Letters to the Editor: Thursday, May 17, 2018

The California ‘Jungle’ Primary

June 5th is the last date to vote in the California primary election. California has a “jungle” primary system-that means it is an open primary-everyone votes for only one candidate, regardless of party affiliation. Then the two candidates that garner the most votes go to the midterm election in November. This presents a dilemma for both major parties as it may result in two candidates from the same party advancing to the Nov election. Seal Beach is in the 48th Congressional district, which is currently represented by Dana Rohrbacher. There are 16 candidates on the ballot for this seat in the June 5 primary -8 Democrats, 6 Republicans and 2 others. Of the 8 Democrats, 3 have graciously dropped out of the race after the ballots were printed: Laura Oatman, Rachel Payne and Michael Kotick.

Please do not vote for any of these three as your vote for the 48th district won’t count. In the jungle primary system, every single vote is important in getting a candidate from a particular party into one of the top two slots. The other races are affected in the same way.

Out of the 27 candidates running for governor, only the two that get the most votes on June 5 will be on the ballot in November.The point of this letter is to make voters aware of our jungle primary system and how important it is to vote on June 5th and make your voice heard. For more information on any of candidates, especially for the down ballot, lesser known positions, please visit the political party websites, or the website for one of the local political clubs, such as the Democratic Club of Seal Beach. Last day to register to vote is May 21, last day for absentee ballot application is May 29. Don’t forget to vote for only one candidate under each heading and use two stamps on your mail in ballot. PLEASE VOTE!

Claudia Horvath

Seal Beach

Thank you for Korean War vet article

Once again gratitude for letting the Sun News shine about Leisure World, Seal Beach. The article in the Thursday, May 10, edition titled “Leisure World Korean War Vet takes Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. is wonderful. Also, the picture of the Korean War Memorial is wonderful. It brings back memories of when I was at that D.C. National Mall as the Korean War Memorial was first being constructed. This was great information to learn about Dave Tautges as a resident of Leisure World and his Honor Flight as a Korean War Vet. I understand personally why Dave and his wife Cathy moved from Wisconsin to Seal Beach, California, since I did the very same thing from Chicago, Illinois—the weather.

Thanks to Dave Tautges for his Service. Thanks to Cathy Tautges for writing the article. And thanks again to the Sun News for publishing this wonderful article and picture regarding Dave Tautges’ Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.

Carol Franz, Ph.D

Leisure World, Seal Beach