Attacked unfairly by a city appointee

On June 11 the Acorn printed a vicious personal attack on a private citizen (me) by Thousand Oaks traffic commissioner Rick Lemmo.

Lemmo was responding to my June 4 letter, which pointed out his recent vote at a traffic commission hearing regarding proposed changes to the RV parking code and how I believe our City Council will decide this same issue at its July 14 meeting. My letter neither criticized Lemmo nor misrepresented any facts. However, Lemmo's letter was nothing but an attack and an intimidating spin job, a character assassination of an engaged citizen involved in the community.

When people can't argue facts, they name-call. Maybe I'm doing something right when Lemmo, a friend of T.O. political boss Andy Fox and a Dennis Gillette appointee, calls me divisive, arrogant, intimidating, argumentative, disrespectful and untruthful.

Is Lemmo just a sensitive little demagogue frothing his hate or is it something else? His letter was atypical of public officials, but typical of developers. You see, Lemmo is employed by Rick Caruso, the developer and owner of The Lakes shopping center and Westlake Promenade.

Lemmo helps his boss get handouts from city hall. Remember that $95,000 consulting fee to figure out how to make The Lakes more profitable? How about the city's controversial $12-million "gift" to Caruso for public land The Lakes sits on?

Developers and many public officials would love to snuff out all criticism and muzzle concerned citizens.

Government needs to hear more from citizens, especially those with no special financial interest, unlike developers and their cronies. Lemmo's attack letter serves to intimidate citizens who speak up. Such attacks erode our democracy. The First and 14th amendments provide an absolute, unconditional privilege to criticize official conduct without fear of reprisal.

The city of T.O. has adopted standards of conduct for public officials, which require ethical behavior and respect for differences of opinion. Traffic commissioner Lemmo failed to follow these standards.

I am publicly requesting his resignation or dismissal from the traffic commission. Absent that, our City Council would be condoning such behavior and mocking its own standards of conduct. John Fonti Thousand Oaks