Rebuttal on Canyon Fight

I take issue with Gary A. Waldman’s clever letter promoting a tone of innocence and victimization, highlighted with the use of a child in the story, when in fact it was full of misrepresentation, distortion and half-truths.

The meeting referred to by Mr. Waldman was not a town hall meeting but a meeting of the Encino Hillside Traffic Safety Organization, which had invited Councilman Marvin Braude as a featured guest. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the serious traffic problems along the freeway bypass route in the Encino hillsides, which are causing serious threats to the safety of the residents.

The Friends of the Caballero Canyon had had their meeting with Councilman Braude where they had an opportunity to air their views. This was our meeting and our turn. Our permit was for a “community meeting of Encino residents with Councilman Marvin Braude.”

Mr. Waldman’s statement that “Only Encino residents were allowed in. Tarzana residents were excluded.” is simply not true. Equally untrue is his statement that “a whole community was systematically excluded from their right to hear their elected official speak in a public forum.”

No one was denied access. The auditorium was filled to capacity with residents of Encino and Tarzana as well as “environmentalists” who are from Tarzana as well as other locations. About 100 Encino residents were locked out from their meeting along with some Tarzana residents and “environmentalists.” About another 50 Encinians left when they witnessed the violence perpetrated by the “environmentalists.”

Unmentioned in the letter is that an “environmentalist” climbed up on the roof of the school to illegally attach a banner to the school building; another jumped on the school’s piano and howled like a coyote. A young man jumped Rob Glushon, the president of the Encino Property Owners Assn., from behind and knocked him into the gutter, while another slugged his mother-in-law in the face when she came to Mr. Glushon’s rescue.

The meeting of our organization had been announced to the Friends of the Caballero Canyon’s membership as if it were their own. The only responsible decision I could make as chairperson of the meeting was to provide for police protection and backup security to protect Councilman Braude and the participants. The professional security guards experienced in crowd control prevented a major riot and serious injury.

Once the pounding of the doors and the threats of a barricade by “the Friends” had been quelled by police officers and an overhead police helicopter, we were able to allow the democratic process to endure and to conduct an orderly meeting with the active presence of “the Friends” and Tarzana residents.

MADELINE DE ANTONIO

Encino

De Antonio is president of the Encino Hillside Traffic Safety Organization.