Mailbag: Readers offer their views on the upcoming elections
Women should be deeply concerned about Donald Trump
For any woman who’s ever been groped, demeaned, intimidated or made to feel lesser than by a man, I feel compelled to speak out against the recent unconscionable remarks against women made by Donald J. Trump.
Like many other women, I too have been subjected on numerous occasions to predatory sexual abuse and harassment, beginning in 1967. After that initial trauma, I experienced several more sexually abusive and dangerous encounters spanning 45 years.
Even now, within my own circle of friends, I observe relationships where husbands belittle their wives in public, talking over them and dismissing their ideas and feelings, and I have remained silent. This is something that is so endemic in our culture that it has remained tolerated, even by strong, self-possessed women like myself.
It has to stop. Maybe now, after the unrepentant behavior and remarks of a small-minded, misogynistic tyrant who would seek the highest office in the land while having many of his ardent female followers, including his wife, excuse his words and actions — a healthy, out-in-the open dialogue can begin healing a nation where abuse of women is still so prevalent.
Shelley Ervin
Newport Beach
Government over-regulation is ruing us
I came to this country 50 years ago and proudly became a citizen. What I admired the most was that this was a land of the free and the home of the brave. Now, several decades later, I see our freedom compromised by over-regulation and government interference. It now has become very obvious that politicians in a small town of Washington, D.C., control our fate.
Our bravery is being questioned by our involvement in several fruitless wars of attrition. Overseas, many countries are openly taunting our resolve and have lost the respect of our military might. As you go to vote in November, please ask yourself a simple question: Which candidate will give me back my beloved land of the free and the home of the brave? A country that will again rise in strength and gain the trust of our citizens and the respect of the rest of the world.
Daud Ahmed
Laguna Beach
Muffled metaphor on the election
Letter writer Dave Connell uses a classic, though misguided, metaphor to describe what’s happening in both national and local politics right now (``Mailbag: Election lends itself to metaphor,” Oct. 27). The problem is he doesn’t give full credit to Miguel de Cervantes and his character Don Quixote. His use of the “knight” metaphor describes not only Donald Trump, but also our own Republicans, Rep. Dana Rohrbacher, Sen. John Moorlach, Mayor Steve Mensinger and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer. Just like Don Quixote, these errant white knights are searching all over our country for evil “windmills” to fight.
Kirby Piazza
Costa Mesa
Beware the so-called white knights
This is frightening rhetoric (``Mailbag: Election lends itself to metaphor,” Oct. 27). We have Donald Trump and his minions to thank for inviting these deplorable ideas into the mainstream of political discourse.
Ralph Sims
Newport Beach
Best outcome for the GOP: Lose
In my view, the best thing for the GOP would be for them to lose big-time. If Republicans don’t want to have a disaster just down the road, it’s better for them to swallow the pill now and come back to win another day, sooner more likely than later.
Lenard Davis
Newport Beach
Public schools, roads are forms of socialism
Robert Graham (Mailbag, Oct. 23) says that “socialism is threatening our ways in the U.S.” It has never been a threat to me. Every day I ride on roads, freeways, bridges, etc. Socialism! I graduated from public schools and a public university. Socialism! I receive Social Security and Medicare. Socialism! I’ve always been in unions, collective bargaining for better wages and benefits. Socialism! I go to public libraries. Socialism! I vacation in national, state, regional and city parks. Socialism! How about low-cost crop insurance through farmer co-ops? Socialism!
James Shoemaker
Seal Beach
Parks are also social institutions
Re. “Mailbag: Socialism is threatening our ways,” (Oct. 23): Let me start with Bob Graham’s employment. He is a city parks commissioner, and parks and recreation are social institutions. The very type of institutions Mr. Graham rants about in his letter.
Gina Piazza
Costa Mesa
Proposition 62 requires an addendum
Advocates for Proposition 62 claim the death penalty is expensive, futile and inhumane. Death penalty supporters claim a life sentence without parole denies closure to the victims’ families, coddles murderers and may not save the taxpayer any money. I plan to vote for the proposition, but I wish it included a provision to allow a murder convict to ask for their own prompt death. Who is qualified to say whether death by injection is more or less “humane” than life in prison? On their own behalf, the prisoner is!
Robert L. Alexander
Seal Beach
Mayor’s mail takes salaries out of context
You may have seen a slate mailed out by Mayor Mensinger showing some of your firefighters’ pay and benefits (with our names included). This is very misleading. Every firefighter on that list is working thousands of hours of overtime because the mayor and council majority refuse to properly staff the Fire Department. There are 63 firefighters available to work 78 positions.
For example, the Metro Fire Station on the north end of town is still scheduled to be closed under the mayor’s plan. The council has not re-voted to keep it open, but for the past five years it has been staffed with overtime positions. We have 15 vacancies in the Fire Department with that station remaining open. The mayor refuses to count those vacancies in the staffing levels.
