The June 7 Primary Election : Issues in Westminster Recall Are Cited

* Westminster’s militant Firefighters’ Union is intimidating this city’s 40,000 registered voters, deluging it with misleading mailings, including outright lies, violating even the sworn testimony of Westminster’s fire chief, in a way that would make professional propagandists proud.

For example, the union has tried to blame budget cuts in their outrageous overtime for the death in a late-night fire of someone who was “mentally disadvantaged” and smoked in bed. Now the 80,000 taxpayers of Westminster are being asked to assume higher taxes, partly because of this one death. The new council will be forced to pay millions more for firefighters’ fraudulent “overtime,” if the June 7 recall election passes.

The present Westminster City Council is the most honest one to serve in a city that years ago became famous for corruption. Recently it tried to keep Westminster financially solvent, partly by reducing the fraudulent claims of overtime on the part of several firemen. The state and national branches of the firemen’s union decided to adopt Westminster as a trial case. If by spending $200,000 to finance lies in misleading handouts, they could gain control of this city of 80,000, they could gain control of other cities to knuckle under to union demands.

Voters who vote for recall will further encourage corrupt unions to force cities to exceed normal budgets and thus make higher taxes inevitable. Vote No on Recall June 7.

JON COVELL

Long Beach

* I am a property owner in Westminster. I was called upon today by no less than Fire Chief and Mrs. John T. DeMonaco Jr. I had never met these nice people before, but we had a pleasant chat.

I was not descended upon by the hordes of no-good, out-of-town, AFL-CIO, carpetbagging firefighters that his honor the mayor warned me about. If I had been, I would have told them of my all-out support.

It seems that every time career politicians spend too much of our tax dollars, they try to make up for it by getting rid of the very people we need most, i.e., firefighters, police and teachers.

In the current scandal, the city of Westminster laid off five firefighters and parked a firetruck, and the Westminster firefighters did not roll over and play dead. Since then, anyone trying to promote or speak out for the firefighters’ union has been fired. I don’t blame the firefighters for bringing in the big guns. They are lucky to have brothers and sisters from their union who will stand with them. As a striking pilot at Eastern Air Lines, I was left standing in the cold by my national union, and I know how lonely it can get out there. As a former mayor, I know how important it is to communicate with and support your firefighters and police.

The city’s position is that the response time of the Fire Department has not decreased, and we have lost no firefighting capability.

God forbid we have a big fire in Westminster with current capabilities. We may just find out--tragically--how misguided Mayor Chuck Smith is.

CHARLES HUGGINS

Westminster

* The Westminster mayor and council are not being recalled because of simple dislike.

Many people are against them for several reasons. Water, favoritism toward special groups, money spent on unneeded projects. Please research.

LOLA O’CONNELL

Westminster

* If I understand the Westminster Fire Department controversy correctly, the City Council is now attempting to bring criminal actions against city employees for following official policies that the City Council originally wrote and approved of. This kind of blatant hypocrisy is found in far too many of our city governments today and I applaud the citizens of Westminster for their recall efforts. Maybe this will be a lesson to all councils in the county.

ERIC COOPER

Lake Forest