SOAPBOX
Letters to the Editor (cont.) (Cont. from page 12) be solved. Likewise, Mike has vowed to consider projects on their merits alone. Accordingly, he holds no preconceived bias that investment and business are bad and will harm San Clemente’s village character. To be clear, I am not against Bob Baker (No.1) as a person. Mr. Baker has selflessly given his time to serve San Clemente as a public official and I certainly respect and admire his several years of service. In fact, I owe my own time as a San Clemente Planning Commissioner in part to Mr. Baker, who voted me onto the San Clemente Planning Commission along with former council member Wayne Eggleston and current Councilwoman Lori Donchak. Perhaps what is most troubling to me is that Bob Baker is so antagonistic toward seemingly anyone that wants to invest in this town. Mr. Baker is quick to shoot down ideas yet offers no ideas of his own. For example, I recall Mr. Baker, along with Wayne Eggleston, promising a “to be named” alternative solution for the Miramar Theater during the Playa Del Norte referendum. To date, no solution has been presented by Mr. Baker. The only improvements made in North Beach were renovations to the San Clemente Casino, made by private investment. These improvements
have had a profound positive impact. Yet, Mr. Baker has been very vocal in his opposition to the Sadeghi’s and their efforts to invest in North Beach. I think everyone agrees that San Clemente’s charms are what make it so unique and they are certainly why my wife and I chose to make San Clemente our home. However, we can have both investment and maintain the “village character” that gives San Clemente its charm. But to do this, we need someone with vision and who can build consensus. Mike Mortenson is such a person.
NOT ALL TEACHERS SUPPORT LANG KIM HANLEY AND JULIA DEWEES, San Clemente
Today we saw a bunch of people and their kids holding signs on a street corner in support of Steve Lang. They have every right to do that: freedom of speech. However, we took particular offense to the sign that said, “Our teachers love Lang.” As long-time CUSD teachers, we don’t know any teachers who support Steve Lang for school board. He has stated that he wants to place cell towers at CUSD schools and when asked how he would solve the district’s fiscal crisis, his solution is to move the OC Swap Meet to San Clemente High School. Steve Lang wants to slash
teachers’ salaries by 30 percent. He has lived in San Clemente for less than a year. Even worse, he is affiliated with the “Hold CUSD Accountable” slate that includes Reardon and others who sued CUSD for over $200,000 and who want to force teachers to work with no job security on at-will contracts. He is endorsed and supported by the anti-public school organization out of Sacramento run by former Washington, D. C. Superintendent Michelle Rhee. He and his cronies belittle the professionalism of CUSD teachers. We personally cannot vote for someone who does not value the years of education and commitment we have given to CUSD, a district whose test scores and students reflect the high expectations of the staff and community. We support John Alpay, the candidate that we trust to continue his efforts to bring stability back to Capistrano Unified. In his term as trustee, he has supported teachers as professionals and valued the work that we do daily with CUSD students.
DEVELOPMENT NEED NOT COMPROMISE SAN CLEMENTE CHRIS TRAVIS, San Clemente
Our family moved to San Clemente 28 years ago to enjoy the nice beach town atmosphere that the city has enjoyed since
Ole Hanson envisioned the coastal land so many years ago. Most of the residents of San Clemente feel the same way, as the over development advocate, Jim Dahl, has had his ideas and proposals voted down over his tenure as city councilman. It is time to let Jim Dahl know that development of our city has to be a slow process so that San Clemente doesn’t turn into a giant tourist shopping mall where there is little open space and traffic is oppressive. His voting record speaks for itself, and it is time for him to leave the city council. We need conservation-oriented city council people to run San Clemente in a logical, ecological way, so that our standard of life is not compromised for the sake of development. We need to make sure that #1 Bob Baker gets re-elected to the city council, as his record also speaks for itself, so that he can help shape the future of San Clemente and not lose her charm. To submit a letter to the editor for possible inclusion in the paper, e-mail us at letters@sanclementetimes. com. San Clemente Times reserves the right to edit reader-submitted letters for length and is not responsible for the claims made or the information written by the writers. Please limit your letters to 350 words.