One of the duties of being a citizen of this great nation is the responsibility to vote. As happened in the founding of this nation, there are two different orientations to voting: The first orientation is the expectation that each voter will study the issues by a careful reading and investigation of candidates and ballot measures. For example, in 2020 there was a ballot measure that required that a physician be on-site at dialysis clinics (Prop 23). The catch was that when you read through all the wording on this measure you discovered that no stipulation had been made on the type of physician who needed to be on site, so a pediatrician or podiatrist could serve in this function. The second orientation is the expectation that each voter will choose representatives who will make all the decisions via their vote for them.
The recent letter in the July 30 issue of the Indy by the Viscontis against the mega-commercial (over 22,000 square feet—or bigger than the Pottery Shack) development initiative represents this second kind of orientation—choose elected officials who will decide through their vote for you. The tone of the LTE suggests that by becoming an elected official recombinant DNA occurs and the elected official will always make decisions in community members’ best interests.
However, having an elected representative doesn’t mean that residents should relinquish their right and patriotic duty as citizens to vote. Unlike what the Viscontis claim that our residents, lack the capacity “to make complex decisions about the future of this city”, I think our residents are as smart as the residents of Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, and Dana Point who have all passed similar ballot initiatives that gave their residents the right to vote on big developments. Granted, these cities passed these initiatives after large developments were passed by their City Councils. Laguna’s residents have the chance to learn from their neighboring cities and pass an initiative that will give them the right to turn thumbs up or thumbs down on developments that might exceed our geographic load capacity to care for residents and our guests/visitors’ needs for water, sewage, and safe evacuation in a disaster.
Unlike the Viscontis who write that they “do not believe that most citizens [of Laguna] will have the time and interest to research the complexity of development issues”, I believe in our thoughtful, warm-hearted, residents’ abilities to analyze information. Let them vote. They aren’t children who need others to make decisions for them that impact our community.
Deborah Laughton, Laguna Beach
Deborah Laughton Weiss,
You failed to disclose that the community would also vote on any project that generates 200 or more “average daily trips.” This certainly would be any entertainment, dining, drinking or lodging establishment. Not to mention just about any retail that would be a thriving business. Do the other communities have that level of micro-scrutiny? You also failed to disclose that you are the wife of Councilman George Weiss, and that he is the founder of the PAC advancing this initiative. Special interest much? Like your dialysis example, these kinds of omissions are the very reason why voters can so easily be manipulated when expected to “study the issues by a careful reading and investigation of candidates and ballot measures.” Most of us don’t have time for that. That’s why we vote for elected officials – to do the heavy lifting for us. And the candidates who get the most votes get to make those decisions by majority, even though your husband seems hellbent on subverting that. Here’s an idea: if we were to follow the lead of other coastal cities, then why doesn’t your PAC attempt a recall of the three council members you despise, just as 40 citizens in Huntington Beach recently did?
Once again, the wife of councilmember George Weiss submits a letter to the editor without disclosing her last name. She screams for transparency yet continues to conceal her identity, time and time again hiding behind her maiden name. If the significant other of any other councilmember did this, the community would be up in arms. More “Do as I say, not as I do” from the Weiss household. Shame on the Indy for not putting their foot down. Is it legal for her to push her husband’s ballot initiative while he sits on the Dias and pretends to no longer be involved? So much corruption.
The Indy should prefess every Deborah Laughton LTE with her married name. So disingenuous and angering that this ruse is allowed. She pushes her husband’s initiative while hiding behind her maiden name.
Two words: Google me. I have been Deborah Laughton, publisher and writer, throughout my life.
I simply note that this LTE, written in response to my letter to the editor last week, is authored by Deborah Laughton, who is married to Councilman George Weiss. He founded the PAC Laguna Residents First, who put forth the ballot initiative to allow voters to decide on large development projects in this town.
Deborah’s letter likely and understandably expresses her loyalty to her husband George and to his proposed ballot initiative. In Friday’s Daily Pilot article on the censure he faces for reported disclosure of confidential information he states that “he is new to the council and has had little in the way of training.” He went on to note that transparency is a goal of his. I’d like to ask then, where is the transparency in Deborah’s opinion piece?
I’d also like to mention that we never claimed that ‘‘residents lack the capacity to make decisions about the future of the city’’. This is a misrepresentation of our statement. We clearly emphasized that the complex nature of these development decisions deserves extensive study of land use, great understanding of the Coastal Development permit process, density & environmental impact, open space requirements, and traffic flow; not likely something that most voters will have the time or interest to undertake. It is our understanding that the ballot initiative submitted to the City is 18 pages long. So, how lengthy will the special election ballot descriptions be of the development proposals when put forth to voters?
This is precisely why my husband and I vote for individuals who have experience and demonstrate an ability to undertake the difficult work required to make the best decisions about hotels, stores, mixed use residential/retail, and entertainment venues such as the promenade and Pageant / Festival remodels; not rely on our neighbors and fellow citizens who might be voting without doing the exhaustive research that our Council and committee members are elected to do.
In summary I want to emphasize that my goal in responding to Deborah Laughton is to elucidate that I feel it’s important that she acknowledge she is the wife of councilman Weiss. And, I want to clarify that we never stated that Laguna residents “lack capacity” to do anything related to the process of voting.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/c-deborah-laughton-6a78a7a/
Check out Ms. Laughton’s professional career and her achievements. We all know that this criticism of Ms. Laughton’s use of her maiden name to make comments on her own, separate and apart from her husband’s career, is a smokescreen and roundabout way to go after her husband and distraction from her message.
I thought women had the right to speak for themselves and not hide behind their husband’s name. I am especially surprised that an officer of the local Democratic Club would fall for this obvious partisan attack.