He’s Got the Name, but Should He Carry the Flame for L.A.?

Frankly, I couldn’t care less that a Kennedy is living in Los Angeles (“A Kennedy Among Us,” by Susan Salter Reynolds, March 14). It’s a neutral topic for me.

What I do want to know is, what does Max Kennedy--who did not grow up here and who cannot be very familiar with the place or its people--envision for Los Angeles, and why would we be interested in him? It appears that his interest is only that of starting a new political career here. And even after reading Reynolds’ article, I feel that Kennedy’s goals and interests still seem vague.

I wholeheartedly agree with Mel Levine’s statement: “He can’t just waltz in and get elected to office. He’ll have to demonstrate who he is and what he stands for here.”

Yup. We’ll see.

E. Nora Amrani

Studio City

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As an Oxnard strawberry worker employed by a farmer who has contracted with Driscoll [packers], I must report that Kennedy is misinformed about several basic facts about my industry.

(1) Under California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Act, farm workers may organize freely and without fear of intimidation. We have the right to vote for or against unionization in secret-ballot elections.

(2) I have always been treated with dignity and respect, and I make a good wage. My entire family is covered by health insurance, and I function in clean, sanitary surroundings, working conditions that meet or exceed legal limits.

(3) The Driscoll company itself does not employ farm workers.

Lee Gomez

Oxnard

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Children and grandchildren of men of power seldom seem to pan out. They’ve had a chance to see up-close the corruption in the system. It was Eleanor Roosevelt who once said: “The Kennedys are so lucky that their children would still be so young when they leave the White House, as it is not the right sort of place to grow up in, with so much temptation.”

Clarence E. D. Santos

Adelanto