Letters to the Editor: Pete Wilson: Terrible governor, pretty good mayor of San Diego
To the editor: Columnist Gustavo Arellano is a product of Orange County, where the car is king. His narrow-view identity politics show when he disparages former San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson’s metropolis-building innovations, namely the city’s trolley system and its downtown Horton Plaza.
In fact, Wilson was a pretty good mayor who grew more conservative after he became governor of California and was eyeing the White House.
Frances O’Neill Zimmerman, La Jolla
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To the editor: As usual, Arellano is spot on, but I chuckled at Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez’s suggestion that the statue of Wilson in San Diego be relocated to GOP headquarters.
I think it is the Democrats who should honor him, as his championing of Proposition 187 was arguably the single most important factor in California becoming solidly blue.
Wilson’s shortsighted and undeniably racist turn to political expedience effectively disempowered the California Republican Party.
Michael J. Faber, Los Angeles
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