Biased coverage?

Dear Editor:I support and respect your work since I moved to Downey with my family in 2002. However, last week the story "Vasquez Leads in Fundraising" gave me the impression that you have already made your mind regarding the three candidates running for City Council for the 4th District on Nov. 2. In your article you emphasized that most of Vasquez's funds came from supporters from outside of Downey; however, you failed to mention that more than half of Alex Saab's fundraising has also come from outside sources. In particular, Saab has received one of the biggest donations ever seen in a Downey City Council race and it is from an outside source. Yes, you did mention the $8,000 from the California Real Estate Political Action Committee, but you didn't mention anything about it being an outside contributor in the same vein that you talked about Vasquez. Another interesting note about your article was the $2,500 contribution Mario Guerra has received from Tesla Motors' chairman, Elon Musk. Ironically, Tesla is the same company that left Downey hanging after it took its company somewhere else despite the fact that it had given its commitment to come to our city. Guerra was one of the first council members to criticize Tesla after it backed out of the deal, but now I see that he is the only Downey council member who has received a donation from Tesla's chairman. These are just some "other" points of view, that as an editor of our local newspaper, I would hope that you would include in your coverage of stories regarding the candidates running for office. A single-sided story only feeds into one point of view, but I am sure that you agree our residents deserve to hear all sides. -- Agustin Duran, Downey

********** Published: October 14, 2010 - Volume 9 - Issue 26