March 23, 2018
LETTER FROM DAVE DEPINTO IN RESPONSE TO COUNCILWOMAN MONICA RODRIQUEZ’S LETTER REGARDING THE 200+ LETTERS PERSONALLY DELIVERED TO HER OFFICE
Some people are receiving written responses from you to the letters they submitted to your office calling for greater action and responsiveness to constituents on the high-speed train issue. Many of these letters were submitted at the large Unity Meeting which you failed to attend. We question why you continue your misinformation campaign and hope you realize you lack credibility at this time on this issue. A weak letter like yours, full of deflection, deceit, delay, and outdated claims, will not change what constituents think or demand.
Thus, I’m sending you all a recap of last night’s Sylmar neighborhood council meeting. The building of this strong grassroots Coalition against the high-speed train project continues with no assistance from your office. At the end of the recap is our very clear assessment of CD7 on this issue.
We are seeing that you are completely out of step with the clearly expressed will of your District. But that’s what happens when you work in isolation and don’t trust and take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and expertise possessed by Community leaders. While you have been in office for about 9 months, your district has lived with this threat for over 3 years. What your District wants is for you to demand the removal of the present routes. Stand up and be tough for your constituents!
Seeking new alternatives is akin to trying to save the world and to save the high-speed train project. That is not the concern of your constituents. Especially when the alternative you are touting is so far-fetched , long-term and a long shot. You are putting this District in the position of another unwanted 3-5 year delay as any new alternative will need to undergo full environmental review and obtain the necessary funding.
If you would meet with us, if you would talk with us, and if you would work with us you might be more in sync with the interests of your constituents. The fact that you met with the Coalition during the campaign more than a year ago is irrelevant at this point. You should know better than anyone that this is a day-to-day campaign against the now $78 billion high-speed train project with serious political, technical and environmental issues happening regularly. It requires daily focus, strategy, work and TEAMWORK. That you have not communicated or worked with the SAFE Coalition for nearly a year is grossly negligent and a breach of the Pledge you signed as a candidate.
As your Advisory Council on this issue, we call for complete transparency from you and we call for you to represent the interests of all your constituents.
For the time it took for you to prepare your meaningless response letter, you could have written or called the Authority and demanded a meeting in the northeast San Fernando Valley. You could have expressed to the Authority your demand for removal of the existing routes. Or you could have sat down and met with us.
Again, we call on cd7 for greater focus, collaboration, responsiveness and transparency.
Dave DePinto
Member, SAFE Coalition
President, Shadow Hills Property Owners Assn.
About the Author: David DePinto
Dave DePinto is the president of the Shadow Hills Property Owners Association and a member of the “working group” that is part of S.A.F.E. (Save Angeles Forest for Everyone).