There are many reasons to not re-elect Andy Fox and Dennis Gillette to the City Council, but two egregious incidents from last year stand out.

When Ed Masry died shortly after being overwhelmingly re-elected, Councilmen Fox and Gillette and Councilwoman Jacqui Irwin defied the will of the people: Instead of letting citizens choose his replacement, they appointed one of their own to complete Ed’s four-year term. They knew that allowing voters a choice could deprive them of the 4-1 majority they so badly wanted. Their excuse that a special election would be too costly turned out to be bogus.

As soon as legally possible after getting a majority on the council, Fox, with backing from Gillette and Irwin, forced Phil Gatch from his city manager position and installed someone more likely to do their bidding. Although no charges were brought for difficult-to-prove Brown Act violations, the Ventura County Grand Jury was harshly critical of the sleazy incident.

These episodes are typical of what we’ve seen from these people for years now. In spite of self-promoted reputations as slow-growth stalwarts, Fox and Gillette have long shown more interest in doing what’s best for developers than for citizens. Their slow-growth claims are just that — claims.

There may be other worthy candidates on the ballot, but instead of splitting the vote among them, I suggest voting for Claudia Bill-de la Peña, Janet Wall and Louis Masry. Claudia, by her service on both the council and Planning Commission, and Janet on the Planning Commission, have proved their dedication to Thousand Oaks and to a rational approach to growth. By electing these three, perhaps we can restore some sense of integrity and honor to City Council operations.

— John Relle, Thousand Oaks