Letters to the Editor: Are Mark Ridley-Thomas’ apologists OK with a council member being indicted?

To the editor: I commend Los Angeles City Council President Nuri Martinez and her elected colleagues for voting to bring Herb Wesson back to City Hall to serve the voters of the 10th District with full voting privileges.

What I don’t understand is why so many community groups are up in arms and want suspended Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas reinstated.

I realize he has been a fighter for the communities he has represented and has very strong support. However, don’t his constituents care that he’s been indicted on federal corruption charges alleging that he used his power and influence for his family’s gain?

I realize he hasn’t been convicted, but an indictment isn’t to be taken lightly. We want our elected officials to be held to a standard higher than, “Well, he hasn’t been convicted yet.”

Have we in Los Angeles gotten so used to our elected officials’ pay-to-play politics that we simply look the other way? The constituents of the 10th District deserve better.

Tracey Pomerance-Poirier, Chatsworth

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To the editor: The City Council needs to rethink its vote to appoint the termed-out Wesson to the District 10 seat. If we wanted him as our representative, we would have voted for him when he ran for county supervisor.

Ridley-Thomas, our elected council member, should be reinstated so he can represent the community that elected him. As an alternative, appoint Karly Katona, Ridley-Thomas’ chief of staff, as a temporary voting council member.

Shame on the City Council members who voted to replace Ridley-Thomas with Wesson. They have a distinct lack of ethics and are no better than the person they replaced.

Kathryn Pellman, Los Angeles