MAILBAG - July 26, 2007

Council correct on Main Street course

Enough cannot be said to writers Tim Geddes (“Don’t make Main Street a mall,” July 19) and Joe Shaw (“Don’t mess with Main Street’s success,” July 19) regarding their comments on the Main Street situation and future. It is good to see such informed, factual and concerned viewpoints to the issue, whether you live near main street or elsewhere in Huntington Beach.

The council has taken the correct course to slowly integrate this effort and see what, if any, negative impacts this would have not only on Main Street, but also the surrounding denizens who would be severely impacted.

The last thing we need is a knee-jerk “build it they will come” developer mentality. We have a very viable and robust main street and do not need to overkill it and cause hardship on our residents down there. Hopefully, cooler minds will continue to prevail and we pursue the growth on a very prudent review of cause and effect for all residents.

DREW KOVACS

Ask the right questions for limits

The Huntington Beach City Council will discuss, and perhaps vote on, a proposal to raise the contribution limit of individuals from $300 to $500 for city candidates running for city offices at the Aug. 6 council meeting.

“Individual” includes people, corporations and Political Action Committees (PACs).

To understand this, it’s simply a matter of asking the right questions. Ask dumb questions, get dumb answers. Ask good questions, you’ll usually get good answers, depending upon the amount of “con” the responder has. Anyway, let’s begin.

Question No. 1: Will this help candidates? Of course it will. However, there have been candidates in past city elections who really didn’t solicit, so it wouldn’t make a difference. Or maybe they were “unknowns” without contacts. No hope there.

Question No. 2: Does it help the contributors, those who give? Most of the time, yes. But it depends upon who the contributor is. Some think they’re buying “Government Access.” Maybe yes, maybe no. Others feel real proud, they walk around with their head high, and have a secret desire to tell all their friends.

Question No. 3: Will increasing the top limit mean more people will contribute? Not at the “top,” no way. But it’s unknown if raising the “top” would somehow encourage more contributors at lower levels. Just because there’s a “top” doesn’t mean you have to go there. But it could also drive people away who don’t play “rich man’s” games.

Question No. 4: How many contributors were there in the last election on Nov. 7, 2006? There were probably 800 individuals, corporations and PACs largely in Huntington Beach who made contributions of $100 to $300 to at least one council candidate, and some these made contributions to two or three candidates.

And many more made “under $100” contributions. The number is not reported at the City Clerk’s Office.

Question No. 5: Here’s the real one to answer. Will raising the limit encourage good candidates to run, and get elected, and give us good government? And that applies to both incumbents and first-timers.

What’s your question? It may be a good one.

LARRY GALLUP

Changes needed for health care logic

While Tom Harman may be correct in his analysis of the Massachusetts health care reforms, he offers no reasonable alternative and falls back on tired old “free market” solutions.

Free markets are incredibly efficient but, as Harman knows, profit is the basis of the free market’s incredible efficiency and there will never be a profit incentive to provide basic health care to every citizen and so the free market system will never be able to do it.

If one were to apply Harman’s logic to the police force, then I’m sure the cost of public safety would come down, but God help those unfortunates.

There are some things a society, through it’s government, needs to decide to do. Universal health care is one of them.

There will never be equal access to health care. That’s just a fantasy.

But a level of basic health care to all citizens is something we can and should find a way to accomplish.

If Harman could just use his brain power to help solve the problem of universal health care instead of bad mouthing other’s attempts, he just might be worth listening to.

CHET TOMSICK