Whenever questioned, Gail Vangordon picks and chooses her definitions, regulations and justifications, such that when challenged on any specific act or regulation, she changes argumentation and subject matter as she sees fit. When questioned in one area, she will provide answers to another question not asked. You know the type, you can never pin her down and she sort of grins all the time. This will become quite clear when I share her scorn for educated and reasoned people (whose identities I will not reveal).
I will show you where she claims the principal purpose of the eradication order was the prevention of plague and therefore, arrives at the figure of 2-3 squirrels per acre is based on a state recommendation—not ordinance—that says that in areas where there is plague, more than 2-3 ground squirrels per acre would be considered “excessive.” The state never uses the term “infestation.”
In fact, there is no definition of infestation either on the state or County level; Vangordon makes that very clear. An “infestation” is determined solely at the discretion of Vector Management’s field investigators.
Regarding them, she states "our inspectors have an average of 15 years of experience with a cumulative of over 90 years in the field of rodent management and vector born disease surveillance. My staff are career professionals who are well qualified to make informed judgments. The state codes we enforce are not outdated, they are intentionally broad to permit application under various conditions by properly trained, qualified and responsible individuals whose actions are continually monitored by supervision and upper management.” (This would exclude Fielding who seems to be entirely clueless in the supervision-thing.)
When challenged that the criteria of 2-3 per acre is only a state recommendation for areas where plague has already been found, she responds that plague is not the only concern, but the control of infestations is the County’s concern and they define that, “based on 80 years of experience.”
I would say that 80 years of experience (since 1925) in killing is hardly a qualification for understanding anything but killing, especially when most everyone else is asking to save the squirrels’ lives.
Plague—the term used by the County and borrowed by the City—has nothing to do with why the County is ordering the killing of squirrels. That word is for the media’s consumption, a Republican-type scare tactic.
So why are she and Frood doing it and why is Fielding supporting her?
Well Fielding is supporting her because he is a know-nothing CEO who routinely and unquestioningly supports the actions of underlings rather than asking the relevant questions asked by many people in emails and letters addressed to him. His generalist letter quoted in my last post, is a verbatim repetition of Vangordon, not any sort of reasoned response.
Concerning the other two, I will later offer a well-supported opinion that these are little people who get a great deal of pleasure in getting Santa Monica to squirm every other year, and perhaps get a secondary satisfaction out of killing. There is no scientific basis, no State or County definition of infestation, and no reason to apply a plague-area recommendation of 2-3 squirrels per acre to a non-plague area. Vangordon and Frood do this for the sheer pleasure. AND, Frood directly lies to the City and Animal Advocates, threatening to come into the City and poison the squirrels themselves.
These are two bullies, nothing more, nothing less, while Ewell and Fielding are the Two Stooges with any number of government employees vying to be the Third.
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