Brain Behind the Secession Drive

The Times does it again--with yet another in a series of incredibly slanted anti-secession pieces, this one camouflaged as a bio on Jeff Brain (July 22). Brain didn’t pay his taxes, accidentally registered for the wrong party and voted at his office instead of his home. Shocking! There may even be rumors that he has, on occasion, changed lanes without signaling. But I’ll leave that for tomorrow’s California section.

How about dealing with the facts instead of disparaging the poor guy, whom you have already ripped apart in previous articles? I want to know if a smaller city is a better city. Can one councilperson adequately represent 250,000 people? Can a leader be in contact with a quarter-million people and not be swayed by special interests and developers? Or will cutting the size of the city by half make things better, as they are in Santa Monica, Burbank or Glendale? These are the questions and answers you should be offering your readers. Leave the rest to the tabloids.

Denise Munro Robb

Los Angeles

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Are we expected to trust a man who owes thousands in city, state and federal taxes as a proponent of a new Valley government? Are we supposed to believe Brain when he says he did not know what political party he was registered with for five years?

Someone who does not know simple voting registration laws or feigns ignorance to manipulate them is not someone I would trust when he tells us that secession will be good for the Valley. If he wants a place of leadership in any government, he’d better go back and take some basic political science courses. Anyone who lives in the real world knows that the creation of a new city does not guarantee sparkling streets and better government accountability.

The proponents of secession have not provided enough details on what this is going to cost, and there have been conflicting opinions. Should we trust this man who cannot balance his own books?

Brain should get his own house in order before telling me I should move mine to another city. I have lived in the Valley my entire life and do not want to live in “Camelot.” Didn’t anyone read the book, or watch the movie? “Camelot” did not have a happy ending.

Karin Gable

Reseda