Won’t be voting for Soteras

I won’t be supporting Alex Soteras for Agoura Hills City Council. As recently as June 24 of this year, Alex, the Chamber of Commerce president and a mortgage broker, with much to gain personally by the build-out of our region, was proudly listed on Ahmanson Ranch’s Website as one of the "Ahmanson Ranch supporters."

A month later, Alex, the candidate for Agoura Hills City Council, with much to gain personally by courting the voters of Agoura Hills, was telling us to believe he is opposed to Ahmanson Ranch. It is even more revealing to note that his largest campaign contributor, according to his Sept. 20 campaign statement, is a real estate company.

I imagine he has visions of 3,050 mortgages to service and doesn’t really care about the environmental effects of two golf courses, a hotel, etc. I also imagine Soteras doesn’t have to commute along the 101 corridor with an additional 45,000 more cars each day. Even if the recent good news about a possible state purchase of Ahmanson goes through, Soteras is the candidate likely to bring another huge development to our doorsteps. I don’t think it’s a stretch to conclude Alex Soteras does not have the best interests of our region at heart in his bid for city council.

I will be voting for Steve Rishoff and Dan Kuperberg. They are the only candidates who testified publicly and on the record at the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy meeting to oppose development of Ahmanson Ranch. No sign of Alex. He was likely too busy ordering more mortgage application forms that day.

Rishoff and Kuperberg are also the only candidates whose financial support comes almost entirely from inside our own community. While you may not agree with every vote Kuperberg has taken in the past, he does have a proven slow-growth record on the council, and he should be offered the opportunity to prove himself further. Rishoff is a skilled mediator/arbitrator and an expert in land use law. He knows how to protect our small-town character, and he will lead the council in this regard.

Don’t be fooled by slick mailers mostly paid for by funds raised outside our community. Rishoff and Kuperberg have the support of our elected school, environmental and community leaders and have no personal financial stake in the Valley-style overbuilding of our region.

Sharon Robinson

Agoura Hills