Villaraigosa’s Campaign a Winner

Steve Lopez’s baseball metaphor (June 6) for how Antonio Villaraigosa could have won was highly illuminating: “You come with your fastball and you throw at the head.” In baseball, such intentionally destructive activity penalizes a pitcher with a walk, and some have argued, quite rightly in my opinion, that the penalty should be upgraded to a run.

Villaraigosa ran a responsible campaign based on his merits as a competent, activist administrator, forgoing the standard political impulse to rely on the ills of others. James Hahn won, arguably in large part by resorting to time-honored but nonetheless nefarious smear campaigning.

People make mistakes; that letter to the White House was one of Villaraigosa’s, and he apologized for it. Villaraigosa may have lost this battle, but in the war for greater civility, he has set an important example.

Stefan Frazier

Los Angeles

Villaraigosa can blame nobody but himself for his loss to Hahn. Villarigrosa must realize that his support for a convicted drug smuggler and his politically connected father came with a great price, and he paid that price by losing what integrity he may have had in the eyes of voters. This in turn cost him the election.

I am glad Hahn had the fortitude to show Villaraigosa for what he was, a man who would sell out his community to the highest bidder.

Jesse Vega

El Segundo

Re “L.A. Turns to the Left as Top Office Goes to a Democrat,” June 6: I hope that the mayor will further elaborate on his environmental stance. Given the urgency of the energy crisis in Los Angles and all over California, it is necessary for the mayor to address this issue and help find solutions. Hopefully, these solutions will be environment-friendly, with renewable energy sources as alternatives to fossil fuels, which contribute to our air pollution.

California has the potential to have 50% of its energy come from renewable resources. There is plenty of sunshine, windy terrain and geothermal heat.

I hope L.A. and our new mayor will take an interest in our state’s future by investing in clean energy.

Maggie Bove-LaMonica

Hermosa Beach

The results are in. I don’t know about others, but I resent being told how to vote by my governor, mayor and newspaper, so I did it my way and we won! Let’s cut out the back-stabbing and get on with making Los Angeles all it can be.

Hal Braun

Hollywood