To the Editor:
I’m Douglas Tucker and I’m running for City Council. I’ve served the citizens of Fillmore as Chair of the Planning Commission and on the North Fillmore Neighborhood Committee. I believe Clay Westling, our current City Clerk, intentionally limited my ability to present myself through my Candidate Statement which will be used in the November election. The City Clerk should be unbiased, but in my opinion, his actions have been anything but. As part of my intended Candidate Statement I said “we need to put Fillmore back on track”, to which he, Clay Westling, said he didn’t like that statement and rejected my candidate statement. After re-writing my statement, Clay then proceeded to try to say that I chose to re-write my statement on my own accord and he didn’t request it. Thankfully a news reporter was present to witness this interaction with Mr. Westling. My statement that “We need to put Fillmore back on track” means more to me now than it did prior to my experience with the City Clerk. I hope readers agree that it’s time to “Put Fillmore back on track” and get it moving in the right direction again. Thank you and I look forward to your vote in November.
Sincerely,
Douglas Tucker

***

To the Editor:
After 80 years in business it is incredible that so many people we have done business with are still around and still participating. I guess the old adage is true: “What you put in is what you get out.”
The joint mixer of the Santa Paula and Fillmore Chambers of Commerce hosted by Harrison Industries on Aug. 9 was well attended and put some much needed money in the Santa Clara Valley Boys & Girls Club’s bank account. It’s a good reason why businesses should join their local Chamber of Commerce.
Thank you for all who attended, networked, donated money and just plain had fun. Thank you also for taking the time in this blazing hot weather to come out and be a part of it all.
Nan Drake
Director Government Affairs and Public Relations
Harrison Industries

***

To the Editor:
A Forgotten Code of Ethics
In what is called a "first-in-a-generation" competitive congressional campaign for our country, unethical campaign practices are still prevalent. Julia Brownley has returned us to actions that I would correlate with Thomas Hobbes' State of Nature. In this state of being any person has a natural right to do anything they will to preserve their own life, and this life is referred as, "nasty, brutish, and short." This congressional race is quite short indeed, but hasn't lacked in desperate, life-saving actions.
Before the primary election, it seemed like a race between State Senator Tony Strickland and Ventura County Supervisor and independent candidate Linda Parks. California's "top-two" primary system would leave the Democrats with no candidate for our new district. When this became a reality to Democrats in Washington, tons of money began to pour in to the race. According to an article from the VC Star posted on May 12, "Since May 4, the House Majority PAC (a Democratic super PAC established Spring 2011) has spent $156,000 on a commercial promoting Assemblywoman Julia Brownley and a $22,000 mailer attacking Supervisor Linda Parks."
They say desperate times call for desperate measures, a cheap-shot against an independent candidate who in a poll as late as the first week of May had a 17 percent to 11 percent lead. In a response on Parks' website she stated, "The only thing candidates can do to counter outside PAC money is to live by the code of ethics, which we (candidates) signed saying we would publicly repudiate dishonest attacks... she has chosen not to honor her signed pledge."
Ventura County is made of honest, dedicated, and hard working people like Tony Strickland, who do not stoop down to these kinds of dishonest practices.
Justin Moraga
Camarillo

***

To the Editor:
Tony Strickland's Plan To Spur An Economic Recovery Through Renewable Energy
The U.S. Department of Commerce estimated that California's GDP was $1.9 trillion in 2010. That places our state among the world's largest economies. Nestled between Brazil and India, two of the BRIC countries we have heard so much about lately, California holds the distinction of the ninth largest economy on earth.
But before you start waving your Bear flag, face the other set of facts. Our state, like our nation, is in decline. Just a decade ago California ranked three places higher as the 6th largest economy. Now it faces a $28 billion budget shortfall this year and next. That is the equivalent of the overall budget of 12 other states combined: Delaware, Idaho, maine, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia.
Compounding our economic blight is our dependence on energy sources which are in intermittent supply, expensive, and harm the environment. Under diversification of energy sources has become a major liability. Especially in the face of a potential war with Iran or what is being predicted tas an especially nasty hurricane season.
I started paying attention to Tony Strickland during the 2001 energy crisis. He stepped forward and brought then Governor Gray Davis to court, forcing Davis's administration to divulge their secret dealings with energy companies and the details of the expensive contracts they had ensnared the state in.
Tony Strickland has weathered opposition from his own party, doing what he thinks is right. He crossed the aisle to support SB2, SB14, and SB 292 which benefited both the economy and environment. Tony Strickland is a different kind of Republican, who does what is right for his constituents. He will fight to improve our economy, but also our environment through energy reform.
We need Tony Strickland to represent us in Congress.
Very Respectfully,
Joe Caliendo
Moorpark

***

To the Editor:
There is only one candidate in the race for Congress who has shown the dedication, work ethic, and consistency needed to represent Ventura County in Washington.
Tony Strickland has a superb record of representing our community and working in a bipartisan fashion in order to achieve necessary goals, and neither wavers in his core party. He makes every decision with his family and our community in mind, and that is how he will serve us in Washington.
I admire that Tony campaigns for office similar to how he serves in office-as an active member of our community who listens to the people he represents. Tony’s dedication and work ethic will do Ventura County wonders in Washington, which is why I look forward to having Tony Strickland represent my family and my community in Congress
Robert Harris
Newbury Park

***

To the Editor:
Dedication, community, and family is what Tony Strickland stands for.
He has a proven record of serving Ventura County and is dedicated to achieving necessary goals through a bipartisan fashion.
His work ethic and dedication seen serving our community is what Ventura County needs in Washington. When making decisions, Tony Strickland always keeps his community and family in mind. Strickland is fighting to keep the Naval base in Ventura in service; thus, keeping the jobs of many officers that play an active role in our community.
Tony Strickland really listens to the people he represents, and that's why he will do Ventura County a great service as congressman. I really look forward to having Tony Strickland represent my family and community in congress.
Jamie Sullivan
Thousand Oaks

***

To the Editor:
Strickland Vows To Defend Naval Base Ventura County
On Tuesday morning an experimental aircraft ripped through the sky over Point Magu at 4,5000 mph. Rocket boosters and scramjet technology hurtled the X-51A WaveRider to 70,000 feet and hypersonic speeds within seconds. The product of collaboration between NASA, the DoD, and Boeing, it represents the cutting edge of aviation technology.
Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC), which is made up of a deep-water port, airfield, and complex network of radar stations, is an ideal place for such tests. Apart from its status as the 6th largest U.S. Navy base, its location on the Pacific makes it perhaps one of the ultimate testing ranges for pioneering military projects.
But even given all this, NBVC finds itself under threat of extinction again. Washington has signaled that it may initiate a Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC). After the last BRAC assessment, seven years ago, the commission closed 185 sites and realigned 135. If initiated again, it would be the sixth such commission since 1988, each leaving broken defenses and shattered local economies in its wake.
Tony Strickland has committed to protect the 19,000 men and women who work at the base and the thousands of others who owe their jobs to support industries. The brunt of spending cuts should not be on a sliver of the Federal budget, especially the one that funds the core duty of the government—to protect life and property.
Others pose a false dilemma, saying it is either cuts or taxes (or some combination of both). Tony Strickland recognizes that which Washington insiders fail to perceive, the third option: grow the economy. By removing impediments to small businesses, hiring, and hardworking families, output will sore and revenues will swell. All this can be achieved while protecting those who stand ready to protect us.
Respectfully,
Shane Tayloe