LaBonge Elected to Fill Ferraro’s Council Seat

Re “Even LaBonge Surprised by Lopsided Win,” Oct. 25: I worked in City Hall for more than 30 years. I know Tom LaBonge and have seen firsthand his passion for this city and its people. For 4th District voters, LaBonge was more than a face on a campaign flier, a voice asking for support, a name on a ballot. Long before the election, they knew Tom. He has spent decades working for and in the communities of this city. Service to Los Angeles has been his love and his career. The 4th District voters had the opportunity to elect a knowledgeable, caring, experienced, dedicated person to represent them on the City Council and that’s exactly what they did.

Mike Barclay

Glendale

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Daily, for weeks before last Tuesday’s election, I would take handfuls of slick multicolored fliers, postcards and brochures from both the LaBonge and Beth Garfield campaigns and deposit them directly into the trash. I don’t make my decisions about candidates that way. At some point I became offended at the waste. I work for a nonprofit, and the decision to print even one multicolored brochure is weighed carefully and balanced against considerations about what other program expenses we have.

My intelligence was insulted too. Do they really think I am going to flip-flop, changing my mind daily depending on who had the most convincing mailer? I guess that is what they think. Both candidates seemed qualified, but by Tuesday their campaign tactics had annoyed me so much I decided to stay home. (First election I’ve missed in a long time.)

Marti Tippens

North Hollywood

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I am always disappointed when campaign mailers take cheap shots at opposing candidates instead of focusing on solving today’s problems. I am especially disappointed when my tax dollars, in the form of matching funds, are used to mislead voters. However, I think the media’s lack of substantive coverage of local politics helps perpetuate negative campaigning. Instead of in-depth interviews with the candidates to educate the voters about issues and the candidates’ positions, it seems that the small amount of coverage of local races focuses solely on fund-raising and charges made among the candidates. When news coverage is limited to fund-raising and attack ads, candidates learn that the way to earn coverage is to raise money and create controversy.

Brendan Huffman

Los Angeles