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Chung will bring ethics to DA’s office
Re: “DA challenger rallies supporters” (Page B1, May 14).
Your story omits a key reason Sean Allen, president of the San Jose-Silicon Valley chapter of the NAACP, spoke at a press conference to oppose District Attorney Jeff Rosen.
Allen’s speech there highlighted the ACLU’s lawsuit against Rosen for hiding data that his office disproportionately charges Latino and Black defendants with felonies in violation of the California Racial Justice Act. Rosen has created a hostile work environment. Rosen’s personal vendettas, ethical lapses and poor judgment — he even used an expletive while referencing a public defender to the Mercury News editorial board — have cost our county millions and united ideologically diverse supporters behind Daniel Chung.
Chung has shown great resilience in standing up to this bully. Vote for Chung to bring ethics, balanced temperament, integrity and professionalism to the DA’s office.
Margaret Okuzumi
Sunnyvale
Democrats can’t afford to keep their promises
Re: “Budget deficit is third rail as hopefuls debate” (Page A6, May 14).
Most voters claim they want moderate, independent-minded leaders and are tired of extremists on both sides. Yet in California’s governor’s race, two of the more fiscally realistic Democrats — Matt Mahan and Antonio Villaraigosa — trail candidates offering sweeping promises with little discussion of how to pay for them.
Mahan supports the idea of single-payer healthcare but, unlike some rivals, admits California’s finances cannot sustain it now. The state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office warns California faces annual structural deficits of $20 billion to $35 billion, while state spending has increased by more than $100 billion since 2019.
Meanwhile, billionaire Tom Steyer promises expensive new programs despite having no governing experience. Charisma and grand promises increasingly overshadow realism and restraint.
I’ll likely support whichever candidate has the best chance of defeating the hardline partisan candidates, and I hope the remaining sensible candidates consolidate support before June 2.
Tom Watts
San Jose
Justice Department runs Trump’s next con
Re: “Justice Department considers settling Trump’s $10 billion IRS leak lawsuit” (May 13).
Donald Trump is about to pull off perhaps the biggest theft of taxpayer money in the history of the United States, and the most bizarre heist ever — because Trump is acting as both plaintiff and defendant!
A federal judge on Friday questioned the constitutionality of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over an IRS contractor’s leak of Trump’s tax returns in 2019, when Trump refused to make them public (as is the norm for a presidential candidate).
To circumvent the judge’s challenge, the DOJ and White House officials are now evaluating an out-of-court settlement that includes a multibillion-dollar settlement and “the IRS dropping any audits of Mr. Trump, his family members or businesses” — even though the DOJ does not have the authority to agree to drop IRS audits.
Is the Republican-led Congress going to simply aid and abet this monstrous theft of our tax dollars?
Dave Whitaker
San Jose
Trump’s impulsive war lacks sounding board
Re: “Asymmetric threats define modern warfare” (Page A7, May 5).
The story reads like one mob doing a hit on another. As long as Donald Trump is going to act like a mob boss, he should dump all the sycophantic “yes-men” and hire himself a real consigliere, i.e., counselor, someone to help plan, be a strategic adviser and add a counter voice to his ideas.
However, that kind of person might be too confronting for a manchild. It’s why Hitler failed; he wasn’t mature enough to listen to smarter people because he thought there was no one smarter.
Because they’re pretty tribal in their thinking, the MAGA GOP mob still supports him. Why do people think infantile, aggressive and arrogant strong men have the answers to their problems? Maybe they need to be less tribal and grow up a little, as well.
RJ Cole
San Jose
Redwood LIFE project overwhelms shoreline
While other biotech developments hit pause, the proposed Redwood LIFE megaproject in Redwood City continues advancing despite being fundamentally mismatched to its fragile shoreline location in Redwood Shores. Planned atop a subsiding former landfill already threatened by sea-level rise and rising groundwater, the site is hardly a sound foundation for such an ambitious undertaking.
At more than 5 million square feet, the project would rival three Salesforce Towers, exceed twice the size of the iconic Oracle campus, and dwarf anything Redwood City has previously contemplated.
The project abuts established residential neighborhoods and the state-designated wildlife reserve along Belmont Slough. Its proposed 25-year buildout would bring relentless pile-driving, heavy earth-moving, noise and habitat disruption, with lasting consequences for wildlife and residents for generations.
This project isn’t just large — it’s in the wrong place, at the wrong scale, with impacts that will resonate across the entire region.
Gita Dev
Bay Alive Campaign vice-chair
Palo Alto
Iran war must end so US can focus on itself
How many more Americans and Iranians must die from a reckless attack on Iran?
This rush to confrontation is cheered by Benjamin Netanyahu, fighting for political survival as Israel Defense Forces operations devastate Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank — an alliance that serves neither U.S. interests nor values.
Americans are told this is security. Yet the United States Department of Defense says the conflict has cost $29 billion while inflation hits 3.8%. Families struggle with rent, food and healthcare as billions fund escalation.
We’ve seen this before: Wars launched on fear and foreign pressure rarely make us safer. They deepen chaos, empower hardliners and burden ordinary people.
The United States should step back, reject this catastrophic war, and invest in diplomacy and urgent needs at home.
Jag Singh
Los Altos