Kathleen Brown

* I guess I should not be so surprised or disappointed that Kathleen Brown would take a position to oppose the North American Free Trade Agreement (Sept. 6). I am over 50, and I have been watching politicians of all stripes, all my life, abandon positions they no doubt believe for what they hope will be votes.

I cannot believe she honestly thinks defeating NAFTA will somehow either stop companies from moving to Mexico, slow Mexican nationals from coming north, or get Washington to send more money to California to deal with immigration problems. Its defeat will show no support for the significant positive economic and social changes the Mexican government has made in the last four years, or instill confidence in Central and South American countries to do the same.

It will probably get her some extra votes for governor, so I guess that must make it OK. Opposing NAFTA is not the right thing and she knows it.

JOHN PATRICK (PAT) ORMSBEE

Corona del Mar

* As an 81-year-old union retiree, I have been studying the pros and cons of NAFTA in both the commercial and labor press. I oppose the current draft of NAFTA for the reasons given by Brown. The recently negotiated side agreements are “toothless.”

Since this is a political hot potato for Bill Clinton, I suggest that he chuck this NAFTA--negotiated by the anti-union Bush Administration--and go back to square one and renegotiate another free trade agreement and take time to do it right with the needed provisions for strong regulations to meet the concerns of opponents inside and outside of Congress.

JACK L. RUGH

San Gabriel