Prison Site in Los Angeles

Sen. Bill Lockyer’s (D-Hayward) article (Editorial Pages, Oct. 22) concerning the proposed Crown Coach prison site is nothing more than a partisan hit piece against Gov. George Deukmejian.

Lockyer falsely portrays the prison issue as a confrontation between the Republican governor and the Latino community. In so doing, he conveniently “forgets” the following:

First, the Crown Coach bill has been carried for three years by a Democrat, Sen. Robert Presley of Riverside.

Second, the Crown Coach site was approved last year on a unanimous (37-0), bipartisan vote of the state Senate, of which Lockyer is a member.

Third, the Crown Coach site is supported by Democratic Assembly Speaker Willie Brown of San Francisco.

Fourth, the Crown Coach location was not selected by Deukmejian but by the Department of Corrections. The site, which is in an industrial area outside East Los Angeles, is close to county jails the courts, hospitals, public transportation, and all the necessary infrastructure is already in place. Deukmejian has agreed to a green belt around the prison.

Pressure is building in California’s explosively overcrowded prison system. By injecting partisanship into the prison issue, Lockyer and others are endangering public safety. It is unfortunate that the senator is more interested in sending Tom Bradley to Sacramento than he is about sending criminals to prison.

MICHAEL D. ANTONOVICH

Supervisor

Fifth District

Los Angeles