By Laura Freese, San Juan Capistrano City Councilwoman
I was incensed by Council member Derek Reeve’s editorial entitled “An Ode to Jonathan Volzke.”
Jonathan Volzke was and still is an old fashioned investigative reporter. If he sensed a wrongdoing, an inaccuracy or factual information that needed to be wide spread to the city residents, he would print it.
Jonathan was not afraid of angering people as long as the truth was told. Just about every other elected official and city staff member has been peeved with him at one time or another, including me, because of his honesty.
Now, the reason Derek Reeve wrote his “ode” was because he and the Common Sense folks want to instill fear in the residents; they want to find fault in all decisions and they want someone respected like Jonathan Volzke to legitimize their views. Jonathan won’t do that because the truth is paramount to Jonathan. To Derek and the Common Sense folks, truth is to be used only as a political weapon and only if it conveniently brings about political gains.
Derek and his allies want to continuously condemn for political purposes only, not with a sense of fairness and not to help the city.
I want to defend and praise Jonathan Volzke for his impartiality. He helped bring about change in San Juan Capistrano for the better. He spurred residents’ interest and helped them raise their own voices. He always battled for the “little guy” and still does. He brought about change and then when it worked, he followed up with praise. He is the type of outspoken resident we should be proud of and the type of publicist to which residents should listen.
