The Ojai Post

The protection of our physical beauty and our open spaces, the fostering of the arts, and support for our locally owned businesses, have always been important to me as a resident of this City.

The first time I spoke at a Council meeting in opposition to the efforts of the Krishnamurti Foundation to subdivide and build a number of residences on a portion of their Besant Meadow property. Since then I have appeared before the Council and/or the Planning Commission on countless occasions in support of efforts to preserve our beauty and open spaces, and our small town charm.

In addition, I have spoken in other venues in support of our Valley. When Nextel attempted to put up a series of sixty foot towers in the Valley, then Mayor Nina Shelley invited me to be part of a contingent she put together, representing a variety of Ojai interests, to address the Ventura County Board of Supervisors in a successful attempt to have the County reject the application.

More recently my wife, Linda Harmon, and I drove to Santa Maria for a Santa Barbara County Planning Commission hearing, where I spoke in opposition to a Cuyama Valley gravel mine’s attempt to get a permit allowing their trucks to travel through Ojai.

With respect to the arts, I have been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ojai Art Center for nearly the entire time I have been in Ojai, serving as Board President for five years. During my tenure as President, we worked with the City and other organizations to build the footbridge linking Libbey Park with the Art Center and Montgomery Street, a project that has been part of the Art Center’s plans since its birth in 1937. I am also a long time member and/or supporter of the Ojai Film Society and Theater 150, among other arts organizations.

One of the aspects of Ojai that attracted me was that we are the home of unique, independent businesses, not chain stores. When Rite Aid attempted to move into the old bowling alley, I formed “Citizens for a Chain Free Ojai.” This was an organization in name only, but gave my singular voice added weight. With the support of a couple of local business owners I flew to Boston to attend a “big box store” conference sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

I shop Ojai as much as possible. Over the years, I have volunteered my time in support of downtown events coordinated by Dale Hanson and/or Haile Katz, as well as Ojai Day. I strongly believe that our merchants are an integral part of the community and support City involvement in efforts by the Chamber and/or merchants associations to bring in tourist dollars and keep local dollars in our community.

A couple of weeks ago I attended the Art Center’s 70th birthday party. The next morning the Ojai Valley Green Coalition, was sponsoring a clean-up of the creek running through Libbey Park, as part of the creek restoration project. These two events got me thinking about all the amazing organizations we have here to further the arts, protect the environment, and strengthen our community. I cannot begin to estimate the number of volunteer hours people in the Valley pour into these organizations, and the amount of money that is donated to keep them all going strong.

Behind each of these organizations are, of course, people. We have incredibly interesting, smart, caring people in our Valley, and the City needs to better harness this most valuable resource.

I believe that I can make a valuable contribution as a member of the City Council. I am familiar with the issues as I regularly attend Council meetings. As an attorney I have the skills to read and understand relevant documents in a relatively short period of time to quickly get up to speed. I have no problem asking questions to fill in the gap when I am missing information. As an attorney and as President of the Art Center Board, I have demonstrated the ability to work with a variety of people, some of whom agree with me, some of whom disagree, and always strive to reach a positive solution that will work for all.

I welcome any questions that any of you might have concerning my position on the issues, my background, and my ability to serve effectively as a member of the Council.

I thank you for your courtesies and consideration.

Very truly yours,

LEONARD J. KLAIF

412 N. Fulton Street,
Ojai, California 93023
805 640-9659 (Office)
805 794-3648 (Cell)
ljkesq@roadrunner.com

See also: http://ovnblog.com/?p=2260