1988 THE YEAR IN REVIEW : Nonpartisan Local Elections:

O ur readers wrote letters throughout 1988 expressing their viewpoints on a variety of issues. Here are condensed versions of some of those letters. We appreciate their taking the time to share their viewpoints and look forward to hearing from you in 1989. Mission Viejo’s elections were marked by an evil partisanship that destroys the fabric of a local community. There are many very good reasons that city councils, supervisors, school boards, judges, city attorneys and planning commissions should not be elected on a national political party basis.

The chief rationale is that the issues they decide involve quasi-judicial functions and executive-legislative interpretations.

Neither party serves the local constituency well by attempting to influence the voter to vote along party lines.

The motivation is purely selfish and defeats the essence of local control. The issues are essentially nonpartisan.

THOMAS M. WHALING

El Toro