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Take politics out of
top cop, clerk jobs
Re: “Stop electing top cop, clerk in Santa Clara” (Page A8, Jan. 14).
A yes vote on Santa Clara Measures A and B ensures that the selection of the city clerk and police chief will be based on qualifications, education and experience rather than political connections, residency and willingness to mount a political campaign.
An appointed city clerk and police chief would have a job description with required levels of education, training, certification and experience; be recruited from a much wider pool of candidates not limited by residency; work together with the city manager and be accountable daily; save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars by avoiding ballot costs every four years; be hired and regularly evaluated by the city manager; not be distracted from their demanding duties by time spent campaigning and raising money; and insulate the positions from political pressures, allowing the police chief and clerk to focus on making decisions based on professional judgment rather than electoral considerations.
Jeff Houston
Santa Clara
Elect Betty Duong
as county supervisor
As a retired employee of the county and longtime resident of District 2, I support Betty Duong for the position of county supervisor.
Betty has served the public as an employee of the county for over ten years. She led the completion and opening of the Vietnamese American Service Center, a first-of-its-kind multi-service center where people access senior nutrition, medical, social and behavioral health services. Betty created the county’s Office of Labor Standards that helps local small businesses navigate complex labor regulations and helps individuals receive wage theft judgments they are owed.
Betty understands how the county runs, and she will leverage this experience to maximize transparency and accountability to improve the services the county provides.
Betty Duong is by far the most qualified candidate for District 2 county supervisor, and I hope you join me in voting for her on March 5.
Paul Murphy
San Jose
Simitian’s experience
qualifies him for House
As a former Saratoga councilmember, vice mayor and mayor, who has worked with county Supervisor Joe Simitian since 2014, I can assuredly state no other candidate in the race for Congress has the proven compassion, dedication, integrity and broad expertise Joe has.
During his years of public service, Joe has addressed the tough issues of mental health, affordable housing, land use and the environment.
In my experience alone, Joe served Saratoga’s residents by stabilizing and securing ongoing funding for the Saratoga Adult Day Program and then partnering with Rep. Anna Eshoo for continued support for veterans at ADP; championing RYDE; aiding in the ongoing preservation of the Japanese Gardens at Hakone by procuring funding for the pond filtration system, pathway steps and Historical Register features; and brokering land use agreements essential in creating Saratoga Quarry Park Trail to the Sea.
Please join me in voting for Joe on March 5th.
Mary-Lynne Bernald
Former Saratoga city councilmember and mayor
Saratoga
For change, voters
should rally to Haley
Donald Trump’s promise to permanently ban Nikki Haley contributors from the MAGA camp sounds just like Hillary Clinton’s calling Trump supporters “deplorables.” Like Clinton, Trump forgot he will need every vote to win the general election.
Joe Biden promised to unify Americans and we’ve seen how that worked out. Trump isn’t even pretending. I hope every Haley supporter and those on the fence feel as insulted as I do, and will send Haley a contribution. America can do better than Trump and Biden, but we need to act now.
Dolores Carr
San Jose
Biden’s logic makes U.S.
author of Gaza slaughter
Re: “Report: U.S. deaths may be result of drone mistake” (Page A1, June 30).
Joe Biden has announced that he has decided on a response regarding the Iranian-backed terrorists whose drone attack resulted in the deaths of three American soldiers. He further stated, according to the BBC, “I do hold them [Iran] responsible in the sense that they’re supplying the weapons to the people who did it.”
So by that logic, the United States is responsible for the heavy bombing by Israel of Gaza hospitals, civilian homes and other civilian targets.
Gary Latshaw
Cupertino
Letter sets unique
standard for Israel
Re: “Column strengthens Gaza genocide claim” (Jan. 30).
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Mark Lewis’ interpretation of the Bret Stephens’ piece presents an interesting take on hypocrisy and double standards. Essentially Stephens said that only Israel is put under a microscope when it defends itself. Not Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, China, Ukraine, Russia, South Africa, nor any of the Muslim countries where actual genocide has routinely been practiced. Not Hamas either, apparently.
Even leaving aside the atrocities of Oct. 7 and following, why isn’t Lewis demanding that Hamas stop firing rockets at Israeli civilians or torturing, raping and killing innocent hostages? When murderous maniacs threaten to repeat their rampage, brute force is all that will stop them. If they use human shields when the inevitable blowback comes, the suffering is on them.
Desmond Tuck
San Mateo
