{"id":1585,"date":"2026-06-08T23:08:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T23:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1585"},"modified":"2026-06-08T23:08:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T23:08:37","slug":"letters-general-election-without-a-gop-candidate-lacks-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1585","title":{"rendered":"Letters: General election without a GOP candidate lacks choice"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><em><strong>Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h4>General without GOP isn\u2019t real democracy<\/h4>\n<p>Re: \u201cMahan\u2019s and Porter\u2019s egos help fuel Hilton success\u201d (Page A6, June 2).<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s strikingly ironic that the Editor-at-Large laments the failure of several Democratic candidates to withdraw from California\u2019s gubernatorial race while the Mercury News itself refuses to endorse any candidate. Why tell readers who not to vote for if you\u2019re unwilling to tell them who should earn their vote, and defend that recommendation?<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1583\">Suspect charged in fatal Oakland shooting of beloved registered nurse and father<\/a><\/p>\n<p>More troubling is the assumption that the overriding goal should be preventing a Republican from reaching the top two. Why? A Republican finalist would provide voters with a genuine choice, allowing the state\u2019s far larger general election electorate to weigh competing visions for California\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p>That outcome is more consistent with the original purpose of California\u2019s \u201cjungle primary\u201d system. The reform was sold as a way to reward candidates who could appeal beyond their partisan base and encourage moderation from both parties. A general election featuring two Democrats does little to foster a more competitive marketplace of ideas.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brian Suckow<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Palo Alto<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Courts, legislators must get serious about crime<\/h4>\n<p>Re: \u201cSuspect with multiple vehicle theft convictions charged in two more similar crimes in Oakland\u201d (Page B3, June 2).<\/p>\n<p>Regarding the article, this man \u2014 or should I say man-child \u2014 who now stole another vehicle and injured someone, had 13 prior felony convictions. Why was he not still in jail? What is it going to take before our courts stop slapping people on the wrist and get serious about putting people away?<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>If there are no serious consequences for behavior, then people will continue to commit crimes because there is no incentive to stop. We have to give them that incentive. This is why major stores have fled San Francisco, and other stores have things locked up in cases, because the system told people there were no consequences for crimes.<\/p>\n<p>What is it going to take before our government and our judges learn?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jerry Mack<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>San Jose<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Imperfect air rules are no reason to give up<\/h4>\n<p>Re: \u201cRegulators split on natural gas water heater ban\u201d (Page A1, May 14).<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The best headline for the recent Bay Area Air District decision on polluting gas water heater equipment is \u201cAir district votes to save lives.\u201d Equally accurate would be \u201cAir district votes to save money,\u201d when you consider the economic hammer of thousands of asthma cases and dozens of deaths\u00a0annually from the methane gas pollution, a pollutant industry cynically calls \u201cnatural gas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another correct headline is \u201cAir district votes to reduce inequity\u201d because air pollution, both outdoors and indoors, hits poorer communities the hardest. Hypocrisy and implicit climate denialism come from arguing that imperfect improvements of the air district\u2019s actions are reasons to do nothing, replicating the Trump administration inaction on air quality.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1581\">Big 12 quarterback rankings: Brendan Sorsby and Texas Tech on top with Utah, Oklahoma State and Houston close behind<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The gas industry, the Trump administration and their local allies are pushing against air quality. The rest of us need to push back.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brian Schmidt<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Menlo Park<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>California needs to set goal of a faster count<\/h4>\n<p>I love living in California, but really, why can\u2019t things be more pragmatic here?<\/p>\n<p>To take weeks to make the final determination on an election in a culture steeped in technology is just so wrong. The elections people talk about how important it is to count every vote. Well, of course, but why does it have to take so long? Instead of the tail wagging the dog, our politicians and bureaucrats need to focus on desired outcomes and work toward making that happen. If we want to declare the final vote in one or two days, what will it take to make that happen?<\/p>\n<p>This is how every successful organization is run: you set the goals and work the steps to make it happen while balancing all the ideals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jennifer Thompson<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>San Jose<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>What\u2019s behind Musk\u2019s meddling in UK politics?<\/h4>\n<p>Why on earth would Elon Musk start interfering with British politics, concerning the murder of a British teenager? Is it because his awful Cybertruck has been banned in the UK\u00a0and not allowed on British roads? This occurred at the beginning of last year.<\/p>\n<p>Apparently, there are many rules regarding weight, size, etc. that this vehicle does not comply with, and is consequently banned. Why Musk was not made aware of these rules years ago is unknown.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1579\">Ex-jail employee pleads no contest to smuggling drugs for sex with incarcerated women<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Whatever the reason, he\u2019s certainly upset the British Prime Minister.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave Thomas<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>San Jose<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Also: Serious on crime | Imperfect rules | Vote count | Musk&#8217;s meddling. Mercury News reader letters to the editor for June 9, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Letters: General election without a GOP candidate lacks choice - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1585\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Letters: General election without a GOP candidate lacks choice - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Also: Serious on crime | Imperfect rules | Vote count | Musk&#039;s meddling. 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