Letters to the editor: Aug. 26, 2010

Who signed off on election expense?
If my understanding of the situation is correct, a letter sent in by one Poway resident with complaints regarding circumstances involving John Mullin’s recent election campaign has resulted in the City of Poway appointing a law firm to investigate such circumstances at between $225 and $250 per hour. No time frame for how long this investigation should take was defined.

The circumstances apparently involve failure to report cost of material used to build large campaign signs and alleged unreported contributions from two businesses where signs were erected.

How can one person’s objections cost taxpayers, potentially, thousands of dollars for an investigation on a small town local election issue? Who has determined that there are real irregularities to be investigated? Who signed off on this additional expense — on an election that we, the taxpayers, were assured would cost us relatively nothing to pursue.

Have we gone mad? Because of the economic situation, we have public pensions which are out of control, we have to cut back on services, we are constantly threatened with higher taxes, and Poway is now paying for lawyers to investigate how much advertising hoardings cost for a local election? Maybe the person who wrote the letter is passionate enough to cough up the monies, because I certainly am not.
Gillian Pinsky
Poway