Council critic an asset to Thousand Oaks

As a former 20-plus-year resident of Thousand Oaks, I am compelled to respond to Ken Ramsey's letter attacking Debbie Gregory.

I wonder why Mr. Ramsey chose to personally attack Debbie Gregory instead of addressing any of the issues regarding the Ventura County grand jury's scathing report of the Thousand Oaks City Council.

Mr. Ramsey erroneously concluded that Ms. Gregory is not a small business owner and has no idea how to run a business.

I happen to be the director of administration for her company. You bet she knows how to run a business. Ms. Gregory has the highest ethics and works longer hours than anyone I know.

Ms. Gregory is a dedicated citizen. She has served on numerous Thousand Oaks city committees, including five years on the Residents Roundtable.

Additionally, she has been a member of the CVUSD Bondac since 1998 and is currently vicepresident of her homeowners' association, as well as president of Save the Conejo, a nonprofit environmental group.

I could give you a laundry list of her charitable works, but I don't want to embarrass her. So let's not shift the focus away from the issue, which is that certain members of the city council circumvented democracy.

In closing, I think Debbie would make an excellent city councilmember.

Whether she chooses to run for office or is content to support the candidates she has total faith in, Thousand Oaks is fortunate to have people like her. Judi James Simi Valley