New Council Raises Doubts in Mission Viejo

Re “City’s Future Is in Erasing the Past,” Dec. 8:

George Orwell once wrote, “One who controls the past commands the future.” I always thought that he meant this as a criticism of those who engage in rewriting history to promote their own political interests, but I am afraid that some members of the Mission Viejo City Council might have taken this statement as a lesson in political leadership.

Any attempt by the new City Council to remove the names of those who have contributed so generously to our community from the city facilities, or any unleashing of vengeance upon city staff who simply performed their bureaucratic duties honestly and competently under the previous regime, is petty demagoguery at best.

Hamid Bahadori

Mission Viejo

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The article was my first introduction to this Assemblyman John Lewis, and yet he is allegedly the architect of the Mission Viejo City Council takeover.

Why is it that he was able to supply so much cash without having any hint of his name connected with “Friends of Mission Viejo”? I am a very vocal member of the city and speak regularly at City Hall. Why have I never seen him there?

If he really wanted to “make a difference,” as he was quoted as saying, why does he not come and speak at an open microphone in front of his peers?

If there is one thing I’ve learned about politics, it’s that people don’t just raise large sums of money for candidates without expecting something in return -- and thanks to this article, I’d like to know what it is.

Steven Guess

Mission Viejo