A Battle Over a Ballot Description

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Editor,

I was not questioning whether or not Ms. Hall has ever done community service (“Hall Rebuts a Voter’s Assumption,” Letters, Oct. 17). I was questioning the appropriateness of listing “community volunteer” under her name on the California ballot as if no one else running for city council has done community volunteer work.

I, like many others, do volunteer work for various charities, schools, and community foundations as I have seen among some of the candidates. Does this mean that everyone running for city council should list themselves on the ballot as “community volunteer” if they have done community work? Probably not. The question is why did Ms. Hall pick “community volunteer” as the label over so many other possible choices?

As for checking the facts regarding past activities as the OC GOP chair, I received that information from a 2012 article Stu News Laguna that said, “The Laguna Beach Republicans announced Thursday that Michele Hall is their new president. She will also be serving as the OC GOP chair representing Laguna Beach.”

Generally, a candidate’s ballot designation indicates an activity in which a candidate has devoted a majority of his or her time. In March of this year, Ms. Hall indicated in an OC Register article (March 18) that she was “a former political consultant and former president of the Laguna Beach Republicans.” While the state of California may not allow a candidate to list anything of a political nature as part of the candidate’s designation, a candidate should select a designation that comprises a majority of their time, former consultant, homemaker, writer, community volunteer, parent.

The issue is fairness.  Use the designation “community volunteer” if this represents the major activity and is above and beyond the other candidate’s volunteer work in the community.

Deborah Laughton, Laguna Beach

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