By Jeffrey A. Schwartz
Councilmember Don Wolfe's letter [Saratoga News, July 31] is a study in irresponsibility. Try as he may, Wolfe cannot make the city of Saratoga's chronic violations of the Federal Clean Water Act disappear, nor can he explain away biological contamination in Saratoga Creek that exceeds one hundred times the allowable limits for total coliform, fecal coliform, streptococci and enterococci.
When the ambient levels of these bacteria in Saratoga Creek exceed the levels at which ocean beaches are closed to swimming, it seems reasonable to let residents know so that they have a voice with regard to allowing children and pets to play, swim or wade in the creek.
Wolfe goes on to accuse me of "the behavior of discord" and "municipal incivility." Wait a moment! It is Wolfe who has lost control, yelled at and otherwise accosted people in public while they were quietly--and quite civilly--exercising their right to gather petition signatures. And when someone whom Wolfe does not like addresses the council, it is Wolfe who blurts out repeated interruptions, unable to respect other people's right to speak. Mr. Wolfe has never seen me yell or swear at others, or interfere with someone's right to disagree.
I served as an elected member of the West Valley-Mission governing board for four years, including one year as president of the board; I never found it necessary to engage in the kind of behavior that Mr. Wolfe demonstrates. As a resident for more than 20 years, it is interesting to see someone who has only lived here for a few years become sanctimonious about "our tranquil community."
Wolfe's letter purports to quote and paraphrase a front-line level employee in the county Department of Environmental Health. Those quotes and paraphrases were the result of an informal phone conversation in which the employee in question did not realize he was speaking with a City Council member and was not told that he would be quoted in a letter to the editor. Wolfe did not give him the courtesy of a draft copy of the letter so that the employee could determine whether he had been quoted accurately.
In fact, the employee in question reports that he was misquoted and quoted out of context, and that the conclusions Wolfe cites are neither those of that employee nor of the Department of Environmental Health.
On a more somber note, Wolfe's letter juxtaposed my name with the term "cabal," and referred to "Mr. Schwartz and his ilk." It is certainly possible that Councilmember Wolfe is so ignorant that he does not know the connotations of his own words. If that is not the case, then Wolfe has purposefully introduced a particularly malignant note into Saratoga politics that has no place here no matter how bitter and divisive the political landscape has become.
Jeffrey A. Schwart is a former West Valley College trustee and a long time Saratoga political activist.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, August 14, 1996.
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