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Politics & Government

Watchdog Website Takes on City Hall

Toby Keeler's Democracy or Not questions the actions of Calabasas officials.

Fed up with what he calls "contempt and disdain by senior staff officials" at Calabasas City Hall, longtime resident and community activist Toby Keeler has come up with a new way to make his voice heard—through his website, Democracyornot.com.

"Increasingly, residents are feeling left out at City Hall," Keeler said. "It led me to wonder if democracy is at work in Calabasas or not. And from what I can see, based on example after example, it's a legitimate question to ask."

Examples on Keeler's website include septic tank owners being targeted by "an overtly aggressive staff"; Mayor Barry Groveman "scolding and ridiculing anyone who dares to disagree with him, including his fellow council members"; and the Calabasas City Council using taxpayer dollars to study the issue of building a swimming facility at De Anza Park, despite some residents' opposition to the project.

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"I think everyone has a right to express their opinion regarding their city government," said Councilman Jonathon Wolfson. "The people who are behind this website certainly have the right to express theirs. That having been said, I do not agree with the premise of this website. Our city has a very open governing style."

Calabasas has a responsive City Council that is always trying to do the right thing on behalf of its residents, Wolfson said.

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"I know that I, as a council member, always have the best interest of my constituents at heart when I decide how to vote on any issue before council," he said.

Keeler's interactive website, which launched a little more than a month ago, has a simple design that's easy to navigate.

"The idea for it came during lunch with a friend who has been involved with the community for a long time," said Keeler, who took about 24 hours to set up the  site. "I built it using my Macintosh and iWeb (an application that helps create professional looking websites quickly). My video production experience came in very handy."

An interesting feature of  his website is the "democracy thermometer."

Visitors are expected to look at video clips of City Hall meetings posted on the site and decide how democratic the proceedings are. The first thermometer shows the May 2010 City Council meeting on the proposed annexation of Mountain View Estates, and the second thermometer shows comments made by the council in June on the publicly funded extension of sewers to 20 homes in Old Topanga. 

Another page of the website, called Judge for Yourself, aims to show what Keeler claims are violations of laws by the city.

An example is a City Council meeting held in April, when a code enforcement officer presented a PowerPoint slide showing a dump truck stuck in a collapsed septic tank.

Keeler said he searched online and found that the photo was not taken in Calabasas, as implied in the presentation, but rather in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Moreover, the picture was used without permission from the owner, thereby violating copyright laws, he added.

Keeler's passion for the issues facing his community shows clearly in his website, but people have been slow to respond to it. However, he hopes it will soon become more popular.

"Maybe some people are inclined to be less confrontational than I am," he said. "But as a community activist, I want to speak my mind."

A survey Keeler posted to his site last week, and e-mailed to about 60 friends on his list, generated 23 responses. To the question "Do you believe City Hall listens to residents?" 18 answered "no" and five said "sometimes." To the question "Would you like to see changes on the City Council?" all respondents answered "yes."

Most respondents said they would like to see a different set of people representing them. To the question "Do you feel your issues and concerns are well represented at City Hall?" 19 respondents said "no" and four said "sometimes."

"It's obviously a criticism of the city," Councilman James Bozajian said of the site. "If people are unhappy with the way City Hall is acting, or the way the staff is acting, they have a right to voice their opinions."

Bozajian said nobody in Calabasas is being prevented from expressing their views, and Keeler's website is another avenue for that free speech.

"It will become popular if people respond to it. But only the future will tell how effective it will be," he said.

Keeler has no concrete ideas yet about expanding his website. He says he has "no delusions that this website would change anything at City Hall."

"I could spend all day promoting it, but I figure there is enough there already to make people ask questions," he said. "If there would be one goal of anybody reading this, it would be to ask questions about whether or not Calabasas City Hall is serving the people and promoting democratic principles."

To visit Keeler's website, click here.

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