Re: Paul Miller's Aug. 3 commentary, "Allegations of conspiracy on landfill disingenuous":

Simi Valley Mayor Miller has opined that a member of the Simi Valley Landfill Expansion Task Force alleged the possibility of a "conspiracy."

While it is well-known that most, if not all, politicians rush to judgment when they hear or read something on the front page of the local newspaper and take it for gospel, let me assure my colleagues that what they read was not a blemish on their professionalism as elected officials, but rather a statement of their silence on the issue at hand, i.e., the contract between Waste Management and the city of Simi Valley.

I remember as a child growing up, when I would make outlandish statements to my father, he would respond by saying, "You can put lipstick on a pig, but in the end, it is still a pig."

Well, you can read the contract between the city of Simi Valley and Waste Management Inc. and, regardless of how or who is trying to spin it, the results are the same.

The contract between the city of Simi Valley and Waste Management calls for the "city to actively and fully support Waste Management's effort to obtain any and all approvals needed for (1) permit time extensions for the operation of the landfill, and (2) expansions of the landfill; and will encourage its discard franchisees to provide such support."

I am concerned, as is the task force, that this section of the agreement requires the city to actively and fully support any and all expansion applications that Waste Management may propose, irrespective of the size or environmental/fiscal impacts on our community.

Certainly, this requirement places the city in an untenable position and compromises the city's authority. And, to add insult to injury, a contract with an expiration date of 2034 was thrown in for good measure.

Thankfully, there is a clause that allows us to terminate this contract and it is this council member's position that we do so immediately.

In his tirade about the Simi Valley Landfill Expansion Task Force, Mayor Miller was quick to conclude that we have disingenuous motivations and the audacity to question the ethics and integrity of Waste Management. Perhaps the mayor has forgotten that he was opposed (January 1995) to Waste Management assuming its franchise agreement with the city because of its long history of criminal convictions.

Perhaps the mayor has also forgotten about a report prepared by his colleague and friend former Sheriff Larry Carpenter of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. It was a lengthy report issued Sept. 20, 1991, to the Board of Supervisors that provided a systematic list of organized criminal activity of Waste Management.

So yes, Mr. Mayor, we do question the integrity of Waste Management.

In fact, we do take notice when the chief of staff of our previous county supervisor was hired by Waste Management. We do take notice when our last mayor became a "consultant" for Waste Management. We do, and we should, question Waste Management, read the documents, review the environmental impacts on our community and be suspicious of an expansion that is not needed due to its current life expectancy to 2027.

This expansion is untimely and most likely will serve to create a megadump in our community, enabling Waste Management to bring more garbage from Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and points beyond to Simi Valley. And let's not forget, the Simi Valley general plan shows prime industrial property within an arm's reach of this megadump. What Fortune 500 company, or any company, for that matter, is going to want to locate next to the stench this expansion will surely bring?

Pride goeth before the fall and, as senior members of this council, the mayor and I have enjoyed a harmonious and congenial relationship. We have joined together in support of projects and we have shared differences of opinion on others, but we have always been united when working for the betterment of our community.

I harbor no ill will or disrespect to Mayor Miller or my fellow colleagues.

However, I must stand firm on my position as it relates to the expansion of the landfill and I extend that same courtesy to them.

— Barbra Williamson, of Simi Valley, is a councilwoman and formed the independent Landfill Expansion Task Force.