EDITORIAL
The clock is ticking.
It’s been about six weeks since Fountain Valley Councilman Chuck
Conlosh wrote an open letter to the community alleging wrongdoing by
high-level city officials.
It’s also been three weeks since Conlosh, who is up for reelection in
November, told the Independent that he needed more time -- roughly two to
three weeks -- to compile more information about the supposed
malfeasance.
In August, Conlosh’s open letter appeared in a flier distributed by
the Concerned Citizens of Fountain Valley, a new community watchdog
group. In it, he accuses his colleagues of failing to lift the ban on
changeable signs favored by churches, threatening the freedom of people
to park their cars in their driveways and not their garages, and denying
residents direct access to council members during meetings by making them
address the council as a whole rather than as individuals.
Those charges certainly don’t climb to the level of “wrongdoing by
high-level officials.”
Mayor Guy Carrozzo has rebutted Conlosh’s claims, saying they are
“irresponsible” and that “some people are very adept at manipulating
information, thus creating a smoke screen to conceal their own personal,
hidden agendas.”
But Conlosh said he has been “misrepresented” and still wants to get
to the truth behind the claims.
Yet the clock is still ticking. Residents and council members have
pleaded with Conlosh for more information about the claims against the
high-level officials. Even Councilman Larry Crandall suggested that
Conlosh bring in the district attorney to investigate them if necessary.
Conlosh has remained silent.
With the general election a little more than a month off, it’s time
for Conlosh to come forward with solid and concrete proof that his
colleagues have performed wrongdoing.
If he can’t do that, then he has only one other path to take.
He should apologize to his council colleagues and the residents of
Fountain Valley for making up unsubstantiated claims in the first place.
And while he’s at it, he should give us all an explanation.
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