Letters to the editor: More on Measures A & B; Sheriff and DA races
Voting no on Measures A and B
I am a mother, Camarillo resident, and proud oil and gas industry worker. I will be voting no on Measures A and B. By proposing Measures A and B, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors are not only coming after my job, but the jobs of over 2,000 other hardworking members of the oil and gas community.
A and B are nothing more than a political power grab and could allow just three county supervisors to arbitrarily shut down local energy production that is already strongly regulated. We cannot allow politicians, rather than experts, to make these power-motivated decisions at the expense of the workers who work hard to power our community and the multitude of industries that intersect with our work.
Measures A and B will hurt Ventura County jobs, the economy, our tax base, and make us more dependent on foreign oil imports. Please join me in voting no on A and B this June.
Maria Parrick, Camarillo
God isn’t dividing country
Re: Ira Cohen’s May 5 letter, “Separating church, state crucial”:
For several years some people have tried to remove “under God” from our pledge and blame this for our divisions. What caused much of our present problems is not mentioning God, who is worshiped by the three major religions, but removing God from our schools and public places. It’s mainly in the years since we did that action that we’ve had problems.
Whether it is part of our pledge of allegiance or not, there will always be a division between those who love God and those who believe there is no God. That will not change. There is a division now between those who are law abiding and those who are not; those who believe in a socialist government way of life and those who do not.
Under God was not inserted to divide the people, but to bring honor to God. Many of our problems began when someone felt our Constitution says it’s OK to kill our unborn. Where is that written? After abortions started en mass, we began to see a difference in gang violence and all crime. Are we going to say that God is what is dividing our country?
Mr. Cohen states that our future is at stake without a wall of separation, and I say our future is at stake if we do not allow God back in where He used to be. Our future is at stake — that part is correct.
Rev. Linda Calderon, Oxnard
Ayub is pick for Sheriff
Viewing the March 12 online debate between Mr. Fryhoff and Sheriff Ayub sponsored by the Ventura County Chapter of the California Republican Assembly was informative. Both gentlemen appear to be very qualified for the position, a fortunate situation.
Sheriff Ayub is more skilled around embracing technology, lowering costs, and increasing the efficiencies of the department. Furthermore, Sheriff Ayub has a vision for the office, which he has advanced and intends to continue. Sheriff Ayub’s initiatives regarding additional public information venues and improved officer training programs are impressive. Given the size (1,300 employees) and annual budget ($300 million) of the department, it is preferrable to have a leader with executive management skills when making decisions around the effective use of resources.
Mr. Fryhoff enjoys endorsements from many public employee unions. One should be wary of who your advocates are, and why so. Being endorsed by union officials knowing that their primary motive is solely to continue increasing those very generous compensation, fringe, and retirement benefits, puts Mr. Fryhoff in a difficult position relative to the best interests of the citizens of Ventura County.
George L. Ochs, Thousand Oaks
False take on Measures A and B
Re: Rocky Rhodes’ May 4 letter, “A & B is bad for workers, economy”:
Everything Mr. Rhodes stated in his letter and his reasons for his no vote on Measures A and B are completely false and misguided. Measures A and B are simply to have the antiquated oil leases from the 1950s and 1960s adhere to updated modern regulations. Fracking didn’t even exist back then, therefore any regulations protecting the aquifers near these oil leases were not considered.
Big Oil has spent $6 million against adherence to commonsense protections of our aquifers. In Simi Valley our groundwater is already partially tainted from oil seepage, Rocketdyne chemicals and radioactive runoff. We are in a severe drought and will need that underground water to live. Big Oil doesn’t live here and doesn’t care about our water supply. Allowing them to drill and frack here with abandon will destroy our ground water supplies and damage our safety. Fracking is expensive and is only used when oil prices are high enough to turn a profit in this way. That is why they are trying at this exact time to undermine the regulations. They will frack and ruin our community and when oil prices dip, they will once again abandon those oil wells, fire the workers and leave us to clean up the mess.
Mr. Rhodes talks of cuts to our public safety budget. Measures A & B have nothing to do with that. Mr. Rhodes wants to represent us here on the Simi Valley City Council. He has shown us that he cares nothing about our water supply and safety and that he doesn’t even understand what it is about. Vote yes on Measures A and B. Please disregard the ignorance of Mr. Rhodes.
Leanna Brand, Simi Valley
An endorsement for Nasarenko
I strongly endorse Erik Nasarenko for District Attorney. More than a year ago I had the privilege of voting with my colleagues to appoint him District Attorney. During the appointment process, members of the Board of Supervisors received letters supporting Erik and the other candidates.
One of Erik’s main assignments was prosecution of sex crimes and molestation cases. I was very impressed with the letters of support that I received for Erik. Among them was one special one from a woman who had been the victim of molestation since she was a child. She finally had the courage to report it and Erik led her through years of effort to finally get a conviction. She gave a heartfelt recommendation for Erik for his caring tenacity for her during her ordeal.
Since becoming District Attorney, he has championed help for victims of domestic violence and women and their children who suffer from family violence. He has been instrumental in expanding the Family Justice Centers to include a proposed Oxnard site, the county's largest city and home to a significant number of victims.
He is implementing restorative justice practices for juveniles and a Mental Health Unit to help divert communities of color as well as individuals suffering from mental illness from the criminal justice system when safe and appropriate to do so.
He reached out to me and others at the beginning of his tenure to find members of the management team that were more representative of our county's population, including prosecutors who are women and people of color. And he was successful in finding such members of his team, including Paul Nunez and Lisa Okinaka Lyytikainen.
A steadfast advocate for crime victims and a District Attorney who understands and cares about our communities, I encourage you to vote today for District Attorney Erik Nasarenko.
Carmen Ramirez, Supervisor, District 5, Ventura County Board of Supervisors
Measures will shut down industry
I am Santa Paula resident and a proud oil and gas worker here in Ventura County who will be voting no on Measures A and B. Make no mistake, A and B are part of a coordinated attempt to shut down the local oil and gas industry as we know it. This shutdown in local production would raise energy costs and force us to import even more foreign oil.
What is most concerning to me are the economic impacts and potential job losses. A and B could lead to the loss of over 2,000 local jobs both within the industry and beyond. As a longtime oil field worker, I take that personally. My job matters to my family and me. The jobs of my co-workers matter to their families. We are proud of the work we do for the community, and we want to keep doing that work. I hope Ventura County voters see the light and vote no on A and B.
Alejandro Villavicencio, Santa Paula
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Letters: More on Measures A & B; Sheriff and DA races
