MAILBAG - March 16, 2000

FLIER MISQUOTED MAYOR

On a recent flier urging a “Yes” vote on Measure F, a measure that I

endorsed, there was a quote on the reverse side with my name attached.

This quote was about the Orange County Board of Supervisors, and it

related to the golf course at Mile Square Park. This quote never came

from me in casual conversation, in any speech, or in any written

document. I never made any such comment, and I have asked the Measure F

campaign headquarters to immediately send a letter of apology to the

Board of Supervisors stating that this was an error on their part.

The fact is that Fountain Valley is most appreciative of the 23.5 acres

that the Board of Supervisors turned over to our city for the addition to

our recreation center. The added baseball and soccer fields, etc., will

make Fountain Valley one of the best, if not the best, recreation centers

in Southern California. That’s a big thank you to the Orange County Board

of Supervisors from the City of Fountain Valley.

REMEMBER MEASURE I IN NOVEMBER

For those of us who did not appreciate the way our city and school board

officials handled the Crest View/Wal-Mart/Measure I issue to date, here’s

a suggestion:

Save one of those “No on I” fliers.

Keep the list of those who supported the Wal-Mart lease and opposed

Measure I, and in so doing can rightfully be assigned responsibility for

the Wal-Mart and all its impacts on our city.

Remember those names when you vote for City Council and school board this

fall and in future elections.

Who says it’s tough to know how to vote in local contests?

ON MARRIAGE AND MEASURES

I would like to respond to a couple points Gordon Langston made in his

letter, “Prop. 22 didn’t belong on ballot” (March 9).First, marriage --

as an institution forming the union between a man and a woman -- should

be inviolable. Marriage is consistent with nature in that it is about the

propagation of the species.On the other hand, same-sex unions are an

artificial construct, developed by the Cretans and Spartans for the

utilitarian purpose of population control. These city-states had standing

armies. Their leaders were afraid if soldiers mingled with the women, the

populations would outgrow the perimeter of their cities, and the latter

would become impossible to defend.The soldiers were moved outside the

cities to prevent this. Homosexual behavior was encouraged to quell

libidos. Thus, the purpose of heterosexual and homosexual unions are

polar opposites. One is natural; one is artificial. One is about the

propagation of the species; the other is about population control.Next,

Langston says Proposition 22 is not going to limit his rights. Everyone

has the same rights to life, liberty and property. One is born with

those, they are inalienable (someone please tell the City Council). All

other rights -- civil, economic and social -- are granted solely by

consent of the governed. Marriage is a civil right, and the governed have

the power to grant or deny.I do agree with him on the arbitrariness and

unfairness of tax policies. Tax codes should not be instruments of social

engineering. Perhaps he is ready now to see the wisdom of a national

sales tax, which would treat all the same. And, in recognition of

property rights and the right to do with one’s property as one pleases,

perhaps too Langston is ready to support abolition of inheritance taxes.

LEASE BURKE, DON’T SELL

I have raised four kids in the Burke School attendance area, and lived

through the original closure and all of the subsequent attempts to “sell”

Burke. The land was “donated” by (taken from) the developers as a

requirement for building homes on the tract.

The home purchasers bought homes from the developer based on a small

park, school and open space within the tract. The school board may have

the legal right to sell the “donated” property, but the homeowners have

“moral” rights to the school/open space, as it has existed for more than

30 years. Neighborhoods need open space for gatherings, playing games or

just walking through.

The school should be leased long term to another private school. The

lease option at least keeps the property for possible use by the school

district.

No one can predict the future needs of the school district. The

overcrowded conditions at Sowers Middle School, where half of the

students go to school in portables, is a prime example of bad planning.

My kids are out of school, but I would like to live in a city where there

are good, uncrowded neighborhood schools with open space for today’s and

tomorrow’s children.

Selling property is a short-term, shortsighted solution to a problem

caused by poor planning and poor budgeting. The money obtained from the

sale of the property will still be managed by the same planners. This

almost ensures that the budget problems will reoccur.

Keep the school; replace the planners. The planners can (should) be

replaced. The property cannot be replaced. Once it’s gone, it’s gone

forever.