Dear Editor,

April 18, 2024

In the Thursday edition of The Lookout, the following comment was made in a letter to the editor about the demonstration on Tuesday against needles/syringes being distributed at Reed Park and other Santa Monica parks:

“What is not normal -- especially in Santa Monica -- is for sitting city councilmembers to publicly support a crowd calling for the firing of their own City Manager.

"Even worse, none had the courage to call out the protesters carrying signs with cruel messages against their elected colleagues: ‘Jesse Zwick is a d**k’ and ‘Mean Gleam.’ “

I also oppose such comments and demonstrations as they harm and reduce public civility and discourse. At the same time, I very much support prohibiting the distribution of needles and syringes in Santa Monica parks.

A viable alternative has been proposed and the MAJORITY of the City Council approved it. In addition, more than 20,000 emails from Santa Monicans expressed their support for such an alternative.

While John Alle’s sign on his building on the Third Street Promenade brought “negative attention” to the city, it also riveted the attention of the City Council and others for the need to improve public safety in Santa Monica.

I live across from Reed Park and it has improved in the last 6-12 months. No one wants to see a repeat of the riots and vandalism in our city on Memorial Day four years ago.

PUBLIC SAFETY was, is, and must be the First and NUMBER ONE priority of ALL Governments. Without Public Safety there can be no City, no Third Street Promenade, no schools, hospitals, etc. I worked with people in Vietnamese Refugee Camps who tried to survive without Public Safety, they didn’t make it.

City, State, and National elections will be with us in 200 days on November 5. Study the various candidates, support them any way you can, and VOTE. OUR future and that of OUR City, State, and Nation depend on it.

John Medlin, USARV 1969-70
Santa Monica