Hayden’s Loss in Bid for Council Seat

The political obituary of Tom Hayden (“Hayden’s Future in Doubt After Loss,” June 17) predictably missed the point of this remarkable American’s career to date. Treating his legislative accomplishments like some standardized test (14% of Hayden’s bills became law, compared to “the 43% of all Senate bills that were approved during the same period”) suggests that all bills are equal. While most legislators were content to run up their scores with meaningless bills (or worse, bills to legislate market advantage for their contributing patrons), Hayden took on the fundamentals of what ails our society. Gang violence. Animals going extinct. Corruption in politics. The selling of our coastline. Worker injuries and deaths.

Not exactly the stuff of quick legislative victories won from back-slapping deals. Yet Hayden raised these issues (many for the first time) and forced friends and foes alike to confront them.

Duane Peterson

Burlington, Vt.

I found your article nothing but the shedding of crocodile tears. The purpose of term limits, as passed by the people of California, is to every so often revitalize the pool of candidates for political office. This brings fresh ideas and renewed energy into our political process and hopefully results in new legislation more in line with the latest wishes of the electorate.

An equally important result of term limits is that people like Hayden, who no longer have use of the public fiscal trough, must now go out and attempt to get a job and live in a society they helped create with the laws and legislation they voted for while in office--just as the rest of us have been doing. In other words, it’s time to reap what you have sown. Let’s see if Hayden likes what he sees.

Andre Belotto

Los Angeles