Spokesman for Concerned Citizens resents label of carpetbagger

The Citizens for Responsible Growth must be having a powerful impact on the people and politics of the city of Agoura Hills.

Otherwise, why should I be the target of such virulent "ad hominem" attacks by a single oddball reader’s letters printed in The Acorn? The fact that The Acorn keeps spending so much of its valuable editorial space printing attacks against me by the same letter writer (twice in one month, by the way) is puzzling, to say the least.

To label me a "carpetbagger" is interesting. The Acorn’s editor and publisher know full well who I am. Over six months ago, I came to meet them in person at their offices and to present my credentials. I spent that one-hour meeting briefing them on my background as a community activist in the San Fernando Valley, and as a member of the Board of Regents of the Tarzana Community and Cultural Center.

I provided both the publisher and the editor of The Acorn with my business cards. The Acorn has had my name, business address, phone, fax and email for over half a year and had spoken to me on many occasions to discuss issues and local news.

There are no secrets, no hidden cabals, no hidden agendas of the Citizens for Responsible Growth, just a lot of hard work, a lot of passion and a lot of success in getting the message out about how devastating a Home Depot near Kanan and Agoura Roads will be for the local businesses and for the people who live in the area.

The label "carpetbagger" really doesn’t mean much to me, but it certainly insults the citizens of Oak Park, Agoura, Lake Malibou and Westlake, as well as the members of regional environmental groups such as the Cornell Preservation Organization, who don’t actually live in the small confines of Agoura Hills, but who are passionate that a Home Depot not be built near the intersection of Kanan and Agoura Roads.

Do the legitimate concerns of these thousands of residents, your readers, whose lives will be forever changed if a massive Home Depot comes to that intersection, make them "carpetbaggers"? The other day I asked several firemen who work in Agoura Hills if they live in the city. They all said no. Does their work and service to the community, even though they live outside Agoura Hills, make them "carpetbaggers"? Many people who work at the Agoura Hills City Hall don’t live in the city. Does that make them "carpetbaggers"?

The building of a 140,000-sq.ft. Home Depot with its acres of concrete and asphalt parking lots, and expected 20,000 car trips a day over the Kanan Bridge Overpass, is not just a local issue, as the city council of Agoura Hills and the developer would have you believe.

I find it interesting that hundreds of registered voters in Agoura Hills are now turning out in force to volunteer to work with us and to sign the petition that is being circulated that will let the issue be decided by the voters in a special election early next year.

I suggest that The Acorn spend its editorial space not printing personal attacks about me. In the grand scheme of things, I am one person in this cause and, to be honest, not really that important. The Acorn should spend its time and space examining closely all the details and facts about the impact that a Home Depot, or any "big box" store for that matter, will have, not just on the citizens of Agoura, but all the people who live and work in the area.

Al Abrams, Spokesperson

Citizens for Responsible Growth

The Acorn prints letters to the editor (like every newspaper) that include personal attacks on public figures and sometimes even private citizens. As spokesperson of a politically active organization, Abrams should be accustomed to such rhetoric.

Writers are limited to one letter per month (more specifically, every four weeks). The writer to whom Abrams refers had a letter on July 12 and on Aug. 9 (exactly four weeks).

Headlines for letters are always taken from the perspective of the writer.

We doubt the writer in this case would have any objection whatsoever to ask if Abrams is, indeed, a carpetbagger.