Villaraigosa’s personal life

Re “Mayor reveals romantic link with TV newscaster,” July 4

It really irked me to see Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa say that his personal life does not affect his constituents. A truthful person has integrity in all areas of his life. Am I really going to believe everything Villaraigosa says after what he did to his wife? After all, she supported him for years, and this is how he repays her. How can any logical person not see that what he did was plain wrong?

RYAN ALLAN

Los Angeles

*

Contrary to the mayor’s statement that private life should be separated from public life, his indiscretions certainly reflect on his integrity. His hard-work ethics are not disputed, but his veracity is subject to debate.

WALT ENGLERT

Silver Lake

*

Villaraigosa is a shameless mayor who has no moral or ethical conscience regarding his own family. So how can we trust him with an internationally known city? The mayor has brought more embarrassment to Los Angeles and added more sleaze to its reputation. How is this a private matter?

SUSAN MIJARES

Bellflower

*

Why should we hold public officials to a different standard than people in the private sector? Villaraigosa’s personal problems are the concern only of the parties involved. The public should judge him on his job performance leading the city. He is an energetic and talented politician. He should be given a chance to make Los Angeles a better place in which to live. Let’s finally grow up as a nation and a people and admit that these things happen and that they are none of the public’s business.

DONALD CROLEY

Hermosa Beach

*

As reported in The Times, Manuel Abud, Telemundo’s general manager in Los Angeles, said that television anchor Mirthala Salinas “is one of our most respected reporters and a great professional. Telemundo is fully committed to journalistic excellence.”

You’ve got to be kidding me. Salinas reported that the mayor was having an affair, leaving out that the affair was with her. This shows a lack of character, credibility and professionalism. Telemundo, owned by NBC Universal, was aware of the affair for the last year and looked the other way. There is an obligation to report the news, not hide it. I suggest that Salinas, Abud and Villaraigosa look for employment elsewhere. Until NBC and Telemundo clean up their news departments, the people of Southern California should look elsewhere for their news.

CHARLES KING

Whittier

*

One good thing: “Villasalinas” is easier to pronounce.

JACK SHAKELY

Rancho Mirage

*

Re “At L.A. City Hall, the summer of love,” column, July 4

In addition to Steve Lopez’s always succinct, right-on and thoughtful commentary on the state of our city, he provides a medical benefit to his readers. It is said that laughter is the best medicine. Well, his Fourth of July column on the mayor provided me with at least a few months’ worth of medicinal benefit that I really needed. Both my mother, who recently suffered a stroke, and I laughed out loud so often while reading his column that we decided that we didn’t need any fireworks displays. His column provided all the fun we would need.

LIZ SHERWIN

Los Angeles

*

I am as assertively uninterested in a public exposure of the grief at the heart of Villaraigosa’s failed marriage as I am in the trumped-up life of Paris Hilton. Villaraigosa’s blunders in this regard serve to punish his wife and family, a victimization in which The Times participates every time it reports on them. I despise cheap media tactics that prey on the private lives of people for the sake of newspaper sales. Please, Steve Lopez, spare us your “summer of love.”

FATHER PATRICK MULLEN

Glendale