Ferguson Is Overlooked

This letter is in reference to your article, “O’Connell Rules Out Seeking a Seat in Congress,” Jan. 31. As members of a 51% majority group of the population--women--with less than 7% representation in Congress and 2% representation in the Senate, we were very disappointed that Nels Henderson, the chairman of the Democratic Central Committee, while expressing regret at Jack O’Connell’s decision not to challenge Gallegly, failed to express support for the only announced Democratic candidate, Anita Perez Ferguson.

We were further saddened by the Feb. 1 Times article, “Environmentalist Will Not Seek New Congressional Seat,” which reports that the county’s Democratic leaders “might draft another candidate to compete with Ferguson for the Democratic nomination.”

This appears to be a punitive measure taken against Anita for vowing to challenge either Gary K. Hart or Jack O’Connell, even though both have now declined to run.

We deplore such divisive tactics as harmful not only to the candidate but also to the party. We believe that Anita Perez Ferguson proved herself to be a viable candidate in her run against Robert Lagomarsino in 1990 and has earned the right to the full-hearted support of her party.

CARYN GUENOT

CAROLE GUENOT

Channel Islands