Hart-Ferguson Race for State Assembly Seat

John F. Dean (Letters, March 20) sure doesn’t let the facts get in the way of his attack on Assemblyman Gil Ferguson’s (R-Newport Beach) record.

Dean claims that none of Ferguson’s important legislation has passed, and he attempts to cite the assemblyman’s recent districtwide newsletter as his source. However, the newsletter clearly states that only a selected list of Ferguson’s bills are included and further shows those measures which have passed.

The mark of an effective legislator, for Republicans, is not how many laws a representative gets passed. What is crucial is the nature of all of his or her legislation and how that member votes on all bills. The question is, do those votes and bills represent Republican principles and goals, and what is good for the district.

Nevertheless, Ferguson has as good a record of passed bills in the Democrat-dominated Legislature as any Republican who is willing to author bills to scale down, rather than expand government.

Dean suggests that Ferguson shouldn’t be proud of supporting the tax rebate, because, he says, liberals and “thinking conservatives” wanted the money spent for education. The fact is, however, that the Gann Amendment placed in our State Constitution by the voters required return of the surplus or voter approval to use it for a specific purpose.

Dean was one of the candidates in the Republican primary in 1984. Ferguson was the victor of that campaign and later made sure the other candidates knew that he was open to their ideas and views. It’s a pity that Dean hasn’t contacted our office once in those four years.

BEVERLY EVANS

Beverly Evans is an administrative assistant on Ferguson’s staff.