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Show oCetterS to the cldttor i ' i Dear Editor: As a member of the Democratic Party and as one particularly interested in good government and fairness in politics, I take exception to your editorial of Friday, Jan. 16, under the heading head-ing of "Republican Abuse of Public Trust." The sentiments expressed therein is the sort of thing in politics which makes a lot of people, including myself, disgusted, and this self righteous attitude assumed by some of those in politics is uncalled for. I personally am not acquainted acquaint-ed with Commissioner Larson, and this is certainly intended as no reflection upon him, but a recognition of choice by majority and senior members of commissions commis-sions and committees, whether it be a city commission, a county comission, or in the Congress of the United States, or elsewhere, is a time honored precedent. I think you misstate the facts when you allege that "rarely has so crude a political move taken place before the public eye." You talk about the "people's mandate." It seems to me that if anybody elected on the county ticket can claim a mandate from the people it is Commissioner Gundersen, who was the only Republican elected to a county office on the county ticket. Furthermore, Fur-thermore, I see no greater mandate man-date in Bill Larson's election than I see in Ed Canno'ns election elec-tion of two years ago. As a matter mat-ter of fact, Bill Larson drew less votes than any county official elected to public office in Salt Lake county with one exception. I am certain that if the tables were turned the voices in the Democratic party that prompted your editorial would be conspicuous con-spicuous by their silence. I fail to see that the committee assignments in the Salt Lake County Commission were handled han-dled any differently than precedent prece-dent directs. If we don't like the precedent, let's change it, but not by phony charges of "an abuse of public trust." I suggest that the Salt Lake County Democrats should accept the committee assignments in a spirit of good sportsmanship, set about to nominate our best candidates can-didates for Gundersen's and Cannon's jobs in 1960, and work hard to get them elected. If successful, as I think we will be, we are then in a position posi-tion to take over the control of committee assignments on the County Commission fairly and without resorting to the sort of political "bunk" exhibited in your editorial, and therafter do something about changing the established practice concerning county commission assignments. Very truly yours, BRYANT H. CROFT |
