ojai news at The Ojai Post :: blog, newspaper, events in Ojai, California

Thanks, Jeff, for your reasonable explanation of a local lawsuit that will live in infamy. Whether Ojai voters listen to reason or rationalizations remains to be seen. I am going to get the audiotape of the "Initiatives" council meeting of Oct. 24, and transcribe it. I'll have more to say on this thread after I unravel the usual misrepresentations of our misrepresentatives.

you got my vote

Steve Olsen belongs in the Vote "NO" corner.

We need change - not the same old "Whatever you say, Monte."

Vote “YES” for Klaif, Lafollette and Leary.

Thanks for posting this informative update Jeff. So the council is putting these topics on the agenda for January, yet they wouldn't respond to your request to put them on the agenda back in September??? And they're not dropping the lawsuit??? Looks like they're just trying to placate the citizens and relieve their guilty consciences. Will you be reimbursed by the city for the countless hours you have spent defending yourself in this lawsuit? Didn't they say they weren't suing you for a dime?

On the question of "Who besides Monte Widders and his law firm benefit in the event he ultimately were to win?":

Look at the the initiatives. The answer is private developers and national chains who want to locate in our downtown. The affordable housing initiative contains provisions to preserve existing affordable housing stock, such as Mallory Way. The chain store/independent business initiative would slow down national chains trying to come into our downtown.

Can't these private developers and national chains pay for their own lawsuit? Why should Ojai taxpayers pay for this?

Anyone willing to lay odds that if the challengers win, and Monte Widders is sent packing, we will see the Widders firm suing the city on behalf of private developers and national chains within six months?

Allegations of conflict of interest issues with the
Ojai City Council, Planning Commission and County
Commerce Bank are involved and lengthy, but here goes:

Ojai City Attorney and council for the Planning
Commission Monte Widders, law firm Myers, Widders,
Gibson, Jones & Schneider specialize in Municipal,
Zoning, Administrative, Condominium Associations and
Real Estate.

Firm partner J. Roger Myers sits on the board of
directors for County Commerce Bank. His practices
areas are: General Civil Litigation, Business Law and
Municipal Law.

Firm partner Monte Widders law practice specialties
are Business Law, Mergers And Acquistions, Municipal
Law and Real Property.

Gary M. Horgan is husband of city council member Sue
Horgan. He sits on the Board of Directors of County
Commerce bank and is a legal partner of
Horgan, Rosen, Beckham & Coren. Legal Specialties
are: Banking, Civil and Commercial Litigation,
Corporate Securities and Finance, Real Estate Sales
and
Acquisitions, Real Estate Construction and Financing.

Myers and Widders law firm associates include a
General Contractor, Certified Building
Inspector, and law specialties are: drafting
governmemt documents, amending the
declaration of covenants and conditions with
restrictions, and litigation.

Continuing- Myers & Widders partner Katherine Stone,
or was so during the Los Arboles litigation,
authored a legal brief entitled “Regulating the Timing
of Development: Taking Clause and Substantive Due
Process Challenges to Growth Control
Regulations.” Stone was one of the city attorneys
along with Widders and Meyers who argued the Los
Arboles project,which was overwhelmingly
opposed by Ojai citizens groups and associations for
it’s massive size and mismatch with the goals of the
Ojai General Plan.

Also worth noting, Jeffrey Becker sits on the board of
directors of County Commerce Bank, and he presides
over the Becker Group, probably the largest real
estate rental monopoly in Ventura County. Besides
being associated with board directors, his influence
in real estate in this county is powerful. As of
January of 2006, brother Troy has been seated on
the Planning Commission.

As it stands, these groupings of finance and legal
professionals have apparently formed alliances and
reinforced positions toward current
and pending commercial and residential development
projects in Ojai Valley that are exempt from citizen
oversight, legal challenges, and due process. The
Bryant Street Industrial Plan is an example
Of how the process is immune from public feedback and
interference of the long range goals of these parties
designs on development decisions and unmanaged growth.
By attending many city coucil and planning commisiion
meetings, I suspect there are financial
incentives and kick-backs influencing Ojai government
decision making on development projects, but so far
have what can be viewed as circumstantial evidence
by observing the process of planning commission
approval of almost all submitted projects before them,
and by my researching of this newsletter.

