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Published October 27th, 2021
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Letters to the editor
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Appoint a new council member
As residents of Moraga since 1980, we are very concerned about the refusal of the Town Council's two members McCluer and Woehleke to agree to appoint one of two qualified candidates to take the place of resigned council member Mr. Stromberg.
The Council had already agreed to appoint someone to fill Mr. Stromberg's seat until the November 2022 regular election, a year from now. This procedure has worked well in the past, avoiding the high and unnecessary cost of holding a special election in June. Town residents Kerry Hillis and Sona Makker have applied to be considered for the open council seat and are considered qualified candidates.
Regretfully, Council members McCluer and Woehleke refusals to govern responsibly by agreeing to appoint one of the two candidates as a council member means a special and unnecessary election must be held in June which would cost our town around $100,000 - a needless waste of our town's limited resources!
We urge Town Council members McCluer and Woehleke to actively participate in a discussion at their next meeting on October 27 regarding candidates Hillis and Makker and vote on their choice to fill the vacant council seat so Moraga Town Council can get back to work on the highly important matters awaiting their attention.
Cayo and Fred Marschner
Moraga
Agenda item for Town Council
Last week the Moraga Town Council became deadlocked over the appointment of a candidate to fill the vacancy created recently by the resignation of Councilmember Stromberg. I was deeply troubled as I watched the inability of Mayor McCluer and Vice Mayor Woehleke to see the value, talents, and significant experience of both candidates before them. Due to the impasse in getting at least 3 votes for one of the candidates threatens the scheduling of a Special Election for next May or June at the cost of around $100,000 for a mere 5 month term. An appointment at this time would have a 12 month term.
Either candidate would bring the perspective and expertise of a relatively young, well-qualified, and energetic person to the Council. Bringing this person onto the Council now would have the benefit of a full 5-member Council as it processes the complex matters and makes major decisions in the coming year. In addition, an appointment at the next Council meeting on Oct. 27 would prevent the Town from wasting $100,000 on a needless special election.
I urge the Mayor and Vice-Mayor to fulfill their basic responsibility to set interpersonal matters aside and govern responsibly for the people of Moraga.
Victoria Courtney, Ed.D.
Moraga
Appoint a Moraga Town Council member and save us all a lot of money
The Moraga Town's government isn't making a lot of sense. Rather than appoint one of the qualified candidates to the open vacancy on the Town Council, two of the council's members prefer to spend $93k-163k of money the Town does not have on a special election.
Do us all a favor and do your job. Appoint one of the qualified candidates and save us all the money of a special election.
David Lori�
Moraga
Moraga Council seat
I strongly object to the lack of action at filling the open council seat. We need a full council and we need those currently on it to act in the best interests of the town.
We have many worthy projects for the Town to spend its limited resources on. Running a special election is low on that list and any Council member who forces such an action is surely not going to get my vote and probably many others.
Furthermore, having arbitrary criteria that do not depend on candidates actual qualifications is bigotry. If that criteria is skin color is it racism,; if it has to do with age, it is ageism. That is not the kind of Town we should want to live in.
I urge the Council to fill this vacancy quickly with one of the vetted candidates. The town can then get on to priority issues and the voters can express their views at the next regularly scheduled election.
Sincerely,
Max Sherman
Rheem Valley
Critical Race Theory
Local parents should be aware that Critical Race Theory (CRT) is being promoted at local high schools and courses are being taught. Miramonte has "English 4 Deconstructing Race" per the Course Catalog for 2021-2022; see "Diversity and Inclusion" at miramonteparents.com. For Campolindo information see "Diversity, Equity & Inclusion" under "About Campo" at the main Campo website. The Acalanes School District has a computerized "AUHSD Bias Incident Reporting System," where one can report offenders, anonymously if desired.
At dnicampo.com is the following: "This year, the Campo Parent DNI Group will push on issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging based on gender, race, and sexual orientation and their intersectionality in the classroom, on the sports field, on campus, and in the community."
CRT is a Marxist-derived philosophy in which the world's people divide into oppressors and oppressed. See Wikipedia, a review of "Critical Theory" from the Frankfurt Group, and "Critical Race Theory: An Introduction" by Delgado and Stefancic. You can gain an understanding of this worldview from Campo's definitions at dnicampo.com/resources, where you will find the following terms defined: cisgender, diversity, equity, gender identity, gender expression, white culture, marginalized group, BIPOC, diversity, implicit bias, power, privilege, race, whiteness, microaggression, structural racism, white privilege, and others.
David Berti
Moraga |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA