City council challenger in Calabasas wants to save money

Wasteful spending is the hallmark of the Calabasas City Council.

Having lived in Calabasas for 12 years, I’m delighted to be able to serve this wonderful community. I’m privileged to have been twice elected to the board of the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District and able to utilize my training as a medical doctor. However, the hallmark of my directorship has been reducing the cost of portable water by 10 percent as well as the imposition of other economy measures.

I’m running for the city council because I see the same kinds of waste and disregard for taxpayer time and funds in the city as I saw in the water district. Some council members seem to think that this city is theirs, not ours. Some council members speak on irrelevant historical issues ad nauseum. They seem to think that the staff should act as their personal assistants rather than serving the citizens. A few disrupt the orderly conduct of council meetings as well as the authority of the city manager over the staff.

Until recently the city commissioners have been required to report to the council instances of wasteful spending in the operations of city government, i.e. to be watchdogs for waste. At the council meeting of Nov. 3 (reported in the Nov. 18 issue of The Acorn), there was an extensive discussion of the matter. Various council members felt concern because it might be inconvenient for the commissioners if they had to continue reporting wasteful spending.

Consequently, all council members other than Barry Groveman voted as a group that reporting the wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars should be promptly stopped.

There’s a conflict between council members and the community’s priorities. A case in point is the complete lack of planning in reference to the elementary school in the New Millennium/Oaks development. Oak trees were the subject of endless debate and planning.

As a father and grandfather, I know where schools as well as oak trees should rank in the scheme of things. I will do my best to change the priorities of the council so that we put the important things first.

I ask for your support and vote on March 8.

Vernon M. Padgett, MD

Calabasas