Letters

Built a log cabin?

I am the ex-wife of Jim Lomako, a candidate for the City Council of Pasadena. I felt offended by an outgoing City Council member's negative remarks about Jim in a letter to your paper.

When I met and married Jim 37 years ago in rural Alaska, before we moved to California in the early 1970s, what impressed me the most about him was his reputation for helping people. He built a log cabin in one summer and he could always figure out a way to fix anything, no matter what it was.

Jim has been a very supportive father to our daughter. He was always involved in her schools and he made her his first priority. Even through the experience of divorce, I never lost my respect for Jim's character. He welcomed my two daughters from a second marriage so that they always felt that they were part of one family.

The girls, now grown women, have always known that in times of trouble they could turn to Jim, and he would know how to handle any situation. The people of Pasadena will be fortunate to have a person with the intelligence, competence and decency of Jim Lomako on their City Council.

JOAN RIVARD

VIA EMAIL

Lomako's Green side

We are pleased to announce that in District 2 there is a candidate we can each endorse with pride. You have probably seen his blue and white signs that say “Stop Irresponsible Growth.” That is important but there are other concerns that he shares with us.

Jim Lomako is a committed environmentalist with a proven record of local leadership.

On the Design Commission he was a leading spokesperson for carefully evaluating environmental impacts. Jim was not afraid to lead his colleagues in rejecting plans that did not measure up, such as the development of Annandale Canyon. He advocated green building standards, pedestrian friendliness and incentives for the use of public transit.

On the Community Development Committee he championed the 

Concept that passive heating and cooling should be a 

component of city-assisted affordable housing. Jim was an effective advocate for more efficient use of housing funds to help those most in need.

Jim Lomako can do even more for a sustainable Pasadena 

if he is elected to the City Council.

Jim will lead citywide efforts to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel such as providing 100-percent financing for rooftop solar power and using alternative energy.

Jim will work for sustainable strategies such as providing incentives to replace grass with drought tolerant plants or kitchen gardens, and encouraging the reuse of gray water.

Jim has the awareness that we are in a global crisis and need to act now rather than wait another 10 or 20 years when it will be harder to mitigate the damage to our 

environment. He is also a proven leader with the experience and political savvy to make practical solutions a reality on the local level.

Green voters have about the same turnout record as Democrats and Republicans in local elections, only about 20 percent.

Too often we have known that our vote would not do much to improve our world. This time we can make a difference.

Please vote for Jim Lomako on Tuesday.

JOHNNY LAI

ARROYO SECO GREENS

ROGER GRAY

ARROYO SECO GREENS

BILL PAPARIAN

GREEN PARTY CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE,

FORMER PASADENA CITY COUNCIL MEMBER

McAustin's got it all

Margaret McAustin is, without question, the best and most qualified candidate to represent residents of District 2 on the Pasadena City Council.

As a 30-year resident of Pasadena, McAustin has delved wholeheartedly into community service and volunteerism. She has been a founding member of two neighborhood 

associations, Washington Square and Victory Rose, as well as serving as president of Historic Highlands Neighborhood Association. Numerous current and past neighborhood association leaders have endorsed McAustin for City Council because she is well-respected and known for her passion and ability to protect the quality 

of life in Pasadena neighborhoods.

Being a neighborhood leader is the only the beginning of McAustin's qualifications. She currently serves on the Planning Commission and has been a member of the Library Commission and Charter Reform Task Force. She is a strong advocate for historic preservation and enhanced partnerships with the PUSD and has been endorsed by founders of both Pasadena Heritage and the Pasadena Education Network.

McAustin will work to keep traffic out of neighborhoods by better integrating ARTS buses with other public transportation. McAustin will work to acquire and preserve open space and explore opportunities to create pocket parks. Through her work and many years of activity in the city, she has learned about environmental responsibility and sustainable development and personally made changes to her lifestyle that reflects that knowledge.

As a City Council member she can be effective in moving the green agenda forward so that Pasadena can continue to implement programs and policies and serve as a leader in the sustainable city movement.

McAustin has run an impeccable campaign. Her integrity is beyond reproach; she has avoided personal attacks and innuendo. Her commitment has been to run on the issues that she knows are important to the District 2 voters she has met while walking their neighborhoods or talking to them on the telephone.

We know Margaret McAustin. We have worked with her and have seen the results she can achieve. McAustin doesn't just talk the talk; she walks the walk.

Please join us on Tuesday and vote for Margaret McAustin as the District 2 City Council representative.

CAROLYN MEREDITH

PAST PRESIDENT, BRIGDEN RANCH NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

VERONICA BOONE

PAST PRESIDENT, BRIGDEN RANCH NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

PAST PRESIDENT, HISTORIC HIGHLANDS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

Bib knows best

The community is fortunate to have William Bibbiani agree to run for a second term on the PUSD school board.

I have known him for 35 years. He has a brilliant, quick mind and doesn't suffer any fools when it comes to solving problems. He goes straight to the point. If re-elected, he will work to give more authority to school staff and parents in determining the way to meet objectives.

As a professional analyst, he recognizes spin when he sees it. He has dealt with statistics as a career, explaining them to others in such a way as to make many friends along the way. His quick wit is hilarious.

Bibbiani is a PUSD parent himself. He is the only candidate who has been a teacher. He knows the territory.

ALICE E. BUTLER

RETIRED PUSD PRINCIPAL AND GATE DIRECTOR

Bob cares more

One of the many reasons why we are supporting Bob Harrison for the Pasadena school board is that he is a listener while his opponent has made it clear he doesn't care about what parents and the community have to say.

