Letters: Ready for RCV | Deserve to know | Suspensions useful | Positive results | Ease transition | Fox light
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Santa Clara Countyis ready for RCV
Re: “New bill could allow ranked choice voting” (Page B1, May 11).
As the person who brought the idea of using ranked choice voting (RCV) to the county’s Charter Review Commission in 1997, I’m pleased that we are finally making progress toward its implementation.
Your article does mention the error the Alameda County Registrar of Voters made in tabulating a recent Oakland school board election last year. Thanks to a Public Records Act request and a lawsuit by Oaklandside.org, the Dominion RCV manual became publicly available, and at its May 8 meeting the Santa Clara County Citizens’ Advisory Commission on Elections (CACE) established a committee to review that manual, to make sure that no incorrect settings are made when RCV is eventually implemented by our registrar. (I am a member of CACE and of that committee, but I do not speak for CACE.)
Our registrar and her staff are extremely competent and will be able to implement RCV without difficulty.
Steve ChessinMountain View
Taxpayers must knowwho directed secrecy
Re: “Mercury News sues San Jose over scandal involving firefighters” (Page A1, May 11).
San Jose taxpayers are entitled to know if the so-called disciplinary action taken against all the firefighters who violated policy and public trust had deductions from their paychecks for their actions.
That is what should have happened to all of them who participated in this poor judgment for the entire time they were not protecting the public. If not, why not? The actions were on the public’s dime. This was not on the dime of the chief, the mayor, the city attorney, or whoever is advising not to disclose the discipline taken.
The Mercury News should also be asking for the name of who directed the secrecy. That person is not acting like a public servant.
David FrizzellSan Jose
Suspensions can headoff bigger problems
Re: “Don’t cut suspensions without teaching first” (Page A6, May 4).
In your May 4 letters, you published comments from Steve Stavis on State Sen. Nancy Skinner’s Senate Bill 294, which eliminates “willful defiance” as a cause for student suspension from school. I agree with Stavis’ position, and, as a former school principal, also know that “willful defiance” can encompass a wide range of behaviors from a refusal to sit down, to swearing at a teacher, to a variety of semi-violent or violent behaviors.
I would agree that school suspension should not be overused or taken lightly. However, to eliminate it completely is a mistake. When used judiciously, it can prevent serious disciplinary problems from escalating and becoming not only unmanageable but potentially harming an entire classroom.
Perhaps Sen. Skinner could focus her non-suspension efforts on her legislative colleagues from Tennessee and Montana. They obviously could use it.
Jerry KrumbeinPalo Alto
Health care advocacydrives positive results
Advocacy for health care in San Jose is crucial to ensure residents’ well-being and access to quality medical services. As one of California’s largest cities, San Jose faces unique health care challenges that require active engagement and support.
Advocacy also plays a vital role in promoting health equity and reducing health care disparities. It involves advocating for affordable health care options, especially for vulnerable communities and underserved populations. By raising awareness about health care issues, advocating for policy changes, and supporting initiatives that prioritize preventive care and early intervention, the overall health outcomes of San Jose residents can be improved.
Moreover, health care advocacy in San Jose can focus on promoting innovation and technological advancements in health care delivery. This includes supporting the integration of telehealth services, and digital and data-driven health solutions.
By engaging in health care advocacy, San Jose can build a healthier community that values and prioritizes the well-being of all its residents.
Minh TranSan Jose
Natural gas will easetransition to electric
Our eventual conversion to electricity will happen, but not for a long time and the spending of billions to expand our electrical grid and billions more to install heat pumps and electrical upgrades in homes.
Meanwhile, we need to maintain natural gas use to heat our homes. Batteries are far too costly and there is a worldwide shortage of key elements to make them. Using the battery in your EV, if you can afford one, will drain the battery for use the next day and reduce its life span.
Ed KahlWoodside
CNN is shootingto be Fox light
It’s clear that CNN has sold out in the hopes of becoming Fox light. In CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump on Wednesday, he had the advantage of an audience of GOP primary voters.
He was not held accountable for the countless lies he told. He would’ve gotten the same treatment on Fox News.
The audience was hand-picked. The fact that the audience applauded his behavior is enough for me.
Dona NicholsSan Jose