The following letter to the editor was published in the Beach Reporter newspaper (TBRnews.com) on Thursday, March 15, 2012 in the Letters section. The Beach Reporter has a strict 250-word limit.
Legal and reasonable
I served with Carl Jacobson on City Council and have known him for decades. Carl has always been an extremely honest, hard-working, and productive councilman, giving much of his life to our community. He is independent of unions and other special interests, and votes what he believes is best for our city.
Fired city manager Doug Willmore enlisted anti-business news organizations to smear Chevron and Carl with a dishonest propaganda campaign.
There was plenty of good cause to fire Willmore. At-will employees are fired without giving a reason, to reduce the city’s exposure to frivolous litigation.
KCET and the L.A. Times interviewed me because I was on council during the 1994 legal settlement to the tax dispute between MRC, Chevron, and the city. I made it clear the settlement was completely legal and reasonable. But they completely ignored my information because it contradicted their anti-business political agenda and bias.
They knew the city attorney advised the council and kept everything legal. They knew the Council voted unanimously to approve the settlement, and as mayor, Carl had to sign the agreement even if he voted against it.
MRC, the city’s tax auditor, wanted Chevron to pay a double-tax on electricity they co-generated from burning natural gas that was already taxed, so they could collect their 25 percent commission. MRC and Chevron were going to sue the city. The city reached a legal settlement that paid MRC a reduced commission, and more clearly defined Chevron’s future tax liability.
Michael D. Robbins
El Segundo
El Segundo Police Officers' Association (ESPOA) Exposed