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Re: “Mayor, peers call for Torres’ resignation” (Page A1, Oct. 17).
As a District 3 resident, I am demanding that Omar Torres resign from the City Council.
He has admitted to reckless private behavior that led to a successful extortion scheme. This alone disqualifies him from continuing. Why?
1. He repeatedly engaged in behavior that made him a target for extortion. This calls into question the integrity of his decision-making and he will always be under the cloud of blackmail.
2. Worse, he submitted to and validated the blackmail by paying money to the blackmailer. As such, he cannot be trusted with any financial decisions.
3. In any serious enterprise including public service, this behavior would result in immediate dismissal.
Regardless of how the criminal investigation plays out, Omar Torres should be censured by his colleagues and he should resign his office immediately.
San Jose City Council District 3 deserves to be served by someone who has high ethical standards.
Jeff Levine
San Jose
The West Valley-Mission Community College District Board of Trustees needs trustees with teaching experience. The board has not had an experienced educator as a trustee in decades.
We need trustees who know from experience what works best for students, ensuring that our tax dollars meet students’ needs now.
Fortunately, in this election, educators are running for trustee positions in Areas 2, 5 and 6:
• Paul Fong in Area 2 has taught political science, Asian American studies and history at De Anza College, Evergreen Valley College and San Jose State University.
• Dr. Diane Lamkin in Area 5 has over 28 years teaching experience in biological sciences at Mission College.
• Dr. Rebecca Wong in Area 6 has over 40 years of teaching experience in math at West Valley College and Independence High School.
Vote educators to the board.
Ann Marie Wasserbauer
Walnut Creek
Re: “It’s time for Californians to go all in on fully electric vehicles” (Page A6, Oct. 15).
Jane Gould and Sue Saunders left out some very important points.
While I am 100% in favor of a move to electric vehicles, significant obstacles exist. Most people who own expensive electric cars charge them at home in their garage. Charging them at a charging station is still far less convenient, even for a quick charge. It is just as easy to forget charging an all-electric vehicle as a plug-in hybrid, but at least forgetting to charge a plug-in hybrid does not leave you stranded.
Finally, a complete conversion requires massive investment in upgrading infrastructure, and we are already competing with fast-growing demand for electricity to power AI and BlockChain in many areas of the country. For now, “all of the above” is better than expecting a complete conversion any time soon.
Thomas Scott
Morgan Hill
Re: “It’s time for Californians to go all in on fully electric vehicles” (Page A6, Oct. 15).
It is clear that there is a recurring conversation like this one about whether or not there should be a complete switch to the use of all-electric cars.
I completely understand the reasons why there should be a complete switch to electric cars to help combat the amount of carbon emissions. However, transitioning to the use of only electric cars would not be great for people because there are many people who cannot afford to buy a fully electric car. Some people only have one car on which they rely because it is all they have.
Yes, switching to fully electric cars can help reduce carbon emissions, but I believe it will do more harm than good. Not everyone has the money for a new car.
Gabriel De La Torre
San José
Donald Trump says tariff is his “favorite word,” but he apparently doesn’t know what it means.
A tariff is a tax imposed on imported goods which is added to the price of goods entering this country. Trump insists that foreign countries will pay the tariff, but the United States has no power to levy taxes on foreign countries, and tariffs will be paid by Americans as a new sales tax.
Trump is either so ignorant that he has no business being in elected office or he is knowingly lying to the American people hoping we are too lazy to discover the lie.
Larry Guernsey
San Jose
