BY KATHERINE KELLY

I read a part of Ron Gastineau’s Coastal Voices piece in the Triplicate dated October 5th, and wow, just wow. He serves as a great example of what’s wrong with our leadership here in Crescent City. His vitriolic attack on the Prop 218 organizers lacks actual facts and he traffics heavily in the usual misinformation we’ve come to know and even expect from our city’s leaders.

For one, Mr. Gastineau, we are not about protesting every rate increase you throw out there. We are protesting this unreasonable rate increase because people can’t afford it. You would know this if you went out door to door and talked to people like we do. If the increase had been only 60% I would not be wasting my time, energy and life on this protest. But it’s not just 60%, it’s 150%, so your greed is what got this protest started.

One fact he got right is that I am the person who put the anti-fluoride initiative on the ballot and got the toxic industrial waste by-product out of our drinking water. It’s painfully obvious that Mr. Gastineau did no research on the fluoride issue and still stands by his uninformed opinion that fluoride is safe and an effective cavity fighter. To Mr. Gastineau I ask, how much actual research have you done on fluoride and its health effects and lack of safety study did you do before you repeated the propaganda used by financially invested fluoridationists? I’m sure you Goggled the Center for Disease Control (CDC)or some other agency that cannot stand against fluoride without losing funding. I spent the better part of ten years studying the scientific data, from all sides. And I’m happy to say, since the fluoride has been removed from the water, my thyroid medication has been reduced. My 27 year old friend who suffered from unexplained seizures has had no seizures since the fluoride was removed from our city water. I could cite more cases, but I don’t think you’re listening.

But to the point of the issue at hand, the water rate increase, we are not running around scaring people. We are stating facts, as always. The liars are the city council and every other city lackey who makes the claim the water rate increase is only 60% instead of the actual total increase of 150%. You need to tell the whole story, not just cherry pick a couple of facts out of context.

Mr. Gastineau, you need to better educate yourself as a leader of this community. I find your intellect woefully lacking and your ability to think critically is completely missing. We need greater minds to do the hard work they were elected to do, not just fall back on the rate payers as is your habit. We also need our city leadership to actually know the people they represent: all of them, and not just those who fit into their bubble. If any one of you sitting on that council knew what we know about the people that comprise our city you would not have even entertained the idea of raising our rates because you would have known about the abject poverty of the area.

And what’s with the petty personal attacks? That seems to be common among city council members. What happens to you after the election? You become nasty and hateful and forget you are here to represent the entire city and each and every one of us deserves respect. No class, no integrity, a bunch of childish liars. No wonder we’re always having a crisis here. Councilmembers Kathryn Murray and Kelly Schellong must have taught you how to be a first rate petty ass.

Our city deserves so much better. I hope when elections roll around again that people still carry the same sentiment I am hearing at nearly every door I knock on. The city council is not to be trusted and they screw up everything. That’s what people think of you all and the job you do. The most common question I hear: “What are they thinking when they ask for more money? Don’t they know we can’t afford this?”

Apparently, they don’t. And apparently, they also don’t care.

Remember Mr. Gastineau that when we succeed and you have failed, guess what?  We, the people, will have spoken.  Here’s the message……….look for the money elsewhere.