Pete La Follette 9/9/05

It concerns me that Carol Smith said in the Candidates Forum that she did not vote for the lawsuit when in fact she actually did. She says she did not understand exactly what it was. So she votes in favor of something she does not understand? She votes in favor of an action that has such a huge impact on the city both fiscally and "emotionally." I find this to be appallingly inept and it concerns me greatly. I believe that it is her responsibility as a council member to become educated on items of action one is asked to vote on. I used to have the impression that she was sort of a benign member of the council, but now I find her ignorance to be dangerous. Sorry Carol, you lost my vote.

I found it equally remarkable that Steve Olsen did not "know enough about it to comment." Where have you been? By simply attending the meetings, I learned quite a bit about what had happened with this lawsuit, and heard both sides of the story. Steve, you are running for an office of which you aren’t up to speed on current events? Weak.

Laura, you have expressed exactly the issue with both Carol Smith and Steve Olsen. Carol really has disqualified herself - I mean, she can work on library expansion, a swimming pool, etc. without being on the council, but if she is going to be on the council, then she can't be allocating a swimming pool, skate park and library expansion worth of money to a needless lawsuit she thinks is terrible, because she doesn't understand what it is.

I think Steve Olsen has a big hill to climb in terms of explaining what he would do about this lawsuit and future lawsuits like it. How will he protect our city? How will he bring openness and lift the chill created by this lawsuit? Committing our city budget to an ill-conceived and unnecessary lawsuit cannot be a defensible use of scarce city resources or a defensible approach to citizens who are trying to bring ideas to the council, and sitting on the fence about it - if that's what Steve ultimately is going to do - speaks volumes about Steve Olsen's proposed leadership.

Leslie, it is pretty unbelievable but true: the city is suing me even though they apparently are willing to at least make a show of doing what I suggested as an alternative to a lawsuit. What a gross dereliction of duty on the part of the entire council - why didn't they talk with me about putting this on the agenda in September? Why did they erect a wall of silence in the face of my attempts at dialogue, and then actually file a lawsuit, if they were willing to make a show of my alternative? They used an expensive, divisive iron fist - one which is going to break on the law - when a cheap velvet glove would have more effectively prevented the whole mess. What a monumental failure of judgment and leadership.

Re recovering time and fees, at the end of this, payment of fees and costs incurred is mandatory under the anti-SLAPP law. Whether we have to go through years of appeals to get there - and run up Carol's library expansion, skate park and swimming pool on the way in fees on both sides (all ultimately to be paid by the city) - remains to be seen. I hope not. There are certainly better alternatives, which I for one would welcome.

But it is apparent it will be up to a new city council to implement those better alternatives. The present council remains behind their wall of silence, letting the city attorney speak for them. The city attorney for his part will maintain this lawsuit as long as the city council directs or permits (three lawyers to ask for a continuance? Its a billing dream for him).

I do want to express my thanks for all the support shown by so many wonderful people during this ordeal. If nothing else, this wholly negative process has resulted in me getting to know some great people, and reaffirming my belief in the essential beauty and uniqueness of our town. Ojai is a special place that is worth saving, and I think we will do it. Lets start with a change on the city council on November 7.

This is Dennis, so those who have me pegged as a metafizzle blah can skip ahead. Thanks for all the good information; it's all grist for the mill. I did transcribe some of the Oct. 24th council meeting, like I said I would. I don't have it all, because I made a note at the meeting of Bury saying, "the initiatives were just thrown at us," but that didn't show up on the audiotape I had, so I guess I did't have everything. And I just lost patience. It is so boring to wade through this unending mush of dissembling, illogical, propagandized doubletalk. Here are some gems:

Carol Smith: "Let me first of all say to Mr. Leary, it is not a lawsuit against Mr. Furchtenicht. I didn't even know it was a lawsuit." Attorney Smith pronounces it is not a lawsuit, contradicting the Ventura Superior Court. The fact of a lawsuit depends on her knowing that it is a lawsuit. Yes, indeed.

