To the editor: People with mayoral experience should know better. Matt Mahan is the mayor of San Jose and Antonio Villaraigosa is the former mayor of Los Angeles. Both have come out for suspending the gas tax to lower the cost at the pump (“Suspending gas tax, reducing refinery regulations pushed by two Democrats running for governor,” March 17).
But what neither acknowledges is that the gas tax is a major funding source for repairing our roads. As a mayor and a former mayor, they know this very well. So what’s their plan? Stop filling potholes, repairing aging bridges and fixing storm washouts? Or do they plan to backfill with some other funding source?
Neither says, likely because they know their proposal will go nowhere, revealing it for the cynical campaign ploy it is. Shame on them both.
Tim Goncharoff, Fairfield
..
To the editor: Two candidates engage in total foolishness by proposing emergency action that they themselves wouldn’t be able to take for nine months, when the emergency will be different (with unrepaired roads due to the suspension of funding). Furthermore, they seemingly haven’t walked around neighborhoods where the range in gas prices, often from the same brand, can vary by almost $2.00 per gallon, as is the case in West L.A.
So, drivers will most likely not benefit that much from a lower tax. A lot of individuals and commercial fleets can easily convert to electric vehicles, which will drive the demand for gas down and lead to lower prices.
Keith Price, Los Angeles
..
To the editor: Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is wild about taxes and green elitism, says even suspending the gas tax would benefit oil companies more than consumers. What a false and stupid sentiment. Oil companies would not be the ones that benefit the most, while consumers need this relief badly.
This remark will come back to haunt Newsom in 2028. It might be enough to destroy his presidential pretensions by itself.
Bruce Schneider, Irvine
