Dear Mr. Redford

You made it, and you got it made. Hats off to you. I really enjoy your movies. But your involvement in this debate detracts from your many accomplishments.

Thousands of jobs and hard-working Hispanics are among those adversely affected by the ridiculous Measure P. The facts are county water and air are better now than years ago and oil production has almost tripled. Does that sound like our beautiful county is being adversely affected? The answer is no! I know this is because I am also a well-educated environmentalist. I live here 24/7, drink the water, and breathe the air. I also work in the oil industry.

Santa Barbara citizens are waking up to the “not in my backyard” South County elitist scam. Please don’t associate yourself with that group. We are very smart citizens realizing it’s better to keep petroleum jobs and tax revenue here where it is regulated by the most responsible environmental laws in the world.

To your concerns, this is not about forcing the world off its dependence on petroleum. It’s about keeping the quality of life good for everyone while these issues are analyzed and solutions are found. I would like nothing more than to find a cure for cancer and HIV right now! But that’s not the way it works. And we do not want to keep sending our hard-earned money outside of this county and state to people who hate us. I know we’ll work out the purported climate issues.

I am a skilled Hispanic who loves this place, too. Do you have room for me? You should support “no” on P. I would be most happy to show you why I know I’m right. I hope this paper has the nerve to print my letter.

After readers inquired about Mr. Elias’s employment, he added: “I wrote the letter as private citizen who lives and works in Santa Maria together with many other Hispanic oil industry workers. I am an officer and founding member of Santa Maria Energy, and I am proud to say our Hispanic workers make well above average living wages.”