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Brentwood Press - OakleyPress_10.10.08 - Index

22A | BRENTWOODPRESS.COM OCTOBER 10, 2008
Letters from page 20A
the money it costs us, insurance companies
and the government, should not a
big foot be put down and these people be
told, “We said no; we mean no.”
If they are allowed to build a retaining
wall because of a report, who is to
say their neighbor can’t build one, and
their neighbor’s neighbor, so on and so
on. I ask you, Bethel Island residents
and governing agencies: are you going to
allow this to happen? Is your wall more
important than our safety?
The risks are very high. What are
you going to do about this? Or will you
sit silent? How much money will come
out of the budget for lawyers? Couldn’t
that money be used to improve levees?
Ken Rickner
Bethel Island
Careless with our cash
Editor:
I have lived in Discovery Bay full
time for almost 25 years and I am appalled
by the changes I have seen going
on with our Community Services District
(CSD) Board. I have watched David
Piepho and Bob Doran and their followers
make decisions that do not seem to
be in the best interests of the residents of
Discovery Bay.
I am concerned with things they
have done, such as spending over
$300,000 in fi nes on our wastewater effl
uent contamination rather than fi x the
problem. Why? Because like all politicians,
they are spending our money and
not theirs, so it does not matter to them.
If they had a problem in their homes
that needed fi xing, would they fi x it or
just pay fi nes? If their own were money
involved, I think we know that answer.
Why would they spend almost
$100,000 in attorney fees to fi ght a constituent
who has fi led a non-monetary
lawsuit for the board to follow the statemandated
Brown Act for open meetings?
Why don’t they just conform to the law?
Again, if it were a personal matter, and
they had to spend their own money,
would they fi ght it? I think not.
And now the sewage spill. Why
did it take them over fi ve days to shut
off the fountain? If it were their family
being sprayed with fecal matter, I bet
they would have gotten it turned off in
an hour or less. But then again, I should
have known: they only do what they
want, not what is in the best interests of
the community.
Now I understand that a portion of
this contaminated water has mysteriously
been pumped into our bays, and no one
seems to know how it happened. Does
that sound believable? I would bet the
CSD board members don’t swim in the
contaminated Delta.
The best one is the ZIP code party!
How many of us care about what our
ZIP code is? Big deal! But they spent
almost $4,000 secretly, without public
notice, on a party for David Piepho’s
wife, Mary Nejedly Piepho, Contra
Costa County supervisor, to celebrate her
work on the ZIP code issue.
Again, it was not their money. They
didn’t need to pay for a party out of their
own pocket, did they? Why didn’t they
spend that money to fi x the sprinklers in
the landscaping on Clipper Drive rather
than a ZIP code party?
My property tax bill shows an assessment
of almost $800 for the CSD,
and if I am going to give them my
money, I want it spent like I would spend
my own funds.
Let’s not bring back the same people
to play follow-the-leader again. Don’t
vote for Bob Doran or Jennifer Finetti,
who are endorsed by most members
of the current board. Instead, vote for
Mark Simon and Ray Tetreault, who
recognize our need for change, support
CSD accountability and open and honest
communication.
Howard “Mat” Mathews
Discovery Bay
Signs of desperation
Editor:
The race for the Discovery Bay
CSD is going to be the most important
election this community has faced.
Candidates Bob Doran and Jennifer
Finetti are supported by four of the fi ve
current board members, including the
current board president and past board
president.
Mark Simon and Ray Tetreault
are running independent of the current
board because they see a need for
improved priorities, board accountability
and open communications with
the community. An excellent example of
their concerns is the recent report issued
by the State Water Quality Board. The
report seriously criticized the Discovery
Bay CSD for the handling of the
100,000-gallon raw sewage spill in the
Lakeshore community, lack of required
regulatory reporting and lack of appropriate
communication in the interest of
public safety.
Failure to follow state regulations
and ignore public safety is inexcusable
and costly to the community. Electing
Doran and Finetti guarantees more of
the same lack of attention and poor
leadership. The town of Discovery Bay
deserves better, and that is why Mark
and Ray are running.
This race has now taken a desperate
turn! In the last few weeks, a signifi cant
number of campaign signs for Mark Simon
and Ray Tetreault have been stolen
and a banner was defaced with black
spray paint. These actions are not simple
vandalism but the acts of desperation. I
hope these thugs realize that their actions
are federal offenses and are taken very
seriously by law enforcement.
Accusations were made at the Oct.
1 CSD meeting that Mark Simon and
Ray Tetreault signs were in violation of
campaign laws because they used the
word “elect” and did not identify who
paid for them. The same charges were
not leveled at Doran and Finetti. We
contacted the California Fair Political
see Letters page 24A