CitySeal.jpgDoes Santa Clarita City Councilman Frank Ferry support illegal immigration? Are his political views and positions being shaped by Cardinal Mahony?  Is Frank Ferry representing G&L Realty and not his constituents? Does Councilwoman Marsha McLean get chauffeured around by city staffers? Is Councilwoman Laurene Weste trying to position herself to make a handsome profit by selling some property to the City of Santa Clarita?

I don’t know the full answers to all these questions but I do know that there are a lot of people in the Santa Clarita Valley that are asking these questions and others. That should be a red flag to any registered voter that lives within the Santa Clarita city limits.

There has been a lot of chatter over the last couple of years that some City Council members are being chauffeured around SCV and the region by City staff members. In particular City Councilwoman Marsha McLean has been linked to this potential abuse more often than not.

The Beacon obtained substantial documentation from the City of Santa Clarita on Council member McLean’s travel for the last several years. What struck us immediately was that no information in that considerable stack of documents was redacted, edited or in anyway censored. It was almost as if some City staffers wanted to throw McLean under the bus!

That documentation revealed that there were a lot of staffers who were driving Marsha to and from various meetings and functions. It certainly begged the question, was this simply “carpooling” or was it “chauffeuring” involving City employees.

In reviewing the documents and emails there were a number of phrases that popped out to us as suspect, for instance this selection:

“Robert will pick up Marsha at her home at 8:30 and take her to the meeting”, May 20, 2009; “I assume I am picking her up at her house?”, September 8, 2009; “Ian, are you taking Marsha to mtg wed as she was asking me.”, October 5, 2009; “Mark Hunter will be taking Marsha this time.”, October 12, 2009; “Marsha was asking who was going to drive her down to the Orangeline meeting next week.”, March 31, 2009; and “Debbie will pick you up at your home around 4:30, like normal.”, November 3, 2006.

Like normal!

Wow, that certainly doesn’t appear to be carpooling. No, carpooling usually involves a group of drivers that rotate turns driving and who usually meet at a specific location like a Ride-Share lot or a home. There was neither evidence of that nor references to Marsha ever driving others to a meeting or picking anyone up at their homes. Not once did we see in the emails Marsha McLean offering to drive or pick up a City staff member at their home.

Look, we don’t have an issue with City employees picking up a Council member once in a while to take them to an official function or meeting but when it becomes habitual and expected then that seems to become an abuse of office.

Shifting gears, it appears that Frank Ferry is condoning illegal immigration since he refuses to take a definitive position on the topic. Instead he invoked God at a City Council meeting claiming God does not distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants as a justification, that doesn’t seem to be relevant to the issue at hand; people breaking the immigration laws.

Ferry also claimed to be a full-blooded Republican and recited his Republican credentials during that same City Council meeting. Yet, he appears to be firmly in the camp of his boss, Cardinal Mahony and his view that he would …”attack a House bill that would turn most people and institutions that aid illegal immigrants into felons. Calling it “blameful, vicious” legislation” and he favors “amnesty” for all illegal immigrants. I don’t think that makes Ferry a mainstream Republican!

Is Frank Ferry’s loyalty with Cardinal Mahony or with the residents of the City of Santa Clarita? What if Cardinal Mahony demands that SCV become a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants? Will Frank Ferry support that view? I’m not sure that Ferry actually cares about City residents like he does his own hide!

And then there is Laurene Weste; she owns a piece a property in Newhall and may be positioning it to be sold to the City of Santa Clarita for a handsome profit. Is that proper and above board or would that have an appearance of impropriety and a conflict of interest?  Even if she were to recues herself from any vote or involvement it still won’t pass the smell test in my book. How about you?  

Are you comfortable with City Council members taking advantage of their elected positions?

At what point will the voters of the City of Santa Clarita wise up and realize that the current Council incumbents have overstayed their welcome and have become too cozy in City Hall. Are you okay with the documented shenanigans and the entitlement attitudes seeping out of the Santa Clarita Council Chambers?  

After more than a decade on the City Council, Ferry, Weste and McLean have become stale as day-old toast. The City Council of Santa Clarita needs fresh blood; individuals that will actually put residents first and will serve the City not themselves.

If you are a registered voter in the City please take the time to look into all the candidates that are running for the three City Council seats. This election is not over until the last vote is counted. The last time that I checked this is still a democracy and your vote does count. Make your voice heard and take time to participate in the April City Council election. You can make the difference!

Dave Bossert- Commentary

Dave Bossert is a community volunteer who serves on a number of boards and councils. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.