Gov. Wilson

Gov. Pete Wilson continues to be viewed as less than a visionary governor by supporters and detractors alike (“Governor to Go Out With Another Fight,” Feb. 10). However, as one who excoriated Wilson for his political miscues and inept leadership during his disaster-plagued first term, I now think he is just the kind of governor California needs.

We do not need affirmative action in this impressively diverse and talent-rich state. Illegal immigration is a problem that needs to be addressed practically and fairly. The welfare system as it exists in California does inflict “monstrously unfair circumstances” for children and families. We do need to again convey the importance of work and personal responsibility over welfare dependency.

It takes a visionary to visualize a California in which every able-bodied legal resident who wants a job ought to get one without being discriminated against, and where public assistance is reserved only for the unfortunate and the truly needy. Wilson, for once, ought to be applauded.

FRANK J. GARZA

Valencia

* The decisions by Curt Pringle and Wilson to remove Drs. Lester Breslow, Reed Tuckson and Paul Torrens (not Torrance) from the Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee (Feb. 11) are appalling examples of how money talks in politics. The educational campaign funded by Proposition 99 has been successful, in part, because of the knowledge these three world-recognized experts have contributed to it. Nonetheless, Pringle, in one of his last acts as lame-duck speaker of the Assembly, decided to replace Breslow and Tuckson with amateurs who appear to be more acceptable to the industry that causes 400,000 excess deaths annually in the U.S.

Of course, both Pringle and Wilson clearly understand that the “gentlemen” who peddle this poison are quite lavish in rewarding politicians who make it easier for them to seduce and then addict new generations of smokers.

EMIL BERKANOVIC, Professor

School of Public Health