he appreciated people calling him to express their feelings. He also suggested that had I called him first, he could have explained the situation to me. I explained that, in the past I have taken the phone call and letter writing path to reach politicians only to be answered by a machine, a campaign worker or a form letter. I'm still waiting for a phone call back from Gov. Davis and Hillary Clinton.
I learned that Mr. DeVito agreed with me about the unsightly proliferation of campaign signs all around the area on public property. I told Mr. DeVito that, unlike almost every other candidate for any office, I did not see any "Vote For Joe" campaign signs around the area. Mr. DeVito told that he did not like to use signs that clutter the environment. Score one for Joe!
As I said before, during our 15- to 20-minute conversation I learned several things about Joe DeVito and I trust he learned several things about me.
After the conversation with Mr. DeVito I felt that I had met someone who truly cares about the people of Ojai, the politics of Ojai and the necessity for citizens to participate in government. I trust Mr. DeVito felt that he met someone who feels the same.
If Joe DeVito runs for office again, I honestly do not know if I would vote for him. What I do know is that I would volunteer to be his campaign manager. And in that capacity I would ensure that even the appearance of impropriety not be cast to the voters, even if there is an explanation. I would remind the candidate that the use of an e-mail address that is part of a taxpayer-funded system really does appear to be improper. And, I would tell him that "Incumbent" as an occupation, combined with more than 20 years in elected offices, means "career politician" to the voters.
I believe that my telephone conversation with Joe DeVito ended with an understanding of each other and, unfortunately, it terminated before I could say, "Hey, Joe, I would like to meet you for a cup of coffee as you suggested."

Al Westcott
Ojai

Seek peace before punishment

11-11
To the editor:
On Nov. 8, the United Nations ratified a new Iraq resolution. The resolution gives Iraq seven days to accept the terms; 30 days to declare all chemical, biological and nuclear programs; 45 days to get U.N. weapons inspectors into Iraq; and another 60 after that to complete all inspections.
At any time the inspectors may report back with violations and the U.N. has said it will decide upon action when the time comes. The U.S. government, under the leadership of President Bush, has decided it will take its own action if it deems U.N. actions not harsh enough. But why do we care so much about Iraq? Here's the information behind the conflict:
The modern-day conflict between the United States and Iraq can be traced back to the Iraq-Iran War of the early 1980s. At the time, Iran, the largest power in the Middle East, was experiencing an Islamic revolution. Feeling threatened, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein decided to invade the U.S.-supported and technologically superior Iran. President Jimmy Carter immediately took a stance of neutrality. The first few years were disastrous for Iraq, especially 1982. When Ronald Reagan entered office he was forced to decide whether to maintain neutrality, like Carter, and let Iraq lose miserably or intervene and aid Iraq.
For the next decade the United States supported Iraq, during and after the war. The U.S. sent biological weapons, such as anthrax, chemical weapons and military intelligence. When Hussein mustard gassed the people of Iran, the U.S. turned its head and just gave a little slap on the wrist. The U.S. also gave billions of dollars worth of "grain credit" to Iraq, money that was never spent on food. The United States lobbied endlessly for Iraq with George Bush continuing on his predecessor's work.
With the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States began taking aid away from countries once threatened by communism. Iraq got angry and the U.S. attacked to prevent Iraq from becoming violent. This became the Gulf War. President George Bush decided not to oust Saddam Hussein from his seat and now we have the new Iraq conflict. There are ways to get rid of Hussein without bombing the people and these peaceful resolutions should be fully explored before the U.S. attacks. Hussein won't just leave, he needs to be removed and the people of Iraq need to be protected. The United States made this mess, now they need to clean it up without killing more innocent people.

Meredith Jung
Ojai

Board vet urges school support

11-12
To the editor:
I would like to thank the voters in the Ojai Valley for their support during my 23 years as a member of the Board of Education for the Ojai Unified School District. It was a very rewarding experience for me and I can only hope that I made some small difference during my term as a board member.
I was born, raised and educated in Ojai, and it was a special privilege for me to have served the community I grew up in and love. I know there were times that my friends, neighbors and even some relatives disagreed with decisions made by the board, but I can assure you they were always made with a great deal of thought about what was right for our children. I had some preconceived ideas about the field of education when I first took office in 1979, but I soon learned that I had very little knowledge about public education and I continued to learn for the next 23 years.
Ojai is truly blessed with outstanding teachers, classified employees, administrators and, most of all, our students. All of our employees have dedicated their lives to educating our children which, along with public safety, is the most important service we receive for our tax dollars.
During the next 10 years, our school district and our board will be faced with declining enrollment and unstable economic times. They will need the support from each and every member of the community to meet these challenges. Please give them your support so that we can continue to provide a quality education for our children.

Vince France
Ojai

Dismayed by France departure

11-14
To the editor:
Regarding my reaction to the Nov. 11 article in the Ventura Star Free Press regarding Vince France's inability to purchase property in the Ojai Valley - this saddened me. As a young man, I loved growing up in Ojai, teasing the police or being a rascal - attending Villanova Prep. as did Mr. France.
I was dismayed that a man must leave the community he served so well. It is the valley's loss and we all wish him well.

David H. Hirschberg
Ojai

Council reminded of other views

11-12
To the editor:
With regard to Bret Bradigan's editorial that the "new city council is mistaken to believe the defeat of Measure C means that traffic is not a voter priority," I would like to add another thought.
We have almost 30,000 people in this valley who love the place and call it home. Of those 30,000, about 7,000 can actually vote in city elections.
With such a vast majority of the citizenry unable to express their views, the City Council should be very wary of any view they think represents a majority opinion about anything around here. And I think the CPO does a splendid job of reminding them of this.

Patricia Shelton
Ojai

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