As a member of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council, I would like to acknowledge the cooperation and positive support of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association (“SOHA”), which was not accurately conveyed in the article (“Neighborhood Councils Struggling,” Oct. 11) by Shelly Garcia. Even though we may not on agree on all of the issues in the community, we are pleased that we have been able to reach effective compromises with SOHA on many of them. They have not shown any tendency to attempt to impact our ability to work for the improvement of Sherman Oaks, and make a point of establishing good working relationships with all of our stakeholders. The Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council takes great pride in being able to provide a vital voice on behalf of our community to the City of Los Angeles, and we are appreciative of the active participation and support from all of our stakeholders – the residents, the business owners and the community members such as SOHA, the Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce and the Sherman Oaks Business Improvement District, as we endeavor to make Sherman Oaks a better place to live and work. Kenneth R. Gerston Chair Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council — I write in response to a series of quotes provided by Jill Banks Barad in Shelly Garcia’s (“Neighborhood Councils Struggling”, Oct. 11). Responding to questions regarding the relationship between the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council (“SONiC”) and the Sherman Oaks Homeowner’s Association (“SOHA”), Barad was quoted to say that SOHA works “Every month, every way they try to sabotage our group.” Moreover, Barad represented herself in the article as both the founder and current Chair of the SONiC. First, the SONiC was founded through the hard work of six people: Robert Cohen, Ken Silk, Kaye Bernstein, Ken Gerston, Sue Flynn and Jill Barad. While Barad was instrumental in forming the SONiC, her self declared and oft repeated moniker of “founder” of the SONiC implies that she alone breathed life into our neighborhood council. Second, Barad apparently represented herself to the column’s writer as the “Chair” of the SONiC. This is not true. Barad is a board member and as such occupies a chair at council meetings. However, she is not the “Chair” of the council or any of its sub-committees. Ken Gerston sits as the “Chair” of SONiC. Finally, and most significantly, Ms. Barad’s characterization of SOHA’s tireless efforts to “sabotage” the SONiC is false as well. SOHA is an advocacy group whose interests, without fail, are “land use” related. As Chair of the “Land Use Committee” of the SONiC since its inception, I can assure your readers that SOHA has done nothing (at any turn) to “sabotage” our efforts. While the interests that SOHA and SONiC are far from aligned, the cooperative and professional relationship that exists between SONiC and SOHA acts as a model for all of Los Angeles. Certainly, the two groups have and will again disagree. However, fundamentally both groups are run by committed and hard working volunteers who desire nothing more than to protect our community. Both groups give voice to important constituencies and use that voice in a respectful and cooperative fashion. To be sure, the leadership of both groups understands that the job of protecting the Sherman Oaks community requires cooperation and understanding. Any effort to undermine such cooperation is clearly antithetical to the interests of the community. Moreover, such efforts simply do not exist. Why Barad would fabricate the existence of contention between SOHA and SONiC is the subject of much speculation. “Divide and conquer” is a phrase that comes to mind. We would all benefit from her directing her valuable energies toward “uniting and leading” instead. Larry Slade Land Use Committee I have been asked by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association to respond to the article (“Neighborhood Councils Struggling,” Oct. 11) reported by Shelly Garcia. We particularly are addressing statements made by Jill Banks Barad, identified as the Chair of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council, which harshly critized the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association, commonly known as “SOHA.” For the record, Jill Banks Barad is not, and has never been chair of Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council “SONiC.” We don’t know if Barad misled the reporter or if the reporter made that mistake. We want to set the record straight that the comments by Barad concerning the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council, and its relationship with the only “homeowners group” in our community, SOHA, are false, misleading and inaccurate. It is not true that the “homeowners group (SOHA) fought the neighborhood council.” We do not know if Barad is referring to the formation of Neighborhood Councils in general or specifically to SONiC. Just so there is no further misunderstanding, the Neighborhood Councils were established in Los Angeles in our new City Charter. Richard Close, President of SOHA, signed, at the request of Mayor Riordan, the ballot measure to create the City Charter Commission. Further, Mr. Close personally signed the ballot argument for the new Charter which created Neighborhood Councils for the first time in Los Angeles. The facts are that SOHA did not oppose the creation of the Neighborhood Council system, and we worked to establish them by recognizing they were (and are) necessary. By alleging that SOHA has been in control or is sabotaging the effectiveness of SONiC is an insult to Barad’s fellow Neighborhood Council Board Members as well as to all of the other Sherman Oaks based groups, residents and business people, including the Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce and the Sherman Oaks Business Improvement District. Since SONiC’s certification, both organizations (SOHA and SONiC) have recognized that while we may have occasional differences (we are a resident based advocacy group, they are a community based group comprised of both residential and business interests), we all work well together to achieve our ultimate mutual goals – Sherman Oaks must remain a vital, successful and pleasant place to live and work in. No matter what Barad was trying to say, we believed then, and now, that by working closely with a community-oriented Neighborhood Council, we are a winning combination. After all, one of the purposes of Neighborhood Councils is to bring the community and all other neighborhood associations together for the betterment of the local community. SOHA has found that working with SONiC on many important community issues proves that the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council certainly isn’t struggling as others which were discussed in the article. We consider them a success. We also take particular exception to. Barad’s comment that “Every month, every way they try to sabotage our group.” Unfortunately, we wish that we didn’t have to dignify this absurdity with a response as it places us in a defensive posture. Nevertheless, Barad has managed to not only impugn the reputation of our Association, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, also SONiC’s, a group she was elected to serve on by Sherman Oaks stakeholders. Frankly, the only thing Barad has shown us all is she does not understand what it takes to be an effective and inspiring leader. Unfortunately, your reporter, Shelly Garcia, failed to verify the source of her information, balance her article or check the veracity of the facts concerning SOHA’s working relationship with SONiC. Again, Barad is not the current chair of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council who is empowered to speak on behalf of the Council Kenneth Gerston is. Further, Garcia also failed to contact us to verify Barad’s statements particularly her allegations that SOHA has been committing acts of sabotage against SONiC. We trust that your readers will agree with us that in order for Neighborhood Councils to thrive, all stakeholders must put aside their private agendas so Los Angeles will succeed. Ellen Vukovich Member of the Board of Directors Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association
