Alan Cranston

* The passing of Sen. Alan Cranston (Jan. 1) marks the loss of a rare breed of public servant, a unique, multifaceted legislator who was genuinely compassionate and creative in using his office to meet the needs of his constituency. Twenty-seven years ago, long before there was a national debate regarding a patients’ bill of rights, Chairman Cranston of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs promoted the introduction of the first ombudsman program within the Veterans Administration hospital system. As chief of the applied behavioral science section of the West L.A. VA domiciliary, I saw close at hand how patient care and morale could significantly benefit from the presence of an independent, on-site office monitoring patient feedback.

Cranston found time to excite the interest and cooperation of the then-UCLA law school dean to engage second- and third-year law students to serve as ombudsmen at no cost to the government agency. Those of us connected with this program greatly admired him for his bold initiative and determination to bring about this pioneering effort in achieving consumer satisfaction in health care.

GEORGE G. KATZ

Pacific Palisades

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Let’s make sure we don’t forget the senior citizens who were cheated out of their savings by Cranston’s old buddy, Charlie Keating, who gave plenty to Cranston’s campaign and received inappropriate, if not criminal, intervention from the Keating Five to help him in his shenanigans. Your article pointed out that Cranston was very adept at fund-raising and apparently never met a contributor he didn’t like. Bottom line, he was just another politician who, once he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, had the audacity to deny everything and proclaim that he had nothing to be sorry for.

COLIN SINGER

South Pasadena

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A little-known contribution of Cranston’s was his quiet yet essential support of the creation of TreePeople. It was 1970 and I was attempting to plant trees to save our local forests from the ravages of air pollution. When almost everyone else dismissed me as a naive 15-year-old without funds or a chance of succeeding, Cranston allowed me to use his local office and phones to make long-distance calls to Forest Service offices in Washington and San Bernardino. Like many of Cranston’s contributions, this seemingly minor one has continued to benefit the people and the environment.

ANDY LIPKIS

President, TreePeople

Beverly Hills