At the Sept. 16 meeting of the Castaic Area Town Council, with nine board members present and an audience of 25, a resident of Val Verde named Susie Evans requested that Greg Kimura, the representative for Val Verde, be recalled.

The board was in shock. The sitting president did not know how even to approach a recall, saying, “I want to make sure we do it right.”

You might ask: “Why does anyone want to recall their representative?” Well, according to the residents, they do not feel represented.

At a recent meeting, a resident asked when the Castaic Area Town Council was going to vote on sending a letter to Supervisor Antonovich’s office. The letter was requesting that Antonovich stand up to the Chiquita Canyon Landfill and demand that it no longer accept deadly and toxic chemicals.

Representative Kimura said, “The letter has been tabled.” The very next week the Town Council voted 8-1 not to send the letter. Kimura stated to his constituents that his job is to vote the greater good of Castaic. Apparently even if it means harm to the residents of Val Verde, he must vote for the will of the Castaic Area Town Council.

I do not know how the greater good of Castaic is to allow a landfill to take questionable substances. The landfill is located within 800 feet of the residents of Val Verde. The landfill will be within 300 feet of the proposed Newhall Ranch housing development of 21,000 homes.

Believe it or not, the board then discussed whom they should represent. The president, John Kunak, stated: “It is a Castaic Town Council. We work on this as a council. …When it comes to council, you have to represent CATC.”

Lloyd Carder, the representative for Hasley Hills, did not agree. “If one of us ignores what our residents want, I should expect to get the heat. … We do have to show some favoritism to our constituents.”

Flo Lawrence, who represents one of the districts farthest from the landfill, replied: “Do I have to listen and vote for what my constituents want? When there is a small vocal group … we will make votes based on what’s best for Castaic, not our constituents.”

Steve Howse, a frustrated resident of Val Verde, commented to me during the meeting: “Apparently the minority does not matter; the CATC has to speak for the quiet majority. How do you know what the quiet majority wants if they never speak up?”

Flo Lawrence said, “The letter (for recall) has no grounds,” which is something that should not happen during the recall proceedings. Article 15, Section C states: “Neither the Castaic Area Town Council Inc, nor the Election Committee, shall judge the petition for recall.”

Has the Castaic Area Town Council always been pro-landfill? Was it always best for Val Verde to endure the stench, sickness and possible side effects from so many chemicals? Well, not the last time the landfill tried to expand. The Town Council was against the expansion; they even wrote a lengthy response to the 2005 draft environmental impact report stating their concerns about the chemicals in the landfill, along with the health of surrounding residents.

You might ask: “Why is it good for Castaic as a whole now?” Well, it is the promise of $300,000 a year. Now it is good for all Castaic. See the logic.

The major problem is that votes can be bought. Supervisor Antonovich relies on town councils to represent their constituents so he can get a fair assessment of how the people are leaning in any given district. The Castaic Area Town Council bylaws demand the same of its sitting board members.

Article 4, Section 2 states: “Duties and Responsibilities: The duties and responsibilities of the Castaic Area Town Council Inc. shall include the following:

“C. Strive to accurately mirror in its policies and actions the positions and concerns of the residents of the Castaic areas.”

The residents of Val Verde have not been mirrored. The residents of Hasley Hills have not been mirrored. The residents of Live Oaks have not been mirrored. The landfill has been mirrored.

If the board does not mirror the residents of each of the five districts, then how does Antonovich do his job effectively? He will not know what the people want. Representatives ignored the will of the people, first by not notifying them of future votes and even lying about future votes, and second by taking the stance that only those opposed speak for the minority.

The Val Verde recall has a long road ahead of it. There is no major store to sit outside of. Each petitioner will have to knock door-to-door. They are just mad enough to do it. Greg Kimura was not voted into office; he ran unopposed, so no vote took place.

The recall will require 20 percent of eligible voters. I wish them success in their fight to get fair representation. Maybe more communities will start to demand that they, too, get represented.

Steve Lee is a resident of Val Verde.