Mr. [Bill] Bibbiani is the board member assigned to our school, Longfellow. In four years he hasn't visited the school one time to talk with parents and staff. Last year, PUSD held six public meetings to get parent and community input about budget challenges. Mr. Bibbiani, who is on the budget committee, was the only board member who didn't attend a single one of those forums. He later said that he already knew what people were going to say, so he didn't need to go.

Someone who has so little respect for his constituents and who makes so little effort to reach out and listen to them doesn't belong on the Board of Education. Mr Bibbiani has been part of the problem, not part of the solution.

It's time for a change — to Bob Harrison.

KRISTIN MASCHKA &

DAVID HITCHCOCK

PUSD PARENTS

Hard-working Harrison

My husband and I support Bob Harrison for PUSD school board because of his more than 20 years of experience as a community leader, involvement in schools and track record of positive change.

Our daughter is a fourth-grade student in PUSD, so we have a direct stake in the school district's future. PUSD has great potential, but the current school board has acted divisively and without vision, especially during recent difficult times.

Bob Harrison has shown that he can bring people together, as he has for more than 20 years as a parent volunteer and community leader. His five children have all gone to John Muir High School; three have graduated and gone to college, while two are at Muir now. During this time, Bob has been involved in our public schools — as a PTA and classroom volunteer, as president of the Muir High School Aquatics Booster Club and as co-chair of the Muir High School Principal Search Committee. Bob has also been president of his church, a Little League coach, and is an active supporter of the AIDS Service Center. Last year, he received the Role Model for Youth Award from Aspires West.

Since 1979, Bob, his wife, and two other couples have owned and operated the Green Street Restaurant, which has been an incredible supporter of PUSD.

During Bob's years as a volunteer board member and volunteer past president of the Pasadena Educational Foundation, the PEF brought millions of dollars in external funds into PUSD's classrooms to create great programs and to provide teachers with funds to improve their skills. Under Bob's leadership, PEF sponsored Richard Kahlenberg's “One Pasadena: Tapping the Community's Resources to Strengthen the Public Schools," which has helped focus the community's attention on public schools in a way that hasn't been seen in years.

Bob will work hard to make sure that parents, teachers and community residents have a voice in PUSD decisions.

In contrast, the incumbent, Bill Bibbiani failed to attend any of the six public forums that PUSD held to give community residents input in budget decisions, claiming his attendance was unnecessary since people already knew what he thought.

Bob supports expanding the successful PUSD program to provide sorely needed reading tutors and extra class time for students in middle schools and high schools. A recent evaluation of this program showed that students significantly improved their reading test scores. Inexplicably, Mr. Bibbiani voted against PUSD accepting almost a half-million dollars from a foundation to further support this program.

Bob supports the choice of parents of almost 1,000 PUSD students to send their children to Head Start, a federal program that has been shown to improve school readiness among low-income children. Again, Mr. Bibbiani voted against a resolution to support Head Start.

Bob supports giving parents choices about which schools and what kind of schools are best for their children. Mr. Bibbiani opposed increasing funding to give parents the option of using district-funded transportation so they could send their kids to the schools of their choice.

Bob recently completed 40 hours of training in mediation. He is now a certificated mediator and has a long track record of collaborative leadership. Mr. Bibbiani has not demonstrated the capacity to bring board members together to bring about needed changes.

As a successful businessperson, Bob will make sure that the PUSD budget is transparent and accessible and that funds are targeted in ways that get into the classrooms. Despite being chair of the budget committee, Mr. Bibbiani has been unable to get the district to make the budget accessible to parents, teachers and community members so they can help shape the district's priorities.

PUSD is at a critical turning point. It will soon have a new superintendent, Edwin Diaz. Mr. Diaz needs a school board with vision, an understanding of business and management skills, a collaborative approach and willingness to listen and encourage the participation of parents and the community in help PUSD live up to its incredible potential. That is why we support Bob Harrison and encourage others to do so.

MARY-ERIN CROOK &

DAVID JOHNSON

PASADENA

Selinske's way

As a teacher at Longfellow Elementary and a resident of Pasadena, I have a vested interest in the upcoming school board elections and I am supporting Tom Selinske.

I've worked with Mr. Selinske during the last six years. He chairs the Longfellow School Site Council, has served on the PTA, has been a member and supporter of PEN and is involved in our community.

As a business owner and parent, Mr. Selinske has spent countless hours involved with schools and neighborhoods. I especially admire his dedication to supporting the after-school programs so many of our students attend. Despite challenges, our schools continue to make progress and I am optimistic about the district's future.

Tom Selinske's passion for education, combined with his business experience, would strongly benefit the PUSD board, our community and our children.

MELLASON CHIDESTER

PUSD TEACHER

Bib only gets better

I'm voting for Bill Bibbiani, not on a whim or a campaign promise, but from firsthand knowledge of his skills after working with him for over 30 years.

In the late 1970s, I was an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory when we received a federal grant to evaluate the Pasadena Police Department's School Resource Officer (SRO) program.

In order to do the evaluation, we needed a contact within the PUSD. That's when I met Bib, who at the time was a research analyst. With his assistance, we were able to take a very complicated evaluation and perform it easily within the PUSD.

Over the years, as Bib rose to become director of research, testing and evaluation for the PUSD (he retired from that position

in 2003), I had a number of instances where I needed his assistance.

In some cases, I found he and I would not agree on what needed to be done. Was he right? Well, if you promise not to read this letter to others, I'll tell you: Bib was always right. Why? Because he had done his research, the same research required for some of the toughest decisions I've seen made since he's been a member of the PUSD school board.

Each year I work with Bib I become more impressed with him and the decisions he makes. Frankly, I know of no others who know as much about what really happens within the schools, what works and what doesn't, as Bib. Why take a chance on others? I'm voting on — and with — experience.

ELLIOT M. GOLD

ALTADENA