Letters of the Day: Two views of Efren Carrillo

Second chances

EDITOR: A Bay Area politician was caught having an affair with his best friend's wife while in office. His erstwhile friend was also his campaign manager. Many of the politician's constituents were appalled by his behavior, and some called for his resignation.

The politician acknowledged the gravity of what he had done and sought treatment for a drinking problem. Meanwhile, he remained in office. At the end of his term, many acknowledged that he had done a pretty good job despite significant controversy around a very bold and humane move he made during his term.

He ran for higher office and was elected. Now he is being touted by some as the next governor of California. Who is he? Gavin Newsom, the handsome, articulate, wealthy and white scion of a prominent San Francisco family.

If Supervisor Efren Carrillo enjoyed some of Newsom's advantages, I wonder if the calls for his resignation would be fewer and his constituents would be more inclined to forgive his indefensible actions and give him a second chance.

RICHARD CLEVERLY

Santa Rosa

Trust for Carrillo?

EDITOR: As I opened the paper, I knew I would see yet another letter of support for Supervisor Efren Carrillo. He obviously has lots of friends; they must be making a concerted effort to get a good word out to the public every day to obfuscate the facts.

He's already had one more chance after San Diego. Perhaps if we'd known what actually happened there, he wouldn't have gotten off the hook so quickly. Now his supporters want us to feel sorry for him because he's got a problem. They want the public to pay for him while he gets help and to welcome him back with open arms. Most people in the private sector would have gotten fired.

In terms of the latest incident, he was where he was and doing or planning to do what he was doing. We don't have to wait for any more facts to come out to make that judgment. Regardless of what he can be charged with, we know what he did.

We're supposed to respect and trust our elected officials. I realize this is virtually impossible in most cases today. So ask yourselves: Do you respect Carrillo and trust him to make the right decisions when he can't even do it in his own life?

BRIGITTA PAGE

Vineburg