By Ted Winterer Santa Monica
In his ad hominen attack on me and, by proxy, the Ocean Park Association (SMDP, April 17, page 4), Ronnie Shulgasser accuses me of being an elitist NIMBYist, as if I were the unholy spawn of Marie Antoinette and Dick Cheney. One might suspect I’d run over his dog with my Mercedes and then told him to eat cake — I actually drive a 10-year-old Subaru, the car of choice of all elitists.
In fact, I’m not sure what I’ve done to provoke Mr. Shulgasser’s wrath, as I have no idea who he is. Others seem to be similarly perplexed. Verizon’s directory assistance has no listing for a Shulgasser in Santa Monica. And as civic-minded as Shulgasser seems to be, there’s no person with that name on the 2004 voter registration rolls. Perhaps it’s easier to kvetch than to vote. And, curiously, in March of 2004 the Santa Monica Mirror revealed in a riposte to one of Shulgasser’s diatribes that the phone number he’d provided the newspaper as his actually belonged to a woman living in Venice (www.smmirror.com/volume5/issue41/conflicts.asp).
Meanwhile, Shulgasser, whoever he is and wherever he lives, seems to know an awful lot about me, including where I live. Great, my own personal stalker. What’s next? Paparazzi outside my door? One would never have guessed that running a modest little neighborhood organization came fraught with the perils of celebrity. It’s all pretty creepy.
Furthermore, “The Gasser’s” letter is riddled with factual inaccuracies: 1. OPA actually has no roots in OPCO. Instead, it was founded by Ocean Park residents who’d previously felt they had no voice in OPCO. I was not one of those first members of OPA and only became involved after the organization had been in existence for a year. 2. I was indeed at one time involved with OPCO, but resigned along with other board members when the organization wouldn’t comply with a member’s lawful request to inspect membership records. 3. Rick Laudati, co-chair of OPCO, never resided in the bungalow court where I live. 4. I am not a recent transplant but have lived and worked in Santa Monica for 15 years. That might make me a newcomer in Maine, but in a city where the average renter moves every three years it’s a respectable tenure.
Finally, Shulgasser’s letter accusing me and OPA of elitist NIMBYism is purport-edly a response to the column I wrote in the March 17 edition of the SMDP. In that piece I noted that OPA has worked to remove graffiti, mitigated the impacts of SMC parking at the beach lots, lobbied to protect rent-controlled housing and strives to retain and enhance the pedestrian-friendly ambiance of Ocean Park.
Does that sound like elitist NIMBYism? In his letter Shulgasser wrote “I believe he... pushes the same ‘I got mine so you can’t have’ agendas that reflect the same elitist hallmarks of the old OPCO.” What is the basis for this belief? Has Shulgasser attended one of OPA’s meetings or done any other sort of due diligence to research our intentions and actions?
Or is he just bloviating and belching spleen from wherever he lives?
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 2, 2006. Read the original PDF.