The Signal’s “apology” to Santa Clarita City Councilwoman Laurene Weste (editorial, May 24) for her negotiating skills utterly misses the mark.
First, let’s be clear. Councilwoman Weste negotiated the $750,000 for the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society that she is a board member of, not the city.
Only when her dealings were accidentally disclosed by the developer himself did she initiate damage control by claiming she negotiated the deal “for the city.”
If she negotiated the deal “For the City,” why weren’t the other council members told or involved from the outset prior to any public hearings?
Why wasn’t there a meeting where the council and/or the city manager or all of them were brought into the process to discuss the range of acceptable fees? Since when does the City Council or its members negotiate contracts? Isn’t that the job of the city manager? Council members do not negotiate contracts. And they never have.
Come on, Signal — don’t lose common sense and investigative prowess. Your tongue-in-cheek apology is weak, unwarranted and diminishes your credibility.
The fact that the city ended up getting $300,000 is great! Because it is $300,000 more than the $0 the city would have received under Weste’s negotiated deal — had it never come to light.
Susan Miller
Canyon Country