Sue Horgan: "I would like to clarify something that Dennis Leary said. This lawsuit is not a lawsuit against Mr. Furchtenicht. What we are trying to do, is we are attempting to seek a court's determination as to the constitutionality of the initiatives he put forth. This is not a suit against Mr. Furchtenicht." Yes, indeed. A lawsuit is not a lawsuit. Now we have two self proclaimed attorneys contradicting the Ventura Supreme Court. I wonder if the court is smart enough to see that the Ojai council is attempting to get them to legislate from the bench. Maybe, and they may not care. They've already sided with the three city-side attorneys, and against the intent of SLAPP suits to not drag people through the courts.

Rae Hanstad: "I regret that these entire issues began their initial discussion with the intent to circulate a petition instead of a phone call, or a letter, or a discussion, the very discussion we've all been craving..." Yes, indeed. Now attorney Hanstad dismisses the law on initiative procedure, and substitutes hers. Jeff emailed her three times, asking for the discussion she craves.

On and on with the others. DeVito makes some sense some time. But Bury has lost any resemblance to logic or consistency. Jeff is so kind when he says: Mr. Bury is in error. Yes, indeed.

Now for my analysis. If any other metafizzles are still with me, let me say I do these public inquiries primarily for my own personal self education. I put them out into the virtual void because they do concern the public good, and if the metaphysicians are right about the butterfly effect, they may do some public and private (especially mine) good.

It has been extremely difficult for me to make any sense out of what is happening in city hall. To me, it is a moral and spiritual mess. There seems to be no standard upon which to make an evaluation. Certainly not truth, or democracy, or law. What then? There is only one theory that makes any sense to me, and that is power. The theory of power explains best to me the strange behavior of the Ojai city government.

There is a plaque in the council chambers on the wall behind the first couple of rows of spectators' seats (I dare not call them participants' seats). The council can probably read it from their seats if their eyesight is eagle like. It reads in part: "Athenian Pledge...We will revere and obey the city's laws." According to the general plan, the first law in Ojai would seem to me to be: "preserve our small town character." So much for truth and integrity.

My theory goes like this. There's a man in Ojai who considers that the city is his. In his mind, he owns it. He runs it. He's the man, a big fish in a small pond. He could actually be the point man for a power complex of several. He's probably wealthy, but not necessarily, because his game is power, the pure pleasure of power. He's a male consciousness, probably in a male body, but not necessarily; this individual could be in a female body with male power needs. He is very intelligent, attractive, maybe charismatic, but emotionally fixated and deprived at an early age, therefore harboring deeply repressed hurt and anger. Ojai is his kingdom which supplies his early, unmet personal power needs.

For many years, it was in his interest to keep Ojai small. But then about ten to fifteen years ago, he could see the writing on the wall. Development was going to reach Ojai. Nothing could stop it. It would overrun his town. The game had changed, and he could not bear to be on the losing side. To retain his power, and the respect of his lackeys, he had to switch sides. Join the developers, or be run over by them. Ideologies don't matter when the one need is power, when the terrifying fear is loss of power and control. Powerlessness spells death, abandonment, and annihilation.

I believe this theory stands to the evidence better than any other. Power uses fear as its primary tool. Look closely at the council, their staff, and appointees. I see fearful people, who are afraid to speak out on their own initiative, even when they are supported by the law. They seem to be well drilled on what to say. They cannot speak out of turn. Someone is exerting power over them. Not even the permission of the Brown Act will loosen their tongues. I doubt they even have the courage to read it.

Power becomes associated with fear and lack of truthfulness when it becomes concentrated in one person or in a ruling complex. Separation and balance of power is lost, and fear takes over. Fear has a trickle down effect from the power center. The first thing fear attacks is freedom of speech. The ruling authority must be obeyed, and individual thinking is punished.

