Candidate motives are questioned

I learned the primary Todd August political campaign issue is supporting the controversial Heschel West School development project.

Enrolling his kids at Heschel West and Temple Beth Haverim private schools, August said in a recent Acorn article, “We need to work constructively with the leadership of the Las Virgenes Unified School District to find creative ways to ensure their financial viability.”

Honestly, what “creative way” can he offer LVUSD public schools to replace the $5,085 annually from the state of California (known as the average daily attendance), forfeited-in-full for each of his Agoura Hills residence children because he made a constructive decision to have children attend private schools?

Has August attended or participated in any other city of Agoura Hills hearing issues, other than supporting Heschel School matters? Kirk Allegro Agoura Hills

I was interested to read your Oct. 27 editorial in which you laud Todd August for taking the Agoura Hills City Council race seriously. The serious issue presented by August isn’t the fact he’s raised over $20,000, a sum far exceeding that raised by all other candidates, but the fact the political contributions are coming from outside Agoura Hills.

As of the second campaign finance reporting period, over 80 percent of his reported donors are not from Agoura Hills. Sixty percent of his donors are easily identified as directly connected to the Heschel West Day School.

You’ve heard the slogan “buy local.” Agoura Hills need to vote local as well, or suffer the consequences of being bought by outside special interests. Sharon Robinson Agoura Hills

It’s truly amazing to me that anyone could think that in just three short years of residency, they have the abilities to represent the needs and wishes of that entire community better than those who have been part of the process for years, some of whom participated in the city’s development since incorporation.

If Todd August thinks we have been doing it wrong for more years than he has lived here, then why did he move here in the first place?

We incorporated as a city specifically to protect the quality of life we moved here for, not change it into another Westlake or Calabasas.

I firmly believe that the election results will show how far away Mr. August truly is from the majority of Agoura Hills voters. I suggest to Mr. August that he take his pet project elsewhere and learn to appreciate the uniqueness of this wonderfully diverse, automallless, big box store-less, residential community that wishes to protect open spaces and unique areas such as Old Agoura from unbridled development and more traffic.

I know what Mr. August is up to and for our city’s future, I hope it doesn’t fly. Ron Troncatty Agoura Hills