Ten rules for elected and appointed Los Angeles County town councils, commissions and committees:

1. Hold meetings to set an agenda for the public meetings and invite the company that wants you to vote positively on something it is proposing. Do this at a public restaurant if at all possible.

2. Take operating funds from a company the committee is supposed to be watching for the good of the community and when questioned, threaten to file suit against those who question.

3. No matter what the representative from the Los Angeles County supervisor’s office says, do not ever file a Form 700 in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown open meeting law. Volunteers don’t file those forms.

4. During public meetings of the council, committee or commission, make sure the folks who have a project they want to see approved get to tell you the vote should be delayed. Then delay the vote.

5. When an article in the media, be it print, electronic, radio or television, appears that is contrary to the desires of the council, committee and commission, write replies that say the writer is a liar and misleading people. Recommend another media outlet that runs big ads for the company being questioned. Assume nobody will notice that you don’t actually say what the lie or misleading information was.

6. Regardless of what the people most affected by a proposed project think, make sure you look at the money and not at the effects that it will have on the directly affected residents.

7. Threaten media outlets that run personal commentary if the individual writer is critical of slush funds going to a committee, council or commission.

8. A committee chairperson shall always sit in the back of the room at a meeting of a town council and make snide remarks and snicker at the speakers. Do this when sitting with a manager or other officer of the company that has a project the town council is reviewing and discussing.

9. All discussions in the media shall be based on what the committee, commission or town council can get out of the proposed project being discussed.

10. When the people will not be quiet and accept the project, always vote to take the money.

I am sure that nothing like the above “rules” have ever been used in any part of the SCV. Nope, never.

Those who know the truth of what I just wrote can always let me, your neighbors and maybe even our Los Angeles County supervisors know what you think. I hope so.

I cannot really believe what I’ve seen the past few weeks in some communities that are badly affected by a particular project and the company that runs the project.

It all comes down to money. Lots of money.

And as the company in question has asked that community many times, “What do you want?” The community still answers: “Shut down and go away.”

The company asks again, “What do you want?”

The answer doesn’t change. Ever.

The agreement said “shall” close by date certain, not “may” close. So just shut down and go away. Please.

Darryl Manzer grew up in the Pico Canyon oil town of Mentryville in the 1960s and attended Hart High School. After a career in the U.S. Navy he returned to live in the Santa Clarita Valley. He can be reached at dmanzer@scvhistory.com and his commentaries are archived at DManzer.com. Watch his walking tour of Mentryville [here].