Letters to the Editor: Friday, Oct. 19, 2018

Fladager focuses on county’s residents

I worked with and for Birgit in the D.A.’s office for 14 years and still remain in contact with her, following retirement. I was a DDA and Chief Deputy and was very familiar with her work. I have never known a brighter, more dedicated and hard working individual than Birgit Fladager. She is undoubtedly the most ethical person I have ever met or known. Her supreme focus is doing the best for the people of Stanislaus County, the law and the office. The “people are leaving the office for other jobs” has always been the case, even in 1988 when I joined, because Stanislaus County pays much less to its attorneys than surrounding counties and people have families to support. Don’t be fooled by the grumbling. Vote for Birgit!

Vote for Mayne, vote for new leadership

As a fairly new resident of Modesto and a senior citizen, I’m very concerned about the level of crime in Stanislaus County.

We are in a local crisis. We are not being served well when our District Attorney’s office turnover rate has risen to 30 percent a year. I find it offensive when Fladager implies that the reason is because our county is so undesirable that employees leave at the first possible opportunity to live someplace better. Oddly, other county offices don’t seem to have this level of turnover problem. Law enforcement works their tails off, and then there are cases that don’t get prosecuted effectively because the DA’s office is dysfunctional. Shouldn’t we have someone in office who will take steps to fix this?

The incumbent thinks this is acceptable, so it is apparent that leadership needs to change. I am supporting John Mayne for District Attorney. I hope the rest of the community will see the wisdom of that choice, and join me in voting him into office. Current leadership is complacent. Let’s get someone in there who wants to work. Vote for John Mayne!

This story was originally published October 21, 2018 at 8:39 AM.