Look at the various issues that have surfaced in Ojai. How about the initiatives, and Frostie, and Mallory, and the cancelled concerts? Look at all the propaganda, almost as if a central source was scripting a party line for all under a hidden power command to repeat. Their statements go against reason, law, and common decency. It's nothing but a mess of dissembling. No one in the lower levels of the power complex has been able to speak out in any intelligible way. Carol Smith has tried to distance herself, but has been forced back into line. Only those outside the influence of the power complex have been able to see and say clearly that the lawsuit is wrong. Power totally disenables reasonableness and common sense. It's useless to even try to sort out all the contradictions and obfuscations, because power just doesn't care. It pretends to listen but there is no intention to give up power, especially to a fringe element.

The man here in Ojai uses systems of power to protect and enhance his power. What he is doing with these initiatives is to stall and wear down the opposition, and get the court to legislate on his behalf. The last thing he wants is for the citizens to tell him how to run his city. The real point is not housing or business, but who is directing it. He counts on the silent majority middle, who are motivated by a general fear of change, along with his natural sympathizers, to swing the vote against candidates who would make real change. Even change isn't the issue for him, since he will change to embrace any issue that will keep him in power. Change that would put him out of power is the real threat. He knows that he can count on fear to decide elections.

Look at Mallory Way, Frostie, Jersey Mikes, the big condos going up, and the initiatives. Look deeply enough, and you'll always see fear and deception at work. I could give example after example of outright untruthfulness that was purposely used to mislead and disempower the opposition. But to engage in debating facts is mostly futile because power does not care about facts. It is really blind to reason because it is reacting on instinct. Rather, it's more useful to marshall the facts for one's own conviction that a power game is indeed going on.

The power complex has no respect for law or reason, because it is operating on an entirely different level, that of raw power, backed by fear. Truth and facts are completely relative to the standard of power. It seems impossible that gentle, peaceful Ojai should be ruled by a man of power. However, we do live in a dualistic world, where things are not what they seem. I believe there is a higher power which may step in to protect the valley from the man's betrayal ten to fifteen years ago; but the greater good may require the middle majority to learn the bitter lesson of not standing up to out of balance power. Ojai may have to be sacrificed to the gods of a decadent modernity, so karmic lessons may be learned.

The man of power will not tolerate three of us opposing candidates winning. You can see how he has intimidated those under his thumb now, and stirred the usually silent majority to express their fears. The good news is that we've broken open his game, thanks to Mallory, Frostie and the 50 DOES lawsuit, and all the people who will not be intimidated. The key to the election will be all those fearful people in the middle. Can they overcome their fear? I think it will be a victory if we get Lennie Klaif in, and a miracle if Pete or myself, or both of us get in. I do believe in miracles. If Lennie gets in, we've got our foot in the door, and may be able to bust it open in two years.

I don't underestimate the power of the man (not Lennie). If he can get the courts to legislate on his behalf, now that's some power. It's something to be admired, in a way. Now all we have to do is learn how to capture that power and turn it back on him.

I could say more about the Ojai power complex, but I don't want to ramble on too much. The Hammer may be listening, and that's a power to contend with. I'm beginning to feel like an Anvil with all the blows in the press. Keep them coming; they're just toughening me up. The one about my beautiful, old motorhome, an 1975 Establishment [please note I'm part of the establishment], with the three names on it, was a bit below the best. After all, Ojai is older than the motorhome, and Ojai's beautiful. Nobody said anything about my bicycle sign, so I guess even the Hammer likes it. There's a plug for council level logic.

Please Hammer, dont hurt 'em!

For God\'s sake, Dennis; go look up the definition of the word logorrhea.

Has a judge granted Jeff's motion to dismiss the lawsuit against him yet? Or whatever it is called that he filed. From what Jeff and the others have said, it is very clear cut that the city violated Jeff's rights when they sued him so I expect the judge will call the city council to task pretty severely. I wouldn't be surprised if the city is desperately trying to get Jeff to withdraw his initiatives or agree to let them off the hook in order to avoid a judge ever ruling on this issue. By now they must realize they caught a tiger by the tail when they sued Jeff.