First District Council Vacancy

Your editorial (Aug. 20), “Let the Voters Decide,” makes what appears to be a reasonable statement about how the democratic process should work. However, it does not address all of the problems created by the untimely death of First District Councilman Howard Finn.

If the City Council chooses to hold a special election to fill the vacancy, the district will go without a voice in council affairs for at least 90 days, and will have to rely on the rest of the council to look out for its interests.

That the district cannot possibly be fairly represented in this manner is best illustrated by the present redistricting crisis. The Charter and Elections Committee already has plans that include slicing up the First District, or even totally relocating it. This same Charter and Elections Committee will make recommendations to the council on how best to fill the vacant seat.

You can bet they won’t recommend an appointment, because that could interfere with their redistricting arrangements. With no one to speak for the First District, the rest of the council is free to resolve the redistricting problem without any inteference on the district’s behalf. Redistricting itself is a form of council “appointment.”

If I were a resident of the First District I would be seeking a court injunction to postpone any further action on redistricting until the district has a representative to protect it.

Anne Finn, or any other person known and respected by the community should be appointed to the council immediately to serve the people until an election can be held.

There is no valid philosophical argument against appointing an interim council representative. Right now the First District is without voting power while matters affecting its very existence are being decided.

WILLIAM FLAY

Woodland Hills