Reader thanks Devine for service

Tuesday, March 8 was a black-banner day for the city of Calabasas. After weeks of blistering and under-handed campaign tactics the likes of which we here have never seen before, incumbent City Councilmember Lesley Devine, noted in your own editorial as the embodiment of the Calabasas ideal, was voted out of office after devoting 14 years to preserving our area’s unique cultural and environmental trademarks.

With Ms. Devine’s dedication obviated by the seriousness of her own health, vultures nonetheless saw a weak point and circled relentlessly and ruthlessly. The true disappointment is not that politics is dirty, but that Calabasans, usually known for their above-average acumen, actually fell for these crude measures.

And what of these promises made by the newly-elected? How precisely are they going to aggressively control traffic? By installing toll booths, thereby losing our state funding for our most crowded roads? By widening our roads, thereby losing the one negotiation point in controlling development? How exactly are they going to prevent overcrowding in the Las Virgenes School District. By illegally raiding the city’s general fund and trying to build new classrooms, which are the sole purview of the state? And how does one protect the already deed-restricted open space?

Councilmember Washburn, Councilmember Bozajian, I wish you the best of luck. There are no others remaining who have a clue about what Calabasas has stood for, and your work is cut out for you.

Councilmember Devine, I applaud and thank you wholly for all you have done for past, present and future generations. I hope your good work continues until the voters realize their loss and put you back where we need you most, and as soon as possible.

Mary Kelkar

Calabasas