Letters to the Editor

Liberal ideology consistent with accountability

Editor: In response to the recent diatribe by a letter writer on the ills of liberalism, thanks for giving us all a fine example of the present-day oxymoron called “compassionate conservatism.”
Leslie Sheridan
Sonoma

Editor: As a left-wing, bleeding-heart liberal, I am writing to address a recent letter writer‘s verbose litany of provocations and to respond to his following inquiry: “Since when is it the government’s job to solve society’s problems?” The answer is: since 1776. Laissez-faire is an economic, not a social doctrine. The Declaration of Independence reads, “Governments are instituted among men to secure certain inalienable rights.” The Constitution of the United States (1787) was ordained “to promote the general welfare.” Even George W. Bush (in 2001) said, “The role of government is to create an environment in which people can realize the American Dream.”
Despite political rhetoric to the contrary, liberal ideology is not inconsistent with individual accountability. Indeed, the former facilitates the latter. Were it not for the government’s passage of landmark problem-solving legislation such as the American with Disabilities Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963, among others, the Republicans’ hallowed mantra of “personal responsibility” would simply be hollow.
Brian C. Abel
Sonoma

Editor: I am a resident of the Springs with a Sonoma 95476 home zip code. I attended the February 20 Sonoma City Council meeting and want to applaud Mayor Sanders for having the courage to recognize what is now a reality: that Sonoma and the Springs are geographically merged and are inextricably interdependent on each other. What happens in either area has an impact on the other. Already some services are shared on a valley-wide basis: police, fire, schools and the hospital. I hope that this trend will continue.
There are many great things about living in the Springs. Its funkiness, cultural diversity, laid-back atmosphere and its rustic feeling are to be admired. However, not-so-charming aspects of the Springs are a lack of safe sidewalks and pedestrian cross-walks along Highway 12, a continuous sprouting of ugly graffiti on buildings and signs, potholes and flooded roads (especially on Mulberry Avenue), discarded furniture and debris along our streets, and gang violence that results in robberies, property damage and even murder.
For those folks who have written letters decrying the possibility of the Springs being annexed into the city of Sonoma, let their fears be put to rest. Three members of the city council make it crystal clear at the February 20 meeting that it would be fiscally irresponsible for Sonoma to assume the financial burden of improving municipal services in the Springs. Doing so could jeopardize the high level of services now provided to city residents. We are talking about a lot of money to improve the infrastructure and municipal services in the Springs.
Our only recourse, for now, is for the residents of the Springs to demand action from our elected county representatives. We need to have an accounting of how much revenue is generated in the Springs from property tax and the Sonoma Mission Inn TOT. It is only right that most of these monies be returned to the Springs in the form of improved infrastructure and municipal services. My unproven hunch is that the county is using the Springs as a “piggybank” to fund projects in other parts of the county. We need to know the facts and we need to insist that our area not be ignored because we may not have as much “political clout” as the residents in other parts of the county.
Richard Arendt
Sonoma