By Robert Zirgulis
Re “Safety Comes Before Redflex’s Alleged Failing, Cooper Says”
It is truly amazing that City Councilman Jeff Cooper and other Councilpersons don't seem to care that they awarded the red light camera contract to Redflex Traffic Systems, Inc., in the midst of scandalous corruption and bribery charges surrounding it.
Mr. Cooper writes: “In regards to our red light camera program and renewal of a contract with Redflex Traffic Systems, Inc., the most important factor that played in my decision to renew is the significant reduction in serious accidents that occurred at the intersections where our cameras are stationed.”
Oh, really? Mr. Cooper, can you give us specific facts? How many serious accidents did occur at these intersections from people running a red light? Could they have been stopped if there was a red light camera?
I would like to examine the data thoroughly. Quite frankly, I am losing confidence in the transparency of our government.
I publicly stated I smelled a rat in our city dealing with Redflex cameras when I ran for City Council over four years ago. I was proven right in regards to what has happened in Chicago.
You may ask why I have had suspicions about Redflex handing out perks to former city employees or their friends, even though I have no physical evidence as yet.
I am not going to reveal my source but ponder this. The Redflex Executive Vice President Aaron Rosenberg, who has been given a grant of immunity and is singing like a bird to the authorities, happened to live in the Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach area, according to my source which can easily be corroborated.
Mr. Rosenberg was in charge of sales for the region, I believe. One would think that he would definitely have called on Culver City to promote his red light cameras. Whom do you think he talked to? Were I that person, I would be sweating bullets.
My experience with bureaucrats is that they have serpentine ways of awarding contracts to their cronies by making the specifics for qualifying for a government contract Request for Proposal (RFP) in such a way that only their “friend” would meet the standards set. Is this what happened to Redflex?
Over 20,000 people were given red light camera tickets in Culver City last year. A vast majority involved a person who was following a left hand turn and did not want to get hit from behind. I did my own empirical study on this matter. Where is the outrage?
Mr. Zirgulis may be contacted at zirgulisr@yahoo.com
