Candidate Jeff Herdman has Newport’s interests at heart

My Husband and I are long standing residents of Newport Beach and are proud to support Jeff Herdman for City Council. Quite frankly, we were disturbed by the article that appeared on June 30, 2016 regarding Jeff’s intentions.

Knowing Jeff over the years as a neighbor, friend and dedicated civil servant we believe that the reason for him running for City Council is simply to give back to the city that he feels very privileged to live in. He has no hidden agenda and only intends to do the best possible job for the Newport Beach community.

Those who know him and have worked with him understand his high level of integrity and commitment to whatever he is involved in. If elected to City Council he will continue to engage other council members and the community to make Newport Beach a model city.

Given the state of politics nationally we are extremely concerned that some of the negativity is carrying over into our local elections. We believe Jeff has served our community well as an educator, community leader and service on several boards.

While Jeff and our politics are not always the same, and we differ on some issues, he has always been receptive to others, an excellent communicator and in every case, respectful. Jeff has been a member of our community since 1954 and, after retirement, continued his commitment to our community serving for more than 10 years on both island association boards as president.

It is our understanding that he has met or exceeded all the requirements for this office and has consulted with the appropriate experts to insure that he can and will serve without interruption.

Joel and Helen Bergenfeld
Balboa Island

..

Fireworks harm our pets

There’s nothing positive about setting deafening explosives into the air.

My head is still throbbing and ears are still ringing. But the inside and the outside dogs suffer the most. Their hearing is about 100 times that of humans.

Every post- Fourth of July, dogs are lost and killed by cars, as they run in fear. The shelter pups have no protection. After the holiday, we found urine-soaked blankets. I’ve witnessed dogs quivering out of control.

My 10-year old dog survived many illnesses, and attacks by coyotes and humans, but a few years ago she succumbed to a heart attack on the Fourth of July. There was nothing I could do to help her.

Come on, Huntington Beach City Council, it’s a war zone. Fireworks need to be made illegal again.

There’s no such thing as safe and sane fireworks. The adolescent men who get a thrill from the explosions will continue to do so. But if made illegal it would help greatly, as it did previously. Give these lunatics an inch, they surely will take a mile. So let’s not fuel the fire. Make fireworks illegal again.

There surely must be another way of raising funds for the recipients of sales of fireworks.

Lynn Copeland
Huntington Beach