Defends mayor’s action in Calabasas





The Oct. 13 letter by Nancy Goldsen that criticized Mayor Barry Groveman was a poorly disguised political attack. During the fire, Groveman was doing exactly what he should have been doing, keeping the public calm and informed and coordinating an effective response with our emergency professionals.

Disasters such as this really test the effectiveness of elected leaders and staff in a city and county such as ours. I know there are a lot of residents like myself who want to say, “Thanks for a job well done.”

City Manager Tony Coroalles, and the tireless staff made city hall grand central station for information regarding the fire. Mayor Groveman, Councilwoman Maurer and Councilman Wolfson were riding the streets to see if evacuations were taking place properly. Our communications department was providing the entire news media updates and information via the Calabasas website. The news briefing with Gov. Schwarzenegger was just a small part of a major media effort to communicate with the public and deal with an everchanging and complex situation. News briefings in such an instance are part of any good mayor’s effective leadership.

We can all be proud that Calabasas set the standard very high for how to handle such events and set an example of how to get things done. Mayor Groveman, together with many others, rolled up his sleeves and worked more than 48 hours straight to see that things were well-managed.

There are at least 3,000 homeowners who are incredibly happy that their homes are still intact and I bet they are pretty happy with the mayor and all involved. Martha Fritz Calabasas Planning Commissioner


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