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Published on 09/21/1998 All articles from this issue

Read their lips, not their propaganda

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Editorial

It's still early, but battle lines are already being drawn in the Los Altos Hills council election. As in past elections, this will be a battle over two prevailing philosophies: residents' individual property rights vs. preserving the ruralism of the town.

These philosophies rear themselves most obviously in the town's biggest, most controversial issues: housing design guidelines and off-road pathways.

The four candidates running for two open seats on the council in the Nov. 3 election are evenly divided on the issues. Two, Dorothea Schreiner and Jim Steiner, are on record for supporting controlled growth and retaining pathways. Incumbent councilwoman Toni Casey and Steve Finn are on record for cutting housing applicants more slack, and are generally more skeptical about development of off-road pathways.

That said, however, we encourage you, the voters, to find out for yourselves by:

Talking to the applicants directly. Hear them out at a candidate's forum, or coffee. The Los Altos Hills Civic Association is sponsoring an upcoming forum 7-9 p.m. next Tuesday at Town Hall.

You may find that, despite all the rhetoric, none of the four candidates are extremists, and are willing to listen to reason.

Read material from impartial sources that covers both sides of the issues, such as your local papers.

This last point is important. Past town elections have been marred by anonymous, last-minute fliers, casting falsehoods on candidates.

The newsletters of the Civic Association are another concern. It's no secret the association is a special interest group whose members clearly support Casey and Finn. The association attempts to show the town council and staff overregulating applicants on land use and design guidelines. We appreciate the fact that the association is pledging to hold impartial candidates' forums, but the group's newsletters play the facts to suit one-sided ends.

We hope the forums scheduled by the association will be, as advertised, a balanced airing of candidates' views. We plan to cover at least one of the forums. While we commend the effort, we will not hesitate to point out if some candidates get short shrift. We anticipate sponsoring a mock council meeting in mid-October in which you can see all four candidates acting as a city council, with simulated, yet realistic issues for them to resolve together.

We also ask that the League of Women Voters follow up on its pledge to take an active role in monitoring this election. League members are investigating any and all complaints filed with them, and we have agreed not to bring any to light unless validated by a League investigation.

Let's take the straightforward approach: Hear the candidates - directly - on the issues, then go vote. Read their lips, not their propaganda.