Letter: Deputy endorsement wasn't that important

I am writing this letter regarding the front page article in the Aug. 9 Appeal "Association endorses Tatro, pans Masayko."

What a big deal; 13 of 15 sheriff's department members deserve this kind of headline to influence the voting public about whether they should vote for Tom Tatro or Ray Masayko. If anyone reads anything but the headlines they would have to laugh at what the article said about the narrow-minded opinion of a few sheriffs deputies in our fair city and why they should have any more say so than any other citizen.

We have over 50,000 people in Carson City, and I can't believe that 13 people should get this much coverage for their opinion about candidates. You guys at the Appeal must be grabbing for straws if this deserves anything but laughter. What the article says is this association of sheriffs deputies likes Tatro better than Masayko for some personal interest they have in getting more financing for some pet project of theirs. Maybe everyone in town should get a headline story on the front page for their opinion about how public money should be spent in our fair unbiased town. I'm sure your next big headline will be an opinion from the builders association and who they want for our next mayor. After all, they have most of the candidates in their pockets by the time they attempt to run for office in this town.

Mr. Tatro, as I understand, is the son-in-law of one of the big land developers here in town, and I'm sure he is influenced by that relationship regarding growth in Carson City and anything else that's required to sustain that growth with the use of public funds, provided by the people of our town, such as street improvements, additional sewer systems, freeway bypasses, new schools and anything that might improve the developers' property values.

Both Masayko and Tatro have indicated in the past that they will work with the good old boys in this town and we who have been here awhile know who they are. All you have to do is read the Appeal to find that out. At least Masayko is retired from private industry so he has some feel for economics and money management where Mr. Tatro is a state employee, and we pretty much know that their philosophy is to spend it before you lose it to some other agency but never return it, or in our case, never give the taxpayer a break, always ask for more.

He and Mr. Teixeira, our last mayor, really stuck it to us and now he wants back in for another crack at it. Also, he would definitely be a part-time mayor because he's got a full-time job with the state and even though the mayor's job is not supposedly full time, I'm sure it can be quite demanding. One well-paid job working for the public should be enough, and I for one don't need another representative of the good old boys in this town sitting in the mayor's office again.

JIM OTTE SR.

Carson City

(Editor's note: Tatro's father-in-law, Ron Kitchen, is retired and lives in Reno. He built houses in Carson City on land developed by others.)