This Is No Time to Be Negative

* Your Oct. 25 editorial, “The Leadership Challenge,” was replete with downside commentary on how the county of Orange and its highest elected officials have failed in serving the public interests.

Where are the answers to better government? Why don’t you give us some positive solutions? Your obscure and negative attacks against the people who seek office in county government miss the mark.

What about the voting public, whose duty it should be to make informed decisions and put the best possible candidates into office? You give your readers small hope when you state that 2nd and 4th district supervisorial candidates offer “Little to support any conclusion that significant leadership will come from the eventual winners in the districts.”

Our declining voter turnout is the fallout effect of your type of editorial offerings and contribute to the problems within our system that the electorate has lost faith in. With positive help from the print and electronic news media, perhaps we can all pull together for a better form of government.

THOMAS P. LOGAN

Fountain Valley

* I wish to express some of my thoughts about your statements concerning the 2nd district county supervisor race, and the decision to not make an endorsement. Your opinions represent your legitimate journalistic prerogatives. No one can argue with the right to editorialize. However, I do take some objections to some of your characterizations of Jim Silva’s qualifications.

I am a retired engineer living in Costa Mesa (for some 30 years), who became a volunteer in the Silva campaign.

You seem to imply that his faults are being straight-arrow and not wanting to raise taxes. Horrors! He wanted to pay down debts and cut spending. It seems to me that this is not a crime in a bankruptcy situation, but a virtue.

Further, you characterized Silva as solid, having an even disposition, a sense of fair play, etc., etc. Why are these subsequently dismissed as irrelevant? Should he engage in extramarital relationships, lie, frequent the talk show circuits and play a saxophone? It seems to me that you are relegating character and hard work to the dustbin.

Charisma, smiling, empathizing and grandiose visions of the future seem to be more important in your regard. Permit me to remind you that it was Mr. Citron’s grand vision of the future that led us into bankruptcy. We should be thankful for Silva’s competence and quiet demeanor.

JAMES J. MILANESE

Costa Mesa