The Ojai Post

December 10, 2009

Delicate Alliances

Bret Bradigan
Editor Ojai Valley News
December 1, 2000 – December 1, 2009

'Bret Bradigan fired?! Why?' is first thing out of peoples mouths. I set out to answer that question and only became further entangled in the web of conflicting relations between the people of our town. The news came right after the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation cut staff and just before the whole Ojai Film Festival board of directors jumped ship. Then Proctor & Gamble announced it was canceling As The World Turns after 54 years. Indeed, change was in the air. As I mulled over how to tell this story I couldn't help but see the parallels with classic soap opera. I know soap opera. I've been a fan since watching with my mothers and sisters growing up, and being caught up in the GH craze in college and years of worrying about how the folks in Pine Valley were doing. I've even written spec scripts. I know the rules of relationships. Friends can become enemies and the most formidable of foe can become the greatest of champions when the cause is right. If a body is not discovered, expect that character to resurface at any given time. And the great confrontation or cliffhanger always revolves around the planning and attendance of a big social gathering - a wedding or funeral or a costume gala. Our soap opera social event was the Men of Ojai Casa Barranca party, December 3rd.

The party was to be a promotional collaboration between Ojai Calendar Project and Casa Barranca Wine Tasting Room fashioned to boost calendar sales and promote the wine tasting room as an event venue and the restaurants that serve Casa Barranca: Azu, Feast Bistro and Osteria Monte Grappa. Thirty bucks got you a calendar, 2 glasses of wine, food from the three eateries and your ticket stub was a discount coupon to be used for the rest of the holiday season. Darryl Gurwich, working for Bill Moses, approached me with the idea 4 weeks before. I was reluctant knowing that Bill and Bret were less than friendly and at first I declined but after speaking with Bret who said, “I'm all for it. It's a great idea. I don't want to be there but I won't get in the way of us selling those calendars.” I spent the next two weeks hammering out the particulars and waiting for Bill's final approval. It came with a week left to promote. It was taking more time than I had and I was getting overwhelmed. On Monday Bret helped me load up the van with the gallery show and I would meet him the next morning to store all the calendar project at the news offices and hang he show at Casa Barranca. Bret would be going to the City Council meeting that evening with the Ojai Merchants Association.

I phoned Bret at the office and Lenny Roberts answered saying Bret wouldn't be in. He gave no explanation. That puzzled me. I called Bret's cell and left a message. I went on preparing for the event and missed Bret's call. He'd left a message.

“Hey, Demitri. Bret calling you back. Give me a ring when you get this message and I'll fill you in on the latest.”

I didn't like that, even though his voice was calm as usual. I rang back right away.

“What do you mean you'll fill me in on the latest?”

“I got fired last night.”

I was stunned. I only gasped as he told me how he was called from the City Council meeting to the OVN offices and told to clear his desk.

“I'm going to have to bow out of the calendar project.”

I was too stunned. I felt that I had not gone with my gut and passed on Darryl's plan. But it was too late. Or maybe not. I don't know how much time past but I eventually called Darryl and canceled the Casa Barranca party. How could I go on with it now that Bret was fired. And knowing that somehow Bill was involved. I phoned Bret and told him the news.

“Oh, no! You've got to do it. There's too much momentum behind it now and besides, we need the money.” I called Darryl back and told him that the show was on.

The party went on. It was a blast. Everyone had a good time. I have to say, in spite of the angst I was under and not having time for a vocal warm-up (I hate that) the evening went much better than I expected. In fact, it was a smash. Not as many people as I'd hoped but outside of the Hub, Casa Barranca was the only thing going on on the block. Tim Buley accompanied me and April Hendrix on a hastily rehearsed song set. We had a great time singing together and Tim made it a breeze to sing with him. And to top it all off, April's mom Sharon joined us. I don't think most people know that Sharon is a backup singer for Tom Jones in Vegas, so she knows how to put on a show. And she did. We had a blast. The gallery show was beautiful. Bobbi Bennett displayed some of her photography (which is still hanging, you should drop in and see) and selections from Salina's women's calendar were also on display. The tasting room proved to be the perfect music venue. After an exhausting two days since Bret's news, I was happy to have had such a great evening. I once again surprised people who have not seen or heard me perform before. After singing and performing almost everyday of the week since I was 15 years old, I forget that I only ceased performing regularly when I moved here. I have to remember that and do a little more.

