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Biden is economic
winner for the U.S.
Re: “Trump and Vance will set nation on right track” (Page A6, Sept. 26).
Irene McGovern complains about gaslighting by Democrats over Kamala Harris’ qualifications while ignoring Harris’ 30 years of government experience, as a prosecutor, state attorney general, U.S. senator and vice president.
On the other hand, Donald Trump was never qualified, had no experience, and engaged in criminal behavior that culminated in an attempted coup to stay in power after losing the 2020 election. For the record, 45 U.S. troops died fighting in Afghanistan during Trump’s presidency, while Biden’s order to withdraw from Afghanistan resulted in 13 deaths.
Oil production is now higher than it has ever been, exceeding 13 million barrels per day, and if Biden’s creation of 15 million jobs, compared to the more than 2 million Trump lost, qualifies as a tailspin, then please keep it coming.
Warren Seifert
Gilroy
Voting franchise belongs
to people, not states
Re: “Electoral College keeps us from one-party rule” (Page A6, Oct. 4).
In Ed Kahl’s recent letter, he refers to states electing presidents and says that he doesn’t want California to have too much influence. In a democracy, the voting franchise belongs to the people, not the states.
This game of allocating rights to states instead of to people was played out for a long time, partly in order to perpetuate the institution of slavery. One of the results of that game is that there are many sparsely populated Western states, whose senators have a disproportionate power over our politics.
Why should a vote in Pennsylvania, Nevada or Arizona be more important than my vote? Parties and candidates should have to make a case to each of us for winning our vote. A nationwide popular vote might have been difficult to manage in 1789, but we can manage it quite well today, and it would be more democratic, not necessarily more Democrat.
Jim Von De Bur
San Jose
Remove the states
from national elections
Re: “Electoral College keeps us from one-party rule” (Page A6, Oct. 4).
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Ed Kahl’s assertion that the Electoral College keeps New York, California and a few other Democratic states from determining the outcome of every presidential election is flawed because replacing it with a popular vote system would actually remove all states from the equation.
The fact is, the vote of each individual voter in the country, regardless of which state they live in, would then count. Case in point, in 2016 more Americans voted for Hillary Clinton than any other losing presidential candidate in U.S. history. She outpaced Donald Trump by nearly 3 million votes. Due to the Electoral College, however, the votes from California and New York for either candidate did not contribute to Trump’s victory or to Clinton’s loss. Simply, votes tallied in those states did not count.
If you believe in “one person – one vote” with every vote weighing equally, the Electoral College is obsolete.
Cliff Wells
Sunnyvale
Vote for Bernald
for WVMC trustee
I fully endorse Mary-Lynne Bernald for the Area 5 West Valley-Mission Community College District Board of Trustees because her commitment to the community reflects values I deeply admire.
As president of the Associated Student Government at Mission College, I have seen firsthand the importance of dedicated leadership in education. After one of our meetings, Mary-Lynne took the time to speak with me and truly listen to my story. Her genuine interest in the challenges I’ve faced as a first-generation college student left a lasting impression. This kind of empathy and attentiveness is rare and speaks volumes about her commitment to supporting students. With her extensive experience in public service, I know she will ensure that all voices, especially those from underrepresented communities, are heard.
Mary-Lynne has the vision and heart needed to continue advocating for student success and creating meaningful change across the district.
Priscila Moreira
San Jose
