Riordan

While politics appears to be the mother-of-all inconsistencies, still it is a stretch to condemn Riordan for becoming a successful businessman. Apparently, one of Riordan's specialties has been salvaging what can be saved from the wreckage of bankrupt companies, businesses where jobs were either already lost or in jeopardy long before Riordan was called in to perform financial CPR. Faced with a sluggish economy and California's hostile business climate, this has been a tough assignment.

In your "Westside Watch" column Nov. 14 you mention that Mayor (Richard) Riordan's new Airport Commission has set its meeting time in conflict with the City Council's. The result is that Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, who represents the LAX area, has a conflict every time she wants to attend a commission meeting. Before Riordan's election, Galanter was fairly visible on LAX reform issues. Since he took office, we haven't heard a peep out of her, even while Riordan has been battling the greedy airlines in court over landing fee increases, getting headlines all the way. I am concerned that my district is not getting the representation we need in managing LAX. I thought that Ruth Galanter had fired a prominent staffer for criticizing Riordan and explained it in your pages by saying she had to be able to "work with these people" on airport issues?

Hallelujah! We finally have a candidate who is willing to put his money where his mouth is. Riordan is to be admired for his recent announcement that he will take no public funds for his mayoral campaign and when elected in June will take only $1 per year in salary. To those other candidates who charge Riordan is trying to buy the election, I can only say "you still haven't gotten it." Riordan is like a new book; each chapter more exciting than the one before. Only we know how this book ends--with a safer, smarter, wealthier and certainly happier Los Angeles.

The owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball franchise, Donald T. Sterling, said Wednesday after a meeting with Mayor Tom Bradley and Coliseum Commission President Richard Riordan that unless an $85-million new indoor arena is built to replace the Sports Arena, the Clippers will move to "a new facility elsewhere in Los Angeles." Sterling did not specify which site he had in mind. For his part, Riordan said he and the mayor had shown Sterling a new remodeling plan for the Sports Arena that was less expensive than those previously developed.

In "Davis Ads Have Riordan on Defensive Over Abortion Issue" (Feb. 5) you state that "another part of the [Gov. Gray] Davis strategy in using abortion against [Richard] Riordan is its potential to rile both sides." From a strongly pro-life perspective, I am angry--not at Riordan but at the Davis camp for the mean-spirited, biased characterization of Riordan in its TV ad. It is a fallacy that if one is pro-choice, he or she must, of necessity, support abortion. Riordan is not untrustworthy.

Re "Riordan Meets Local Secession Bid Leaders," Jan. 24. How ironic that while Mayor [Richard] Riordan was asking people in the Valley to work together to improve Los Angeles, he made no attempt to include the public or media in his meeting with citizen commissioners. The reality is that Valley residents are being shortchanged. That is why so many people want to flee an uncaring, unresponsive and inefficient city bureaucracy. After reading the news announcement regarding the Valley commissioners meeting, I asked to sit in and listen to the mayor speak.

SACRAMENTO Sixteen years ago, U.S. Sen. Alan Cranston was running for reelection and was uncontested in the Democratic primary. Same as Gov. Gray Davis today. Cranston was a ferocious fund-raiser and had campaign money to burn. Like Davis. The Republicans had a bruising primary contest to nominate their candidate. Like now. And there was one potential GOP nominee--a moderate--who particularly worried the Democratic incumbent. As there is today. This year, Davis clearly has studied and adopted the late senator's then-novel strategy, while altering the playbook to fit his own situation.

Re "The Scourge of the Amateur," Opinion, Aug. 11: With Bill Simon Jr. just about out of the race for governor and Gov. Gray Davis' continuing accumulation of a larger war chest on California's time, two things should happen. Davis should share half of what he has collected with the state treasury and a third choice should be added to the election ballot--neither of the above. Sandy Friedfeld Rancho Palos Verdes Simon is indeed an amateur and, now, a scourge. His close friend, former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan, ought to help convince him to resign from the race for governor of California.