FEEDBACK

AT ISSUE: Readers agree with Steve Smith’s defense of school board

member Wendy Leece (“Leece snub is censorship, not leadership,” Dec. 25).

Contrary to Steve Smith’s intention, I thought his article concerning the

school board’s snubbing of member Wendy Leece was in fact a very

appropriate column for Christmas Day. By pointing out that even though we

Americans are privileged to live within the culture and enjoy the

freedoms and material benefits stemming from the birth of Christ, there

are many among us, especially among politicians, who fear or are at least

very uneasy with any reference to religion.

To the chagrin of most members of the board and some in our community,

Wendy Leece is a constant reminder of Christmas. The fact that she

represents the underrepresented on the West Side, in the board’s mind, is

simply added reason they continue to snub and censor her voice and ideas.

Thank you, Steve Smith, for reminding us on Christmas Day that the

message Christ brought was that God is love. The school board shouldn’t

fear someone in their midst simply because she reminds them of that

message.

GIL FERGUSON

Balboa Island

Gil Ferguson is a former state assemblyman and a longtime conservative

activist.

Steve Smith’s column was absolutely correct. I do not live in West Side

Costa Mesa and cannot be accused of bias on the issue, but the board’s

decision to “snub” her once again by not naming her as clerk does indeed

smell a little like “elitism.”

Smith is correct in stating the arguments for the board’s actions are

weak and wrong. Making a statement that Leece has not had her children in

public school was incorrect. It demonstrates how little the accuser

investigated his facts. Regarding the accusation that Leece is a

Christian, I am shocked that Tom Vogele considers that a negative.

Actually, in that respect she represents far more of our community than

just West Side Costa Mesa. Has she ever suggested pushing Christianity in

the classroom? No! Could she in the capacity of board clerk be in a

position to do so? No! Then, Vogele’s arguments are moot.

Thank you for bringing up this important subject of our school board

censoring a member due to a lack of tolerance. Whether that intolerance

is aimed personally at Leece or if it extends to the entire West Side is

a matter for each to judge. Either way, the matter should not be dropped,

and the board members should be held accountable for their actions.

KATHY SMITH

Costa Mesa

There’s enough vitriol in those letters of Tom Vogele and Marc Gleason

(“Leece Deserves to be Passed Over,” Readers respond, Dec. 21) to cancel

or neutralize any charitable thoughts associated with this blessed time

of the year.

Although Dugan finds trustee Wendy Leece too “religious” for his liking,

Gleason finds her “arrogance” unacceptable. Arrogance for what? Because

she chooses to send her children to a private school. Rather than making

an effort to find out why she does in fact send her children there,

Gleason interprets this -- somewhat blindly -- as an act of arrogance.

I’m sure that qualifications to serve as a trustee do not require sending

one’s children to public schools. In fact, having someone on the board

who can compare the education that private schools afford their students

with public schools may be of great value. I’m sure Gleason is aware that

such creative and innovative movements as vouchers, charter schools and

advanced-placement programs are beginning to make their mark in public

education.

I recall when our American culture once considered Catholics “ineligible”

for the presidency. The fact that Jack Kennedy was a good Catholic who

made it to the White House played a major role in dispelling the myth

that a person’s religious beliefs interfered with his or her ability to

serve one’s office by adhering to the mandates of the Constitution. I’m

sure that trustee Leece does her job in this manner.

LEFTERIS LAVRAKAS, Ph.D

Costa Mesa