This election is like no other on every level. My job as a firefighter is to protect you and your property. I took an oath to do that and don’t take it lightly. I will live up to that. Please trust your firefighters. At the end of the election, I can honestly say the firefighters ran a clean and truthful campaign. Can the mayor say that with a straight face?
Rob Gagne
Costa Mesa
The writer is president of the Costa Mesa Firefighters Assn.
Mayor is owed an apology by union-backed slate
With his recent commentary (``Commentary: Focus on motels misses the big picture on rise of crime in Costa Mesa,” Oct. 13) and campaign mail, council candidate John Stephens continues his gang’s bashing and blaming our mayor and mayor pro tem for “harming police department morale.” This nonsense has been going on for four years now and makes one wonder, how is it that the recent guilty plea to four felonies by a private investigator who worked for the police union’s former law firm in connection changes nothing? The mayor and mayor pro tem were criminally victimized, but these candidates don’t seem to care. These police-union-supported candidates have no business leading our city and owe the mayor and mayor pro tem a sincere apology.
Eric Bever
Costa Mesa
The writer is a former Costa Mesa mayor.
More to reducing crime than hiring more cops
Re. “Commentary: Focus on motels misses the big picture on rise of crime in Costa Mesa,” (Oct. 13): Proposition 47, which passed in 2014, reduced several felonies to misdemeanors, causing more people to be cited and released instead of incarcerated. Concurrently, the Legislature passed AB 109, with my very vocal opposition, which shifts long-term state prisoners to our local county jails.
Due to this, simply stating that more police officers equals less crime is irresponsibly naïve. Instead, we need a multi-faceted approach that supports our police chief, and the officers he commands, and specifically addresses the underlying cause to many of the strains on our police force.
These motels constantly require police attention, as the city receives hundreds of calls annually. To be fair, some people are down on their luck and stay at these motels. But many of the residents are parolees, criminals, and drug offenders. Repurpose and revitalize the problem motels, and you are one step closer to removing the parolees, criminals, and drug offenders that reside there.
Allan Mansoor
Costa Mesa
The writer is a candidate for City Council.
It’s time for school board incumbents to move on
I have nothing against the Newport-Mesa school board incumbents personally. Frankly, I like all of them, but it’s time for them to go. Their lack of involvement, understanding of the important issues, lack of transparency, continued circling of the wagons, unwillingness to acknowledge that they have made major mistakes and rectify them, and the continual acceptance of information from the superintendent without doing independent investigation, is the reason that I am supporting Leslie Bubb, Amy Peters and Michael Schwarzmann, and I am urging you to support them too.
Sandy Asper
Newport Beach
Merger would create economies of scale
This November, through Measure TT, Mesa Water is asking you whether we should pursue consolidating with the Costa Mesa Sanitary District to become one district for our community’s benefit.
In Orange County it is very rare to have separate water and sanitary districts serving the same community. It is unnecessary to have two separate boards, two separate headquarters, two separate general managers. It is also very rare to find politicians who are willing to give up their jobs. So, while people have talked about this idea for decades, no one has ever acted on it, and we have been stuck with the status quo.
This is not about one district “taking over” another, nor is this about one district needing the other’s assets or cash. This is about combining the two so that the whole is better than the sum of its parts.
Ethan Temianka
Costa Mesa
The writer is vice president of the Mesa Water District’s board of directors.
Vote against Proposition 58
To help persuade voters, politicians are using the misleading title of “English proficiency” in order to gain support for Proposition 58. However, these changes would actually allow for “English Language Learners” to go for years without being taught in English.
English immersion has been proven to lead to a faster proficiency in the language than being in a bilingual environment that can further delay the learning process. Research studies show that English immersion and sheltered English programs performed better than bilingual ones. Something I can personally attest to, having promptly learned two additional languages this way.
Michelle Steel
Surfside
The writer is an Orange County Supervisor.
Watch your City Council meetings
Please view City Council meetings. It’s honestly like watching a modern-day king bequeathing with zero regard for citizens of this community. Watch in amazement the blatant lack of respect for residents, for public safety officials and the outlandish lies being paraded as facts on fliers, mailings and in the media. The stuff that I’ve seen at Planning Commission meetings, at City Council meetings, and so on, shouldn’t be happening, ever.
Laurene Keane
Costa Mesa
Vote for Sue Savary for Congress
Please help us retire Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa). He has done nothing for our district for too long. Please give Democrat Sue Savary a chance and your vote.
Patricia Humphreys
Newport Beach
Hold your government accountable
Governments are confusing. National. Local. Whatever.
First of all, they’re so big. And they do so many different things. And then they’re not too transparent. It seems like the commonest announcement from the government is, “No one is authorized to speak.”
But the public actually has a lot of power here, being the source of tax money and votes. Fundamentally, what the public can do is consistently hold the government responsible for results. For achieving obvious, basic benefits in a reasonably timely manner. For accomplishing the big things that are important to everyone.
Steve Davidson
Newport Beach