The drum beat continues, as Lynn Melville chimed in with her Santa Maria Times letter to the editor on September 24, 2006.
While agreeing with Dailey's previous letter regarding the "county split debacle and the trucking of contaminated (Guadalupe) sand to our landfill, which sits over our valley's water basin," Melville focuses on the fluoridated water issue in 2003. According to Melville, the Santa Maria City Council went forward with building the equipment to add fluoride to the city's water supply before the citizens even had a chance to vote on whether they wanted it.
Melville also angrily cites the issue of the citizens "being denied their democratic right to elect their mayor." It seems the last three city mayors were appointed from within the ranks of the existing city council, due to the then sitting mayors conveniently resigning in order to allow the appointments.
And then there's the Sterling issue. Melville cites the actions of current council members Marty Mariscal and Alice Patino in allowing the "public humiliation and firing of former Police Chief John Sterling . . . despite hundreds of citizens deluging the council with phone calls, letters and public testimony at council meetings, begging the council to find a way to retain the man who had done so much to unite the city."
Melville ends with, "As Joe Furcinete said in his recall movement against the council in 2003, 'They're not listening to us.' "
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