Letter: Stand against SC power play

EDITOR,
Santa Cruz County’s plan to split Scotts Valley into two supervisors’ districts is a brazen political effort to minimize Scotts Valley’s influence. Their effort is nothing new, with Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz County aligning their power in an effort to deny Scotts Valley proper representation and influence.
Scotts Valley was split into two supervisors’ districts when I served on Scotts Valley’s City Council and served as mayor for two terms (1985-89). The result was that we were left without representation when the allocation of Redevelopment District funds was made. The county demanded 80 percent of the funds, and the two supervisors supposedly representing Scotts Valley led the county’s unreasonable demands.
As mayor, I personally met with the two supervisors, Jan Beutz and Fred Keeley, and they were unmovable in their demands. Later, Councilman Gerald Pittinger and I met with the county, again to no avail. Our RDA consultant said that he had never been involved when a county received more than 60 percent. We were shafted by the very supervisors who supposedly represented us, and we will become vulnerable in the same way if the county is successful in its present power move.
Scotts Valley has been deprived of significant RDA funds, desperately needed for over 10 years. It’s time for the people of Scotts Valley to speak up and stand up against this present effort!
Glennon Culwell, former council member and mayor, Scotts Valley