Save us Carl Boyer! SCV getting screwed by LA County again

After this week's news, who can argue with him? On multiple fronts, from water quality issues, to elections, to the leasing of a public good to a private entity, we're getting the shaft from LA County. 

The County registrar says he won't permit every SCV school district, from elementary schools to College of the Canyons, to hold elections in even-numbered years, when turnout is high. It's too difficult and too much work, the registrar seems to be saying in today's report. He's going to recommend to the County supervisors that they deny our petition, that they deny what every school district & one water district in this valley want just because it's too much work. 

And on the chloride issue, what has Supervisor Antonovich done to help defend our interests against the interests of those down river? Practically nothing, other than approving a nearly $1 million public relations campaign that also happens to benefit a PR firm Councilwoman Laurene Weste sits on. Oh, and in 2009 he called the chloride mandate "unreasonable." 

And finally, just last night, the LA County Metro Board of Directors voted to move forward with their shady and hastily prepared plans for a public-private partnership toll lane project on I-5, a project we've already paid for with Measure R dollars. Supervisor Antonovich -who is board chairman- didn't even have the courage to vote yay or nay; he abstained saying he felt "conflicted." 

Regular day-to-day County services we use remain, at least, dependable even as cuts have been made.  We've seen more fire stations open in the SCV in the last several years which is great considering how fire-prone our area is, but we have no visibility into the future of the Civic center, or whether we'll ever get another Sheriff's station. The one proposal from the County a year ago or so was to build a new courthouse and Sheriff's station near Castaic Junction, far away from all population centers in the SCV but close to Newhall Ranch. The City even offered the County free land in Golden Valley for a new Courthouse, but that was turned down. 

Meanwhile services offered by our Courthouse have been cut and SCVers have to travel over the hill to do routine legal things, like file small claims or answer for jury duty. We're told we should not expect those services to ever return, even as we grow. 

It's time to face the facts. Boyer's been right all along. We're a big city now,but we're a small fish in Los Angeles County's sea of 10 million people. Those of you who live outside City boundaries are represented by Supervisor Antonovich, who also represents 2 million other unincorporated County residents. That's right; the unincorporated County population is about equivalent to New Mexico's population, and people in New Mexico get two Senators and three Congressmen!

We have no power to sway the County; our influence is weak, our leadership unwilling to even vote on a controversial issue. It's time to consider Boyer's idea again.