Rep. Jay C. Kim

In response to your articles on Rep. Jay C. Kim (R-Diamond Bar), July 14-15:

When will the public wake up to the realization that the only way to really clean up politics is to ban all private campaign donations (most of which is special interest money)?

The alleged cheating and subsequent alleged lying by Rep. Kim is just another example of the need for strict public financing of campaigns.

The public, in the public interest, should provide candidates the means to communicate with citizens by:

* Equal distribution of TV and radio time. TV and radio are public airwaves and all TV/radio stations should be required to provide free time to candidates.

* Paying for a set amount of newspaper and other campaign advertisements.

* Paying directly for one or two district-wide campaign mailers and reasonable office expenses.

Public financing will save the public far more than it costs and we might finally have elected representatives who represent public interests rather than private special interests as a payoff for private campaign bribes (donations).

RICHARD KREILE

Santa Ana

* Let me get this straight. According to the July 14 article on Jay Kim, this man wholly owns his own company and has 170 engineers (plus support staff, janitors, etc.) that he has hired and is paying, mostly here in California. Kim is in trouble for using his company--his own assets--to help him get elected; yet Richard Riordan can use his millions of dollars in cash--which are not being used to hire anyone--and this is perfectly OK.

Kim would have had no problems if he had liquidated his company, and used the cash to run for office. This is wrong. No wonder California is in the dumps!

DOUGLAS KELLEY

Moorpark