Opposition to Lowe's exposed

Having read two letters from Cheryl Tabbi, I find an urge to respond to her claims that the gathering of signatures for the Town Center and Lowe's was deceptive and those gathering the signatures were paid. I know that the person who asked me to sign was not paid. As an aside, it is perfectly legal to pay someone to gather signatures.

She also states that Lowe's is only concerned about their own selfish interests and not Westlake Village. Let's talk about deception and selfish interest. Why is the Doit Center not mentioned by the Lumber City Corp., which is providing the major funding for the group calling themselves Save Westlake Village, when anyone who has been around Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills and Westlake Village for any length of time knows that Lumber City Corp. and Jess Ruf own the Do-it Center?

Her second letter, which discusses the personal attack by Barry Florence on Jess Ruf, fails to mention that one of the speakers, Barbara Erickson, was chided by Mayor McSweeney and told not to introduce personal attacks on the council members by implying that they have a conflict of interest.

I also question the ethics of Lumber City Corp. and the Do-it Center, which are spending money to influence the vote of the residents of Westlake Village when their only fear is competition. Harry Truman was quoted as saying, "if you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen."

I also object to Ms. Tabbi's remarks against Lowe's. As I said at the city council meeting, my daughter is a proud employee of Lowe's and earns a fine living working for a company that gives back to the community.

I look forward to voting for the Town Center that includes a Lowe's in the Nov. 7 election, and I encourage my neighbors to do the same. Steve Coffey Westlake Village