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To the Editor: 

As a former spectator of Berkeley elections I felt disappointed in the fact that our local representatives couldn’t avoid falling into the national trend in campaigning by attacking the candidate and avoiding the issues that matter to the voters. 

Now that I am actually trying to become a candidate myself, I can understand the allure of this strategy. It’s all about recognition and identification. As a candidate, I desperately need voters to recognize me (they don’t necessarily have to know much about me), but they do have to be able to feel as if they know me in some way. As important as that is, it’s just as crucial that people identify my opponents with as many negative things as possible so that when they do vote they’re voting for me because they don’t like my opponents. 

This isn’t the way I'm planning to run my campaign. I’m going to try to win because my ideas are better than my opponents’. I have the utmost respect for Donna Spring and whoever else decides to run to represent District 4 on the council. As one of the previous letter writers Victoria Liu said: “There are enough real problems facing our city – problems with housing costs, traffic, the local economy, maintaining our environment and UC's role in Berkeley.” All of these issues are directly pertinent to District 4. I look forward to this upcoming election season. And may the best man, or woman for the job win, not simply the most popular. 

David A. Freeman 

Berkeley