Candidates for Treasurer

Whether Kathleen Brown is more qualified than incumbent Tom Hayes for the job of state treasurer is anybody’s guess, but The Times’ rationale is questionable (“For State Treasurer: Brown,” editorial, Oct. 23).

You admit that Hayes has proven to be “cautious and careful,” certainly a necessity during these difficult economic times. You guess that Brown might be the same, but you endorse her simply because you believe her campaign rhetoric about how she plans to sandbag corporations into remaining in California by using the state’s pension fund as a whip with respect to buying or retaining their stocks.

Hayes, in your words, “sees the job in technical terms.” So do I. Ms. Brown, in the main, is a professional politician who sees the job in political terms the same as her brother, former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., would see it.

The treasurer’s job is too important to be used as a political springboard with grandstand plays. Let Ms. Brown run for a purely political job where she can’t exploit control of the state’s funds to help her up the political ladder.

NORMAN JACOBSON

Los Angeles