Editor,
Congratulations to Rob Zur Schmeide on your election win. You ran a very well organized, well-funded and effective campaign. You got Village Laguna’s endorsement and funding while saying you were not aligned with this liberal organization thereby positioning yourself in the middle and appealing to independent voters. You managed to not state where you stood on either the Village Entrance project at the time it was being voted on or the artist live work project – two issues that are third rail items and arouse passions in Laguna. You held your campaign kick off party under a big tent (proclaiming to be all inclusive) at The Ranch showing your support for the embattled owner fighting against paving paradise (yet that is precisely what he did in a riparian wetland on his property without permits).
And so you won. Now you are our councilman and have declared that you are independent of any organization (Village Laguna) and will vote on the merits of the issues. I hope so. I pray so. We don’t need any more ideologues on the council who vote Village Laguna so they will stay in their good graces and funding.
And I don’t mean independent voting on little things. I mean the issues that Village Laguna cares deeply about, but their view is wrong for moving Laguna into the future. You have four years to prove to Lagunans that you are an independent. You will now have a record on which to run in four years.
We will be watching in the hope you are independent or if you follow lock step with Village Laguna. Please be the independent you ran as.
Michele Monda, Laguna Beach
