Don Saltarelli’s Political Climbing

* When The Times profiled Orange County Supervisor Don Saltarelli (“Power Player Saltarelli Tests Strength as Supervisor,” Nov. 10), [you] noted that residents are “wondering what to expect” of him.

The reporter put his finger right on the problem with gubernatorial appointments to fill vacancies. Most of us who live in his district don’t know the new supervisor, don’t know who else asked to be considered for the post, don’t know what the governor’s criteria for selection were, had no input into the decision-making process and have no way of knowing what to expect.

If this had been a campaign for election, we would have known who all the candidates were, what their qualifications were and what each thought they could accomplish in that office. We would have had a pretty good idea what to expect from anyone elected.

I can understand that it is faster, more efficient and more economical to appoint rather than elect when a vacancy occurs. Still, since the governor is substituting his judgment for the collective judgment of the electorate, I think citizens deserve more information than they currently get.

The news media would be doing the public a great service if they pressured the governor to be more open in his appointment process for non-judicial offices. When the next vacancy occurs, why not ask him to release the names of all who apply for appointment and the reasons the applicants give to support their request?

JEAN ASKHAM

Fullerton

* I was outraged to read that Gov. Pete Wilson had appointed Donald Saltarelli as supervisor, a man of so little character that he would sue an ailing 94-year-old woman, and good friend, for $1.25 million because he fell off a ladder while helping himself to fruit on her property.

Saltarelli’s excuse is that he wanted to recoup his medical expenses. I have a hard time feeling sorry for this real estate investor with a net worth of $1 million when I think back how 20 years ago as a high school student working full time to help my struggling family I turned down money from an insurance company because I was fine and it was the right thing to do.

Today I try to teach my two young children to take responsibility for their own actions. Judging from our bankruptcy fiasco, it’s a lesson Orange County politicians failed to learn.

And now we have Saltarelli. If this is how he treats “a very dear friend” I shudder to think how he will treat the people of Orange County as supervisor.

I only wish I lived in Tustin, so I could head the recall drive.

JODI C. GREENBAUM

Newport Beach

* The pathetic defense of Don Saltarelli’s lawsuit against his now deceased neighbor made me laugh out loud when I read it in The Times. It signifies that he, like many modern Americans, has totally lost his sense of morals. It points out the problem with our legal/insurance system, which allows people like him to profit from no-merit suits because the insurance companies settle them instead of accruing legal fees in a court fight.

Everyone knows how the system works, but it’s mostly our lowest-ethical-level citizens who are so lacking in integrity as to take advantage of it for their gain and the insurance ratepayer’s loss. He has just taken a giant step in fostering the culture of “I’m not responsible for any outcome of my own decisions and actions, and some insurance company had better pay” in America. The leadership seems to have been applied in the wrong direction. Hopefully, representatives of the insurance company [will] revisit his case and pursue reimbursement and/or prosecution. A highly ethical governor who had appointed such a person to an office with that responsibility would bounce him right back off the Board of Supervisors. I don’t hope for too much there.

T. WINSTON VICKERS

Irvine