I was shocked by the vitriolic attacks on Jeff Berman by Christi Zeller and J. Paul Brown (Opinion, Herald, May 11). Zeller’s letter attacked Berman’s business acumen and implied he somehow bamboozled lenders and investors to lend money for San Juan Biodiesel. An investor or lender does due diligence before making an investment and, as practitioners of capitalism, are fully aware of the risks to their investment. Zeller works for an industry that constantly brays about the superiority of the “free market system,” so one would assume she understands how the system works. Oh, I forgot, the energy industry – one of the taxpayer’ biggest welfare recipients – in reality doesn’t operate in such a system.
Brown’s letter displays his usual flair for speculation; the “gang of six,” the “unrealistic board members,” “Berman received a huge salary,” “investors got the shaft,” etc. I suspect Brown is all riled up because the good-old-boy ranchers who have run LPEA for so long may become the minority on the board.
His fulminations remind me of the old adage that some people don’t have enough sense to come in out of the rain. He ought to respect Berman’s attempt to start a business, and if he can’t, he should at least show some compassion and empathy as a good Christian would.
Neither letter addresses the issue of Berman’s qualifications and experience to serve on the board.
Alan Rolston
Mancos
