OPINION:
Polling in the race for the next governor of California is going back and forth among four major contenders (“Rep. Eric Swalwell vows to push back on ICE in bid for California governor,” Web, April 8).
Two of them are Republicans (Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco), and two of them are Democrats (Eric Swalwell and Tom Steyer). A fifth contender, Katie Porter, is a somewhat distant fifth.
How does Mr. Swalwell keep popping in and out of the lead? The recent allegations of sexual impropriety aside, he strikes me as just plain sleazy. He looks untrustworthy with his crooked smirk and always-unshaven face, sort of like a used-car salesperson from the 1970s. The only thing missing is a hairpiece and plaid polyester suit. (For that matter, Mr. Steyer could play the same character.)
So how are these guys wooing voters? I really don’t get it. Are they merely promising the same free stuff that got Zohran Mamdani elected in New York City? Are California voters really that naive and gullible? Well, that was a silly question, and I’m sorry I asked it.
Truth be told, there aren’t any pennies left in the piggy bank. It astonishes me how so many people fail to grasp that. What will astonish me even more is if someone such as Mr. Swalwell gets elected and actually fixes our problems.
On the other hand, this might not have anything at all to do with fixing problems; it might just be, as usual, a matter of getting Democrats elected to office no matter the cost or consequences.
ARTHUR SAGINIAN
Santa Clarita, California
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