Mailbag: Weitzberg, Humphrey polled closely on name recognition, so why the comment?

I have read the Sept. 6 Pilot article “Genis clarifies Weitzberg comment and the Sept. 5 column “Venezia: Stirring up a CM4RG hornet’s nest” and have some additional key points to make.

As was indicated in Barbara Venezia’s column, about 70% of poll respondents said they didn’t know or were neutral about Costa Mesa City Council candidates Harold Weitzberg and Jay Humphrey. This means that about 30% of the respondents recognized both of these names. Therefore, both candidates had the same name recognition.

These results were known to Councilwoman Sandra Genis because they were presented just before she made her comments about Weitzberg’s name at the CM4RG meeting that she referenced.

So why did Genis focus on Weitzberg’s name just before the endorsement voting was to take place? In the context of the polling results and name recognition, the Sept. 6 article quoted her as saying, “I was trying to explain [that Weitzberg] had an uphill battle.”

However, both candidates had the same uphill battle based on the poll results.

No other facts or polling results have been presented to support the contention that Weitzberg’s name put him at any disadvantage in this election, so there must be another reason.

Perhaps Genis’s comments about Weitzberg’s name could have been an innocent gaffe. If it was, a simple apology directly to him would have settled the matter, but that didn’t happen.

Or she may have been straining to come up with some reason to convince the CM4RG meeting attendees not to vote to endorse Weitzberg. In the worst and most unfortunate case, her comments may have been an example of microaggressive bias, as Weitzberg has been quoted as saying.

Charles Mooney

Costa Mesa

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Curry would take the right approach

The state Assembly is again looking at ways to get rid of Proposition 13.

In the Sunday Daily Pilot, Assembly Candidate Keith Curry talked about protecting Proposition 13, reducing our income taxes and stopping a tax that would make driving more expensive for all Californians.

His opponent, Matt Harper, wrote about forcing Newport Beach to change what can be burned in its fire rings. I think the comparison is very telling. I am voting for Keith Curry.

Evelyn Hart

Newport Beach

The writer is a former Newport Beach mayor.