It is disturbing to see so many of the usual suspects coming out with another round of “bash the council” letters as a result of the Robert Adler/Deirdre Roney fiasco. Neither councilmember Andy Stern nor Sharon Barovsky is responsible for what happened at that Dec. 1 planning
commission meeting. The fault lies squarely with former commissioners Adler and Roney, and by their actions, they gave Stern and Barovsky no choice but to relieve them of their duties. These councilmembers would have been negligent had they not done so. Every commissioner serves at the pleasure of the councilperson who appointed them and can be replaced at their choosing at any time. Firing their commissioners was clearly not an easy thing to do and both Stern and Barovsky deserve credit, not condemnation for their integrity and courage. If Stern and Barovsky were the ones being accused of Brown Act violations and failing to disclose ex-parte communications, you can be sure the same people now defending Adler and Roney would be calling for their heads. Such hypocrisy. It is sad that we cannot support our elected officials and feel it necessary to question and condemn their every decision and I fear that Adler and Roney do not realize some of their supporters are merely using them as puppets in order to further fan the flames of dissent and promote their own extremist agenda.
Melanie Goudzwaard