Vote on your values Prosecute, don’t pay, for car breakins
Rather than increase the mayor’s budget to pay for auto breakins, why not prosecute the offenders with stiffer penalties/fines? With the city having the highest breakin occurrences in the country it doesn’t seem the current system is working very well.
Lawrence Hurley, Daly City
Regarding “Bloomberg’s the right choice” (Letters, Feb. 12): The author reveals her bias in her letter supporting Michael Bloomberg when she says, “Let’s not put ideological purity above electability.”
That’s code being used by the Democratic establishment to dismiss the progressive candidates. Anxiety about President Trump among Democratic voters is leading them to make choices for the wrong reasons. They are secondguessing themselves and trying to figure out what other voters will do instead of voting their values. They are acting like pundits discussing electability, which is a total red herring because no one really knows who is electable, as evidenced by the current occupant of the White House. The latest Quinnipiac poll shows all of the top six Democratic candidates beating Trump, who is weaker than he wants you to think. So my advice is vote for the candidate that excites you and reflects your values, and stop looking to be rescued by an oligarch (Bloomberg) who is trying to buy the White House.
Robert Leeds, Oakland
Change leadership
Since the news story “ERA’s future rests with GOP Senate after House revival” (Page One, Feb. 14) indicates that Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will probably prevent the Democratic majority House of Representatives’ Equal Rights Amendment legislation from ever coming up for a vote in his chamber, here’s some advice for the good people of McConnell’s home state of Kentucky.
If you believe that all American citizens deserve equal pay and freedom from sexual discrimination or harassment, regardless of their gender, then please vote for former Marine fighter pilot and current Democratic Senate candidate Amy McGrath on Nov. 3, instead of giving the alltoopowerful McConnell another term.
If we can achieve new leadership in both the Senate and the White House at the end of 2020, we will help move our country further along on the path to equality for every citizen.
Bennie Oosterhaus, San Francisco
Stand up to tyranny
After reading about our president’s actions against the people who testified against him, followed closely by his insertion of himself into the Roger Stone case, I am truly fearful that we are losing our democracy. President Trump is a danger. He is headstrong, ignorant and an embarrassment. Americans must stand up against this tyrant. If not now, when?
Karen Prosser, San Mateo
Democratic control
“What a Bloomberg victory would mean for California” (Page One, Feb. 14) reads more like an infomercial for a Mike Bloomberg candidacy than actual political analysis. Bloomberg’s background as a successful business tycoon makes him no more a panacea for our ills than any other candidate the Democrats might field. They all have great plans for a future beyond the current administration, but those plans will be meaningless unless we can maintain Democratic control of the House and flip the Senate, where nearly all legislation these days seems to disappear into oblivion. Keep the eye on the ball, folks!
Leslie Gold, Albany
Build highspeed rail
Californians and all Americans should be embarrassed by our lack of a true highspeed rail system. I’ve lost track of how many other countries have fast, quiet, comfortable trains linking their major cities, and for how long they have enjoyed the benefits. Meanwhile, we must choose between overburdened highways and a sometimes equally overstretched air travel system, both of which contribute far too much carbon dioxide per mile traveled. There has been a great deal of grousing about the cost overruns that our first effort to build highspeed rail has encountered, but it seems that much of these have been due to overcoming delays and legal roadblocks placed by opponents of the project, as well as lack of support and lately overt hostility from the feds. With so many people wishing and hoping for highspeed rail to flop, it will be an amazing victory if it manages to succeed. Let’s hope we can join the rest of the developed world in the 21st century.
Greg Tolman, Berkeley
Crowded political field
I love the crowded Democratic presidential field. After March 3, we march forth! This is exactly the political relevance Californians wanted and expected from an earlier primary date.
John Kallio, Pleasanton