Kathleen Brown

* In response to “Brown Pays State $1,469 for Travel,” April 29:

It really bothers me when our politicians seem to think that by consistently disregarding laws that normal citizens must follow to the letter, they can be exonerated, even lauded, for coming clean after being forced to by the press!

The latest episode of hypocrisy is Kathleen Brown admitting that she used state money to finance her trips to a vacation home. As a women who had hoped to see a female governor in California, this is quite distressing. Woman or not, Kathleen Brown is just one of the old boys!

PATRICIA JAMES

Inglewood

* I am getting a little tired of our so-called leaders who betray the public’s trust, and only when discovered by the media or other candidates do they attempt to make amends, i.e. the Clintons paying taxes owed for more than a decade. It appears that our own Kathleen Brown is no exception.

As you reported, Brown said she asked her aides to protect her from embarrassment during the governor’s race and look for any questionable monetary practices. And surprise, they found some instances of taxpayer dollars being used for her personal travel. She only instructed her staff to check for problems to “avoid embarrassment,” not because it was the right thing to do.

And she expects us to consider her slate clean because she merely wanted to “avoid embarrassment.” It looks like she feels that doing something unethical is wrong only if it is discovered during a governor’s race.

C. G. SMITH

Los Angeles