 Letters to the Editor |
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Don’t Take Her Word For ItBy Susan Watry, Chula VistaThursday, July 3, 2008 | When Lani Lutar, President/CEO of San Diego County Taxpayers Association, recently meddled in Chula Vista's Proposition E campaign in a flier titled "Take Our Word For It," she stated: "Proposition E bypasses the processes of representative government, imposes a costly election process, and delays proposals that do not occur in election years. And, Proposition E encourages developers to bypass public hearings and environmental reports. Going directly to the ballot where they can buy approval with slick, expensive political campaigns. This measure serves as a prime example of ballot box planning, a poor form of public policy." Most of this rhetoric was pure poppycock but at the time, and realizing we were in the silly season, I opted to ignore it. But now that she is piously chastising the Port District for spending public money for political purposes by running an open letter in the Union Tribune, I must ask, did she not know that Mayor Cheryl Cox spent an unauthorized $30,000 of public money on a bogus study to "educate" people about Proposition E? If she didn't know, she should have. And if she did know she should have protested as loudly then as she is now. I don't know who lured her into our local politics but she was ill-informed and ill-advised. In the future when I see a SDCTA position, I will be reminded of this experience and I will not be "taking her word for it."
11 Comments so far on this story...
So...Both Lani Lutar and Mayor Cox bash Prop E, and apparently, Cox spends public funds without authorization to bash this political issue. Then Lutar bashes the SD Port for spending public money on political issues, making herself look hypocritical for not having bashed Cox for her indiscretion. Do I have this right? // OK, so Lutar is picking and choosing when she'll be a fiscal conservative watchdog, nipping at people, issues and organizations who are political adversaries, but sitting in the laps of political friends. Do I have this right? // This is the core ethical value embodied by most people who are in SD regional politics. Do I have this right? The SDCTA has no credibility. They jump on whatever bandwagon is out there with the largest wallet. Lani Lutar. That says it all. Christopher Hall you have it exactly right! There are many hypocritcal things going on in Chula Vista politcs. Remember, Mayor Cox ran on a platform of "restoring trust". I have yet to see her attempting to restoring trust with the citizens of Chula Vista. You got it, Christopher Hall, but you said it so much better than I did! When Chula Vista elected Cheryl Cox as our mayor it seems we opened ourselves up to a plethora of outsiders who are coming in to shape our local politics - Lani Lutar, the Lincoln Club, Tom Shepard..... I appreciated Lani Lutar's efforts a few years ago to explain to me (via email) why SDCTA gave an award to Chula Vista Elementary School District in 2002 without even looking at the school district's budget. The award was given before Lani Lutar became president of SDCTA, and Lani wasn't able to explain it to my satisfaction. Now I think I understand the situation better: Cheryl Cox was on the CVESD board at the time. Tax PAYERS is correct. They seem to like all the rest of US Tax PAYing for their friend's shady projects. SDCTA loudly supported the ballpork fiasco. City and CCDC money was spent selling that crock to us, with SDCTA's blessing. SDTCA should be joining the Port in condemning this pro-sports stadium boondoggle grab for the valuable 10th Ave Terminal. Instead SDTCA depends on "contributions from people NOT like you" and the fat-cats tell SDTCA how high to jump. Ignore Lani Lutar. "Ignore Lani Lutar" is the best advice I've seen to date in the voice. Why is she cited so frequently in this journal as an authoritative independent source? She is anything but, as most recently Lutar advocated for Proposition C on the June ballot which allows the Mayor to appoint the City Auditor. And remember, she's only the latest mouthpiece for the San Diego County Taxpayers' Association, having been preceded in the job by chameleon-like Scott Barnett who in recent time has flirted with running for public office, writing briefly for the San Diego Reader and getting paid by any willing employer (Labor's Larry Remer) as a campaign consultant. It seems to me the voice has an obligation to let its readers know the background (and any bias) of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association and its representative, Lani Lutar. Re impartiality/reliabi of spokesmen for San Diego County Taxpayers Association: I forgot to mention that before Scott Barnett worked for the Reader or Labor's Larry Remer, he also worked for that conservative GOP money laundry called the Lincoln Club. Hey Fred - just because the Padres suck this year doesn't mean Petco Park was a 'fiasco'. The ballpark was a smart investment by the City, and it looks even smarter now that CCDC will be paying off the bonds under the new budget. Petco was the latest step in creating a great downtown for San Diego, an investment that will be paying off like a green grocer to San Diego taxpayers for decades to come. SDCTA was right to support it. As for the 10th avenue terminal boondoggle, that's pure foolishness. If SDCTA supports that, then maybe you're on to something with your conspiracy theories. Hey back, Simple Guy. Whatup? I must respectfully disagree with you on the numbers for John Moores' Petco gift from the city. Still, I'm glad to see we're on the same page when it comes to the next boondoggle. Let's laugh this 10th Avenue swindle out of town. It's a bad deal! Reader feedback
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