Reasons for copter patrols are unclear...

Reasons for copter patrols are unclear

I echo the sentiments of Sue Dominguez (“Huntington Beach a noisy

place to live,” Mailbag Oct. 10) regarding the Huntington Beach

Police helicopter patrols. I’ve tolerated the often house-shaking

patrols for eight years now.

Every time a helicopter flies overhead, I mutter, “There’s our tax

dollars at work.” A call to the Police Department to explain why this

is the only city in the country that needs constant helicopter

patrolling only further infuriated me.

I was told that they’ve been doing it for 30 years and that’s the

way it’s going to be for another 30 years. Come on now. Why in the

world can’t they reserve helicopter use for an emergency, i.e. a

violent crime in progress?

I hope the police chief will explain why Huntington Beach needs

this expensive and noisy way to fight crime. And if he doesn’t,

anybody have any suggestions for putting a stop to this?

LARRY BAKER

Huntington Beach

Years of involvement provide my basis

This is in response to Dawn Stanton’s response to my letter

(Mailbag Oct. 10 “McGrath carrying on legacy would be good”).

I have been involved in local campaigns every two years since 1974

and have participated and ran (1982) and walked ( I don’t know how

many miles) in Jerry Matney’s, Don Shipley, Norma Gibb’s, Richard

Seibert, Ruth Finley, Ruth Bailey, Grace Winchell, Bob Mandic,

Shirley Dettloff, Dave Sullivan, Tom Harman, Debbie Cook and Connie

Boardman’s campaign’s. I also helped in Dennis Mangers campaign for

Assembly, Dave Baker for supervisor, and at 70 I am only half bright

on this issue? I don’t know if I have 30 more years to become all

bright.

Who are you and where have you been?

I and many other groups in this community worked also to get Gail

Hutton elected the first time, and did so thinking we had the right

person for the job.

But, alas, we were wrong.

It is difficult to get an incumbent out of office unless there are

term limits, which there are not for the attorney’s office. The

electorate almost always votes for the incumbent, with two exceptions

in Huntington Beach -- Don McAllister and Vic Leipzig.

In the case of Jennifer McGrath, with four empty council seats and

an empty city attorney’s seat, the electorate knows there is no

incumbent running. When McGrath filed her papers stating that she was

a deputy city attorney, an unknowing portion of the electorate may

assumes that she is next in line and is an incumbent. Therefore, the

lack of that word “for” on her signs could be misconstrued that she

is an incumbent. It is obvious that she knows this and is playing on

words to confuse and mislead the electorate.

I will not go into why I think she is not qualified, I don’t have

the space here.

I am again participating in many campaigns to get good people

elected for this city: for City Council, Jill Hardy, Dave Sullivan,

Steve Ray; for city attorney, Ron Davis; and for the Ocean View

School Board, Sharon Holland, Carol Kanode and Carolee Focht. This

city deserves and needs the best.

DEAN ALBRIGHT

Huntington Beach

Glad Indy’s here for crucial election time

In light of the upcoming election, in which the local candidates

offer a far more interesting race than the state-level candidates,

it’s especially welcome news that the Independent will be delivered

separately to more homes than it has been reaching via Los Angeles

Times subscriptions.

Unlike the other local paper, with the glaring biases of (and

name-calling by) its regular columnists, the Indy has always relied

more on stating facts and letting readers form their own opinions.

The expanded space for letters to the editor allows more input from

readers, allowing for healthy debate (even if some letters are

lacking in background research).

Special thanks to City Editor Danette Goulet for her enthusiasm

for the local political scene. Citizens need to pay more attention

and form their opinions based on facts, not hysterical hearsay.

Rather than make assumptions about candidates’ motives and stating

them as fact, voters have a responsibility to spend a little time

watching or attending candidates’ forums, reading opposing

viewpoints, and even contacting the candidates themselves to be

certain they have a clear understanding of what these people stand

for, who’s endorsing them and what their motivations are.

Letting others tell you how to vote, on candidates you know

nothing about, is inexcusable. There’s too much at stake.

PAT MATZKE

Huntington Beach

Positive things not excuse for mistakes

I wholeheartedly agree with the Independent’s recent editorial

“Now the good news”. It is important to recognize the positive

accomplishments made by our schools rather than only focus on the

negative problems.

However, the positive deeds of our schools should not be used as

excuses to justify mistakes and poor decisions by district

leadership. It is very important not to minimize our schools’

problems. Complacency would only minimize the urgency to take

corrective and lasting actions that would serve to improve our

schools.

When our school officials perform well, we should be there to

thank them. But, if school leadership lacks the excellence we expect

and demand, we must force change immediately. Our schools are too

important to accept less than the best.

ED FALZON

Huntington Beach

City administrator owes clerk an apology

A true democracy is controlled by the people by use of the ballot

box. It then is self evident that any governmental body posing as a

democracy does so through “elected” individuals. Any usurping of the

will of those elected by, hired or appointed will, if left

uncontrolled, crumble the democratic process.

Here in Huntington Beach we have an elected city clerk that now

has her power challenged by the city administrator. This city

administrator is not answerable to the community yet he has the

audacity to challenge due process as demanded by an elected official.

This cannot be tolerated.

The city administrator should be admonished by our titular mayor

and the demands of our elected city clerk should be adhered to. Even

the opinion of the elected city attorney can not give power to

employees not answerable to the people. Ray Silver owes our elected

city clerk a public apology and should be reminded, if not dismissed,

that his power can only be that as outlined in his position

description and even then can unilaterally be changed by the will of

the people through their elected representatives.

It may sound archaic to Silver but our city, as with our entire

democratic government, is governed “by the people and for the

people.” As President Abraham Lincoln once expounded, allow me to

paraphrase -- the elected personnel are to do for all the people what

each individual cannot do for himself.

BOB POLKOW

Huntington Beach