How Tom Bradley Runs Los Angeles

The implication in “Bradley’s Busy Social Life Pays Dividends in Politics (June 13) is that the mayor attends events only for organizations and individuals who contribute to his campaign. That is a gross distortion. Bradley gives of his time for numerous important causes throughout the city, raising not $1 for himself in the process. For example, just on behalf of the Los Angeles Mission, the mayor has, in the past two years, attended events--like our annual Christmas Eve dinner for thousands of homeless people--chaired our building campaign, hosted a fund-raising luncheon and sent letters to dozens of business leaders to secure their support for our cause.

I think it is unfortunate that one small slice of the mayor’s social calendar--taken during a time when he would naturally be raising campaign funds--would be held up as representative of an entire year. If we expect our elected officials to raise money for increasingly expensive political campaigns, we ought not to chastise them for how they do it, providing they are ethical. Spending 10 to 15 hours of a typical 75-hour work week attending events for political reasons is not unreasonable. It’s just common sense.

REV. MARK HOLSINGER

Director

Los Angeles Mission