Letter to the Editor

The people, and Supervisor Katrina Foley, have spoken

1,226 petitions and definitive action by new OC Supervisor Katrina Foley stopped the county from selling part of the Back Bay nature reserve to an influential Republican donor who wished to expand his estate. 

Our government should be by and for the people and never for sale to the highest bidder, yet the County of Orange was one vote away from selling dedicated park land to a private homeowner. 

Will anyone be surprised to learn that the recipient of the donor’s gifts, former Supervisor Michelle Steel, championed the sale of Back Bay park land? Or that the 1/3-acre parcel that would have been sold for $13,000 is actually worth about 1.1 million dollars? Neither the appraisal of the property nor the county’s internal review of the sale noted that, once sold, the property would no longer be a park and could be joined with the purchaser’s expansive estate with a subsequent increase in value.

Government works best when all citizens receive equal treatment. Any deal that would not be offered to any citizen should not be offered at all. Kudos to Supervisor Katrina Foley for bringing more transparency to our county government and recognizing a sweetheart deal when she saw it.

Susan Skinner

Newport Beach