Opinion: California was lucky to have Pete Wilson as governor

To the editor: Former Gov. Pete Wilson may always be associated with Proposition 187, but he is the least racist person I know. (“Pete Wilson looks back on Proposition 187 and says, heck yeah, he’d support it all over again,” March 23)

I was a member of his Cabinet — half women, I would note — and he was and is formidable on policy, has a photographic memory, and is one of the most unfailingly polite men I have ever known. He did leave California “a hell of a lot better” than when he took office in 1991, then facing a deficit equaling nearly a third of the state’s General Fund budget. Wilson enacted sweeping business-climate reforms and left Sacramento with a multibillion-dollar surplus.

Wilson badgered Washington to step up enforcement of federal immigration laws and to reimburse states such as California for the costs of its failure. Proposition 187 focused on the economic hardship on California from the presence of illegal immigrants; it never says Mexican, Hispanic or Latino.

By the way, I do not support President Trump’s wall. Proposition 187 was about the rule of law, something we should all cherish. And Wilson should be remembered for his exemplary leadership of California.

Julie Meier Wright, San Diego

The writer served as secretary of trade and commerce in the Wilson administration.

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