Wednesday’s Letters to the Editor

A destabilizing time

EDITOR: Oh, my goodness. Just reading about how the past two to three years (COVID, shutdowns, etc.) caused setbacks for a majority of kids is heartbreaking. Setbacks in mental development, learning, maturation, social skills, staying focused and more have affected their grasp on reality. This is going to have destabilizing affects to the health of our nation for years to come.

It gets worse. After following this mind-warping midterm election cycle, it’s apparent that close to half of those running for high government positions have been affected by these same debilitating conditions — but these folks can’t blame COVID and shutdowns.

BILL KRUMBEIN

Santa Rosa

Choose wisely

EDITOR: I served with Dennis Colthurst on the Palm Drive Health Care District board of directors for 2½ years. Based on that experience, I believe he is a poor choice for Sebastopol City Council.

In late 2015, at Colthurst’s urging, the district contracted with a group called Sonoma West Medical Center to operate its then-closed hospital. By mid-2017, after a string of unsuccessful CEOs and managers, SWMC hired Aaron Durall, a Florida attorney, to run the hospital and begin a drug-testing program that promised huge profits.

As board president, district emails show, Colthurst was told that Durall was demanding payments greater than his contracted fees. Other district emails show that Colthurst had been warned by a SWMC attorney and treasurer that such off-contract payments would be “considered under both federal and state law to be fraud and abuse or a kickback.” Unfortunately, this information wasn’t shared with the full district board or law enforcement authorities. Durall has since been indicted in connection with similar drug testing programs at four hospitals back East. Sebastopol, choose wisely.

JIM HORN

Sebastopol

Nasty politics in Windsor

EDITOR: It’s sad to see people in Windsor dragged through the mud simply because people have disagreed with them. There are accusations of secrecy, hypocrisy, slander and defamation — none based on any facts. Liz Acosta’s letter attempted to discredit endorsements earned by Maureen Merrill, based on 30-year-old politics and weaved in an association to the Dominic Foppoli scandal to boot (“Voting in Windsor,” Oct. 19). This dirt in Windsor, especially on social media, has to stop.

Why can’t people run on their record and vision instead of supporting friends and allies to trash their political opponents? The candidates signed a clean campaign pledge; it would be nice if their supporters followed suit. If you watch, you will notice that the candidates being trashed aren’t returning the favor.

People can evolve and change. Anyone in Windsor 25 years ago knows Merrill and I were at odds. In fact, she was part of the recall against me in 1997. I’ve endorsed her partly based on her environmental positions and evolution. Friends smile when they see us working together, and it has eased a difficult part of my past. Yes, sometimes pigs do fly.

DEBORA FUDGE

Town Councilmember, Windsor

Electing a woman

EDITOR: We have an opportunity to elect an incredibly qualified woman to the state Assembly — Sara Aminzadeh. She’s a bold, pragmatic leader with fresh ideas and experience to tackle our toughest problems. An environmental attorney, she is passionate about protecting the planet from the ravages of climate change.

She is a member of the California Coastal Commission with a track record of accomplishments in state government, securing millions of dollars for local coastal planning and water infrastructure projects. In the Assembly, she will start a climate caucus and develop policy to decarbonize our economy by 2030. Our rural and agricultural way of life and open spaces need a champion whose priority is our environment.

To make the best decisions for all, we need diversity in our representatives. Only 30% of California legislators are women, almost none from Northern California. It’s shameful we’ve elected so few women to policymaker positions in Sacramento when California has such a wealth of talented women. Please join me in voting for Sara Aminzadeh for state Assembly.

AMY PEARL

Santa Rosa

A vote for experience

EDITOR: Victoria Fleming has served on Santa Rosa’s City Council representing District 4 for the past four years. She has dedicated herself to our community’s challenges: homelessness, mental health access, road repairs and many other critical issues. She is the voice of experience, which is so needed with council members John Sawyer and Tom Schwedhelm retiring and Dianna MacDonald having served on the council for only nine months.

She has endorsements from many elected and appointed officials, including fellow council members, county supervisors, state Sen. Mike McGuire and U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson. She has their confidence; she has my vote.

LAURIE WHITE

Santa Rosa

You can send letters to the editor to letters@pressdemocrat.com.