I have been a resident of what is now the Village of Pinecrest since 1989. Until last summer, I had never paid too much attention to local politics. But during the summer of 2007, the Village Council, led by Mayor Matzner, attempted to force me along with about 1,400 other homeowners to abandon our well water and to connect to the county water system at a cost in excess of $13,000 per household.

To their credit, the mayor and Village Council called for a couple of public hearings to discuss the issue. At the first such meeting, it was apparent that the mayor and Village Council were determined to proceed with this $22 million dollar project whether or not their constituents wanted it or not. It became very clear that both Matzner and Councilwoman Serota were pushing hard for this project, and the arrogance directed toward those who opposed them was appalling. Serota declared that the council could go ahead without the approval of the people.

This lack of regard for the concerns of many Pinecrest residents by Matzner and Serota was the catalyst for a group of concerned citizens to organize, to hire legal counsel and to cause the Village Council to rethink their position as how to proceed with providing county water to those who want it.

It was fortunate for us that Cindy Lerner's home was one of the 1,400 on well water. It was through her experience and leadership (Ms. Lerner being a former state representative in the Florida Legislature) that we were able to convince the mayor and village council to abandon their original plan. I have known both Serota and Lerner personally for more than 10 years, and happen to like them both.

But Ms. Serota's display of arrogance and hubris regarding the water issue and Ms. Lerner's demonstration of inclusion in reaching out and providing alternative solutions leads me to believe Ms. Lerner will better serve as mayor of Pinecrest.

KENNETH YOUNG

PINECREST

LERNER WOULD BRING

OPENNESS TO VILLAGE

My family and I have lived in Pinecrest for 33 years. Pinecrest has a wonderful opportunity to elect fresh leadership in November when we cast our vote for Cindy Lerner for mayor.

The past two years have seen divisiveness and negativity in our village. Cindy is a positive leader. She recognizes that in these dismal economic times, it is important to exercise fiscal responsibility. Ill-thought out -- and unnecessary -- schemes are not part of Cindy's plans for the future.

She has proven her ability to communicate with her constituents during her tenure in the Legislature.

We can look forward to openness in village governance with Lerner as mayor.

ROBERT LEVENSON

PINECREST

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