MAILBAG - May 24, 2007

Demand better, less partisan leadership

Now that “Do-Nothing Dana” does not have a Republican-controlled Congress to mask his shortcomings, maybe his constituents will finally be able to see how they are being underrepresented (much as the constituents of Bob Dornan’s district discovered to their chagrin).

All voters should measure and hold accountable those elected officials at all levels who both represent and rule them. We are famous in Orange County, and in Huntington Beach, for not doing that. As a result, we wind up with partisan domination that brings us little benefit and often much embarrassment.

It is not too soon to start thinking about the elections next year.

The primaries come early and the election results will be decided in October with the absentee ballots. That’s less than 18 months.

We owe it to ourselves to finally use the opportunities these unsettled times present to demand better leadership and better representation than we have been receiving.

TIM GEDDES

Huntington Beach

Trash rates are on the way down, right?Last week we received our three new trash cans. Gosh, they are huge. They are so big they don’t fit down our side yard so I think we have to go with the smaller ones. Anyway, as each day goes by, we are becoming more and more conscious of what goes into what can. What needs to be rinsed out, what lid has to come off what container, what jar goes where, plastic bags can go here but not there, etc., and then once you get outside on the curb with these cans, you better keep them two to three feet apart with the wheels to the curb. But in the long run I’m sure it will be better for all of us. In fact I’m getting excited because I’m sure we will all see a reduction in our trash rates since we are now doing all of the work. That is in the near future, right?

GARY ARNESON

Huntington Beach

In his Community Commentary article (“An open letter to Dana Rohrabacher,” May 10), Frank Barbaro took Rep. Rohrabacher to task for his brash behavior and lackluster record.