Letters to the Editor 11.14.24

After the Election

We are all bleary-eyed and wishing for a different result but you are right, we all need to be more engaged in what happens in our government (“After the post-election daze wears off, it’s time to get to work,” posted Nov. 6).

I plan to attend more meetings and learn more about what is happening around me. I am awake now. Willa Sturpat | via email

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I find you so incredibly prejudiced I cannot believe a word you say anymore. I don’t care whose side you were on, the things you have said are just ridiculous. Vonne Battistini | via email

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I am one of those millions of Americans who was so utterly devastated. The day after the election, I contemplated calling out sick from work just to spend the day crying. I really thought our country would make history by electing the first woman president.

I agree with Windsor Lindor about a lack of civic education, because I have seen it with many of my friends and acquaintances, and they are easily manipulated because they don’t know, and believe everything they are told. Trump has cultivated a loyal cult of personality. People love him or secretly like him because he says everything they can’t say or do.

I am already involved in my community, and I will continue my involvement in those ways that I can, hopefully making a difference.

I’m praying the next four years won’t be as bad as I imagine, but if they are, I’m optimistic that our state will fight for our rights, and that is helping me get to sleep at night. Tiffinie Meyer | Seaside

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A biased and uneducated and irresponsible review of the presidential election. Susie Driscoll | via email

From the article (“Election Day is just a starting point. Where do we go from here?” Nov. 7-13): “How we begin to reconcile with each other, and how people begin to reconcile with institutions and systems they feel betrayed by, is an important and necessary step.”

This is nice sentiment, but Trump built all three of his campaigns on division and hatred of immigrants and Democrats. If you take that away from them, they would deflate into near nothingness. Hence, they will fight to maintain it.

The saddest thing is that Trump, like all demagogues, fooled a large amount of the working class into voting for him. The primary hope to draw from this is that after a couple of years of Trump’s major destruction and further exploitation of the working class, they will wake up and realize that Trump never did anything for them and never will.

When Trump loses the working class, he will be through – unless he has turned America into a dictatorship before then. Democrats desperately need to not learn the wrong lessons from this defeat. If the Democratic Party does not reform itself and eliminate the purchased influence of the corporations and super-rich, the Democrats may never win again.

Corruption is America’s biggest enemy. John Thomas | Salinas

Right Size

Measure Z was a loser from the start (“A political newcomer bests two P.G. council incumbents; Nick Smith takes first in mayor’s race,” posted Nov. 5). Despite the active promotion by several council members, voters still concluded that not enough thought had been given to the issue.

There are other ways than litigation or reducing representation to meet the requirement of equal representation. Time for the new council and mayor to get to work. Tom Hicks | Pacific Grove

School Choice

Pacific Grove dodged a bullet (“Mike Wachs wins a seat on the Pacific Grove Union School District Board over Marie Hunter,” posted Nov. 7). Nadja Mark | Pacific Grove

Voting Works

Thank you, poll workers! (“In a time of intense scrutiny, poll workers get training to ensure the election is fair and safe,” Oct. 31-Nov. 6.) Madi Frazier | via social media

And Looking Ahead…

We need more people like him to uncover the corruption and entitlement of some of these people who hold seats in our city and county (“A recall effort emerges against midterm Salinas City Councilmember Andrew Sandoval,” Nov. 7-13).

Andrew is not the bad guy here, he’s just the one that is shedding light on what has been in the dark for years. Sophia Cortez | Salinas

Sucked Dry

Anyone who follows the water usage closely for the past three years knows our consumption is way down because of reduced tourism activities during the post-Covid years (“The Peninsula’s water usage dips to its lowest level in nearly 50 years,” posted Nov. 7).

In fact, we have three new major hotels coming online in the next few years, two in Pacific Grove and one in Sand City, plus large residential developments along Garden Road in Monterey. And two other large sites are converting to residential uses.

We are still in a water constricted environment until such time as we place the proposed California American Water desal plant online. The best guestimate is early 2028. Tom Rowley | Monterey

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Your summary related to the [cease-and-desist order] was very insightful, clear and straightforward. Thank you. Michael Baer | San Jose

Art of the People

I was happy to read about Warren Chang (“Visuals: Warren Chang’s ‘Salinas River at Dusk Study,’” Oct. 31-Nov. 6). He is one of the finest painters in the entire Central Coast.

He is also one of the area’s kindest and gentlest souls. The honor and respect he shows toward farmworkers has always impressed me. He is both a masterful technician and an insightful and sensitive human being. I love most every genre of creative expression, but I count Warren Chang up near the top. Greg Furey | Marina