To the Editor:
If you live in Fillmore or Ventura County you have the unique privilege of being able to vote on developments that would sprawl into open space and farmland. Because SOAR, Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources, expires in 2020 one thousand Fillmore registered voters signed a petition to put Measure A on the November ballot to expand that privilege to 2050. However, there is a very good chance that it will fail and we lose that privilege in 2020.
This is why: The Fillmore City Council, as one of them suggested, thinks that only they can make good decisions about development. So they are trying to stop our right to vote by placing their own SOAR-like Measure G on the ballot.
You may wonder how that could work. It’s simple math; ballot measures need 50% plus one vote to win and the council knows that if enough people who like SOAR vote only for their measure then both measures will fail to exceed the 50% threshold needed to pass. The City Council wins and we all lose.
If you want to keep your right to vote on future development then you must vote YES on the original SOAR Measures A (Fillmore) and C (County) to avoid splitting the vote as the city council hopes will occur. SOAR is our best hope of not becoming just like Los Angeles and Orange County.
You can also help by getting involved. For informational material and/or yard signs please call me at 524-2028,
Bob Stroh
947 Santa Clara St.
Fillmore, CA 93015
805-524-2028

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To the Editor:
While there are many issues of concern in this year's election (health care, the economy, foreign policy, immigration policy, etc.), two issues should have overriding importance for the Christian voter. The first, that I'll address today, is abortion.
There has never been any doubt in the mind of Christ's Church that abortion is murder. The Didache, a 1st century summary of the Apostles' teaching used widely in the early Church, states, "You shall not abort." The canons of the Council of Ancyra (A.D. 314) state that not only are those who have an abortion guilty of murder, but those who support and enable abortion are guilty as well. Abortion is the willing, intentional murder of a child while in his mother's womb - a grievous sin in God's sight. It is a sin which, unless repented of, will keep one out of heaven, for, as John writes, "no murderer has eternal life." (1 John 3:15)
The good news is that God holds out His mercy to those who have had an abortion, and to those who support abortion "rights." If they repent and trust in Christ, God will forgive their sins, and cleanse them from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). God's mercy is greater than our sin.
The bad news is that those who refuse to repent and who knowingly support and enable abortion will face Christ's judgment - with the end, eternal misery in hell. (John 5:28-29; Revelation 21:8)
What is voting for candidates who support abortion rights, who use their political office to support and promote the murder of the unborn, but joining them in supporting and enabling abortion ourselves? In the early Church this was a sin that brought excommunication. It still is in the sight of God. What excuse could we give Christ at the Judgment when He demands to know why we helped murder the unborn by helping to put pro-abortion rights candidates in office? That the economy or our favorite immigration policy was more important than the life of the unborn? At which point Christ will say, "I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness. Take him away and cast him into outer darkness; there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth " (Matthew 7:21, 22:13) The Christian should use his vote to promote what is good and right in the sight of God, not what is evil.
In this presidential election there are two major candidates from the two major political parties running. While neither is perfect, one party and one candidate support the life of the unborn, and one party and one candidate support the murder of the unborn. The Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton support the murder of the unborn. They call it supporting a woman's "right to choose" and "women's health." Does God give a woman the right to choose to kill the child in her womb? Is it supporting women's health to support the killing of unborn baby girls so that they never have the chance to become a woman? Thanks to politicians like President Obama and Hillary Clinton 60 million unborn American babies have never had the chance to live. How are you going to use your vote? To help enable the killing of millions more? Or to save the lives of the unborn? God is watching, and He knows full well how we vote.
Rev. Leslie R. Lanier
Fillmore

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To the Editor:
Kelly Long’s platform on her official campaign website is deliberately misleading, just like her positions on the environment. Why? It is because she has major ties to Big Oil. (She has received $160,000 from the oil industry during the current supervisorial race!) She claims to be pro-environment, yet she is not supporting SOAR. She has not opposed the Mission Rock Power Plant in Santa Paula. My conclusion is that Kelly Long is a political puppet, telling us what her donors want us to hear. We cannot afford to be misled by such a politician in the future. We must vote for a candidate whose actions match her words. We must vote for a candidate who truly wants what is best for the people and the environment. Carla Castilla is that candidate. She will fight for us and the protection of the environment! I encourage you to vote for Carla Castilla for 3rd District County Supervisor.
Sincerely,
Todd Shuman
Camarillo