Mr. (Gary) Horton, I acknowledge that you are a successful business owner and noted philanthropist in the Santa Clarita Valley. Thank you for finally acknowledging your special interest in the College of the Canyons Foundation as vice chair (commentary, Sept. 6). Until recently I actually thought you were writing “Full Speed to Port” as a private citizen.
I frequently attend board of trustees meetings at COC and exercise my right to make public comment. Frankly, I never see you in attendance.
Allow me to introduce you to the Preamble of the Brown Act, Government Code 54950: “Public commissions, boards, councils and other legislative bodies of local government agencies exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business. The people do not yield their sovereignty to the bodies that serve them. The people insist on remaining informed to retain control over the legislative bodies they have created.”
There are many problems at COC that the elected trustees and members of the COC Foundation choose to ignore, while stiff-arming those few individuals who choose to say something. It is shameful.
Our concerns are frequently ignored by local media. The journalism program at COC is useless.
Regarding the Advanced Technology Center mentioned in Horton’s diatribe: This facility is being built by your good friends at Intertex with funds from Measure E. The college and trustees promised in 2016 that all Measure E projects would be subject to review by the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee, headed by Foundation Vice Chair Fred Arnold.
The project is subject to an unusual and controversial sale purchase agreement in which the college makes one payment to the developer at completion who acquired the land as a “straw buyer” under a “build to suit” agreement.
No explanation from the college why they would utilize this unusual method for acquisition.
Tell me, Mr. Horton, how will a CBOC exercise their responsibility on a sale purchase project? Ask you good friend Fred Arnold who heads the CBOC.
I recently placed a Public Records Act request for a copy of the appraisal of the property, which the college denied. What are they hiding?
The college chancellor, the esteemed and frequently honored Dianne G. Van Hook, failed to recruit members to the CBOC before their terms expired.
I applied to SERVE on the CBOC in January 2023 with other concerned citizens and still have not heard from the college. If selected we will fully expose the extent of wasteful Measure E spending,
Despite your denial, COC is a progressive public agency and four of the trustees are beholden to the COC Faculty Association and dependent on the COC Faculty PAC for funding their campaigns.
The college has fully embraced the diversity, equity and inclusion philosophy of the progressive left. Are you even aware of Resolution 2020/21-04, the “Call to Action to Enhance Equity and Pursue Anti-Racisim”? Educate yourself. Please do not mislead the citizens of the Santa Clarita Valley. Just be honest and admit it. Is it that hard? Do not mislead Signal readers.
What I have seen at COC since 2016 is very disturbing. The institution is dedicated to indoctrination, not education.
“Full Speed to Port” is a very appropriate title for your column in The Signal. Let us not pretend that you do not have a progressive bias.
Mr. Horton, give me a call. I am not hard to find.
Stephen C. Petzold
Santa Clarita
