Mailbag: Picking up on trash topic

I was so pleased to see volunteer Public Works and Traffic Commissioner Charles Gelhaar’s letter to the editor two weeks ago — “Too many trash haulers” — and I couldn’t agree more. My neighbors have had to put up with six noisy behemoths rumbling up into our tight little cul-de-sac every Thursday — and of course in some neighborhoods now there are nine different trucks — and wondered why there couldn’t be a single hauler for LCF as there are for most California cities.

If the present three or four companies were forced to submit bids for the exclusive franchise, it seems logical that we could enjoy a lower monthly rate for all residents with the added major lifestyle benefit of less noise and air pollution and wear and tear on our streets.

I’m moved to write because of the only two letters published last week on the topic were so negative about Mr. Gelhaar’s reasonable suggestions for change. One writer claimed that if La Cañada was the only city in the country with our illogical system of four major haulers clogging our streets every week then so be it if it would “save us” from another “sanctioned monopoly.” The other writer effectively slandered our city government by alleging potential “shenanigans” and that he foresaw the day when “it was discovered that a City Hall official has awarded the franchise to his wife’s cousin.”

Several years ago there was a “poll” that claimed that residents preferred the present system. As a homeowner in our community for more than 30 years, I have never met anyone who was contacted for this poll and never saw any kind of analysis why this small sample was representative of our whole community.

I believe if there are free and open public hearings, we may very well get a very different picture.

Jim Crum

La Cañada Flintridge

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Reasons he’s a Republican

Friends, family, colleagues, classmates and professors (especially professors) all ask me why I am a Republican. To them the current representations of Republicans seem out of sync with my convictions, but to me there is a very simple answer. The Republican Party was literally created as the anti-slavery party. Pennsylvania Rep. Thaddeus Stevens was considered a Radical Republican — which at the time meant he was a Republican who supported the abolition of slavery and African American’s rights to vote and own property. Today, many Republican Party leaders have been subverted from this egalitarian mission to one that supports racism, harbors hatred toward gays, hatred toward women — pretty much hatred against anyone who is not a white Anglo Christian.

The Republican Party today still stands by the principles of freedom, liberty and justice. The Republican Party today has been co-opted by individuals that have inspired hate, racism, xenophobism and radicalism. Because of these people, the average non-Republican would likely assume that every Republican is a right-wing racist. Would anyone consider Los Angeles County Supervisor and California state Senate candidate Michael D. Antonovich a radical right-wing racist? With the amount of time, commitment, sacrifice and dedication he has selflessly put toward all the different ethnic communities in the entire county, he should be considered nothing less than a saint. People like him and the beliefs they have fought for are the reasons why I am a Republican. I urge my fellow Americans to look past the divisive rhetoric and remember the original tenets of the Republican Party. Look at the Republican candidates who are running for office, their histories, their records and their goals. Let’s remember those loftier goals of the Republican Party, that we are all Americans and that we all want what is best for this country.

Disclaimer: I currently am an aide to Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich. In addition, I am a member of the Platform Committee of the California Republican Party and the Central Committee for the Los Angeles County Republican Party. This letter reflects my thoughts as an individual and neither in my capacity with the supervisor nor in my capacity as a Republican Party official.

Alexander Keledjian

Glendale