Mayor Perrodin Is Back in Compton Office

Re “It’s Tough to Throw Compton’s Bums Out,” March 1: Steve Lopez’s portrayal of Eric Perrodin was glib and made for cute reading but was grossly unfair. Perrodin carries a gun because he is a former police officer and licensed to carry one and because his life is constantly in danger due to his run for mayor of Compton. As mayor, Perrodin is entitled to financial perks that he has refused. He also buys one computer each month out of his city paycheck for the beleaguered Compton schools.

Perrodin dotes on his mother and is a devout Catholic who actually attends church. He is a man of honor whom I am proud to call my friend. If Lopez knew how hard Perrodin has worked to try to clean up Compton, he’d feel ashamed of his portrayal of him.

Pamela Bozanich

Long Beach

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Someone get me the numbers for Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. This political battle for the mayor’s office in Compton has the makings of a first-class musical a la “Evita” and “West Side Story.”

Picture it: the steps of Compton City Hall. Perrodin stands before a cheering crowd of supporters with his arms outstretched, singing, “Don’t cry for me, Compton. The truth is I never left you.” While on the other side of town, Omar Bradley, consoling his weeping supporters, sings, “There’s a place for us, somewhere there’s a place for us.”

Ronny K. Marshall

West Hollywood

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Mayor Omar Bradley was not back in office more than one week in Compton when the City Council rubber-stamped his request for the reimbursement of $840,000 in personal legal fees, plus an additional $43,000 in back wages (Feb. 28). They accomplished all of this while Bradley’s case was under court review and very likely to be overturned. All this tells one about the city of Compton is that it was not a municipality but a monarchy, and Bradley was the king.

Jack Wolf

Westwood