After creating intentionally misleading ads involving the Arcadia fire and police departments earlier this year, and then alienating the Arcadia City Council, Westfield Santa Anita has recently unleashed a new flurry of deceptive ads involving the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce, the Arcadia Historical Society, and Arcadia school teachers. Their most recent ad sparked an entire story and a letter to the editor from Arcadia city attorney Stephen Deitsch refuting what he percevied as an implication that he supports Westfield's upcoming ballot measures N and P.

Westfield (and its growing number of shadow groups with disingenuous names such as Arcadia First! and Save Arcadia that are run by paid consultants who don’t even live in Arcadia) knows that the Chamber, the Historical Society and the Arcadia School District are not taking sides in Westfield’s self-serving battle to defeat the proposed Shops at Santa Anita family-friendly retail development on the vacant parking lot of the race track.

But Westfield is disregarding the wishes of those organizations by sending out mailers and creating ads that falsely imply the endorsement of each of them with quotes by an “8-year Arcadia teacher” (without noting where she lives or that she has never been employed for more than sporadic substitute teaching) and quoting a member of the Chamber board and Historical Society without noting that she is no longer on the Chamber board and does not speak on behalf of the Historical Society.

Westfield’s strategy is puzzling since it has only infuriated the leaders of all of these important groups.

It’s also a great disappointment to see that Westfield, which offers such a valuable asset to the city with its mall and has heretofore been a good corporate citizen and remains a strong supporter of organizations like the Arcadia Educational Foundation, insists on disrespecting and demeaning the intelligence of Arcadians.

Scott Hettrick
founder Arcadia Wins!