One of the most inequitable aspects of our governmental system is campaign financing. We abolish equality and fairness when the guy wins simply because of a greater campaign pocketbook. It is a sad indictment on democracy, isn't it? Justice goes out the window when multiple thousands of dollars are pitted against a qualified candidate who just doesn't have the financial wherewithal to compete.
This year's election was a prime example. In the meantime, government evolves, not around the best representative, but the best-financed candidate. This is the antithesis of democracy. It prostitutes our system, every bit as much as justice in dictatorships that have no "free" elections. Simply substituting the word "democracy" for the word "dictatorship" does nothing to ensure we elect the best candidate. This election year gave no assurance that fairness would prevail.
The ultimate manifestation of unfair elections is corruption. It is found in double-standard punitive policies that reward rather than punish city employees, department heads and their assistants and places officers on paid leave for incidents that land ordinary citizens in jail awaiting trial.
In the meantime, a new traffic concern is enlivened by the candidate who lost, and we can only guess what our new taxes will be utilized for.
There is one certainty: The corruption will not change. After all, we voted for it, and the injustices and the selective application of our laws will worsen before our campaign finance laws change.
-- Miguel Espinosa Jr., Oxnard