The next day, December 4th I return to wine tasting room to take the show down and put the room back in place. Bill is there. He calls me over and we sit and talk. I've already decide I'm going to blog about Bret, so I ask Bill to go on record about Bret's firing.

“This is what you can put on record. There are many people in town who think that Bret is out of touch with the community. That he's detached from the paper and that he doesn't cover important stories about what's happening in town as much as he should. He is also alienating many of the local business owners. And when he didn't have anyone show up to cover the Chamber of Commerce awards ceremony, that did it. So about three months ago Joan Kemper and I and a few others got together and made a bid to buy the paper. When Bill Buchanan got word of this he thought, 'Hey, these people in Ojai are trying to buy my paper and it ain't even for sale. I'd better take a look at this.' So he came here and I set up a meeting with all those city leaders to discuss Bret. He said, 'No, I want to meet with each of them one on one.' And that's what he did.

Bil went on to tell me that Buchanan met with Joan Kemper, Betsy Clapp, Scott Eicher and other civic leaders and how they each voiced their complaints about Bret. In the two weeks preceding the Casa Barranca event the move towards a change in leadership was well on its way. In an earlier conversation about the upcoming event I learned to my surprise that Bill was unaware of Bret's part in the calendar project.

“So, what's Bret's involvement with the calendar?”

“Well first of all he's the partner and main contributor to the production of the calendar. He's provided free ad space, borrowed from friends for start-up costs and gives support in any way he can. If it weren't for his support I would not have done the calendar.”

“I see. I didn't know that. That's cool. I'm glad to know that.”

He, like Bret did not want allow any personal feelings get in the way of the event and gave his blessing on the event. And like Bret does not blame Bill, he doesn't take credit for getting Bret axed, as he stated in another conversation.

“Look, as much as I would like to, I can't take credit for getting Bret fired. Bill had is mind made up before he came here.”

It's Tuesday, December 8th. It's been one week since I last saw Bret. We meet up finally to go over where we are with the calendar project.

“I was fired on my 9th anniversary with the paper.. I started December 1st, 2000. I'm the second-longest editor of the paper in its 117 year history, next to Fred Volz.

“Can I get an official statement?”

“Sure. Editors are like baseball managers – they're hired to be fired. I'm proud of what I've done with the paper. In the nine years that I was there we've one like 11 national awards 20 state awards, including Best in Nation in 2003 for news papers under 10,000 circulation. I'm proud of the staff I put together and the great work helping to build the community.

“Got any future plans?”

“I plan on staying in Ojai for the time being and running into my friends.”

We went on discussing the calendar, how to pay the $8,000 owed and still raise enough money for the children's arts program for which the profits will be used.

“Even if we don't make any money we still have to do a kid's program by the March or April.”

The last event for the calendar we agreed would be in January with Made in Ojai. The upcoming article in the VC Reporter, (out today) will probably boost sales. And recruiting a few more people and delegating tasks would free me up to move on to the bigger plans for the Ojai Calendar Project. I showed Bret our nonprofit incorporation papers.

“Once we get our board of directors in place we can move on to the next project.. There's been some joking with my Ventura friends about doing a Men of Ventura calendar. We have enough time to go through the process of getting into Barnes & Noble...”

“And it's a larger market.”

“...and we can do some campaigning in Ventura and get the production costs covered before we start shooting.”

“That could probably start in March or April. But first we've got to finish this one on the plus side. You've got a lot of work to do in the next two weeks.”

I looked at my 3-page to-do list.

We said our goodbyes. I felt better after the dust had now settled. Things felt a little more in control and I regained a sense of clarity of direction. I felt relieved knowing that he was not leaving Ojai and looked forward to what will happen in the coming episodes of this local soap opera called, “Our Valley Lives.”