We had the “election to beat all elections!” here in Sunland-Tujunga. Everybody won for all the wrong reasons. The town became polarized and divided into camps of Armenians vs the Anglo RedNecks. And it was like a story right out of the comic books that made the people rally around their particular candidates. We had the highest voter turn-out ever: 1,223 signed up and voted, and 50 showed up and left for various reasons without voting.
In any event it was wonderful to see people out doing something they believed in. The Cleghorn machine is damaged and may not recover. It will be up to the new officers to find out how city money was authorized to pay off the chamber of commerce’s debts and to pay their monthly rent even though they are not a city-authorized entity.
Yes, boys and girls, there might be a reckoning coming up in the near future. The stories keep coming in about people assaulting Ms. Cleghorn and demanding money from her. Damn, I better get in line, I’m sure she owes me money for something. But I’m not up to beating a dead cow; with the new officers coming in after the election challenges have been investigated, I expect that there will be some changes on how money gets given out.
The chamber, under the direction of Mike Moncrieff, is touting that they will be bringing the Watermelon Festival back to S-T. Now that would be a wonderment. I don’t see it happening as things now stand, but I’ll support it in any way I can. As a community dominated by the Cleghorn machine, we’ve lost almost everything that defined us as a community. RIP: Old Timers Day. RIP: Easter Festival. RIP: The Pet Fair. RIP: Watermelon Festival.
Our service clubs are dying or bankrupt, but we’ve got to do something to keep them alive so that we can have something to be proud of. The last vestiges of our history, the 4th of July Parade and the 4th of July Fireworks, are in jeopardy of becoming extinct. Maybe it’s the modern technology that’s doing it, but our youthful community members are shying away from the service clubs. And we need them. And that means that we need you — the reader — to help them out. Think about it in the coming weeks.
Do you want to be a part of something really great that makes us a real community, or do you want to continue drinking the water?