Letters: George Santos left ‘liar’ off his resume – The Columbus Dispatch
Equitable treatment for all people
Dec. 28: “City files contempt action against owner of flooded apartments”
Dec. 30: “Latitude Five25 residents much find new place to live”
Dec. 31: “Residents at Latitude Five25 get church help”
More:Owner of troubled Latitude Five25 apartment towers on Near East Side agrees to sell
I have been following the saga of Latitude Five25 (formerly Sawyer Tower) where a large number of people had to move out of the building due to burst pipes, flooding and no heat just before Christmas.
My heart was saddened as the tenants were primarily low-income mothers, children elderly and others.
Latitude Five25 has been in poor condition for many years, resulting in the former elderly citizens moving out. So why did Columbus allow these buildings to continue to operate and where was code enforcement?
The city of Columbus has granted developers millions in tax abatements to rebuild and gentrify downtown, while forcing many poor Black and brown people to move into substandard housing.
This also applies to places like Colonial Village and any number of older apartment buildings/complexes in the outer ring of the city.
More:Owner of troubled Latitude Five25 apartment towers on Near East Side agrees to sell
This lack of investment in the city outer ring is unfair and inequitable to lower income citizens of this city and particularly unfair to the children forced to grow up in these conditions. We all pay the same taxes that the people in downtown and developers pay and possibly more, as most of the downtowners live in tax abated properties.
As such, I want equitable treatment for all people in this city in terms of housing, which has not occurred in 20 years.
As these corporations and landlords take over rental properties, let’s be mindful that they are providing housing for some of our most vulnerable citizens and demand, through oversight, that they do what’s right. Let’s keep a watchful eye on the Ginther administration and our overpaid city council as they attempt to resolve this issue.
Carolyn L. Nellon, Columbus
Rob Portman has a legacy if you say so
On Rob Portman, seems like a decent guy and I can’t recall too many senators with more sparkling resumes.
Sadly, I now think of Portman as just another “public servant” who hid under the bed during the reign of Trump.
My first impression of him as a senator was his magically discovering he has a gay son after he was elected and my most lasting impression is Portman ducking questions while sprinting past a swarm of reporters with a wave and cheery “I’m late for lunch.”
I guess there’s a legacy in there someplace.
Jon Armstrong, Columbus
Much has been written about George Santos’ lies (“embellishments” is too charitable a word for the falsehoods he put forward while campaigning for a seat in the US House of Representatives).
When he falsely asserted that he was “an American Jew” and that family members were subject to persecution during the Holocaust, he no doubt thought that it would enhance his candidacy among the Jewish voters in his district and would help attract campaign contributions from Jews throughout the country.
This tactic is in sharp contrast to the real-life story of Tom Lantos, an actual and only Holocaust survivor to serve in the United States Congress.
More:Hungarian award prompts complaints of anti-Semitism
Lantos served in the House from 1981 to 2008.
In recognition of his concern with human rights throughout the world, the Congressional Human Rights Caucus has been renamed the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.
All Americans can be proud of Tom Lantos’ legacy. Conversely, George Santos has shamed himself by relying on the horrors of the Holocaust as currency to be thrown around as campaign fodder.
The Republican Jewish Coalition should stand up for the memory of its members’ histories and tell Republican leadership that Santos should be thrown out of the House.
Marvin Resnik, Bexley
More:How to submit guest opinion columns to the Columbus Dispatch
‘I’d lie to you for your vote.’
George Santos’ resume reminded me of these lyrics from a Bellamy Brothers song entitled, “I’d lie to you for your love” – “I’m a doctor, I’m a lawyer, I’m a movie star, I’m an astronaut and I own this bar. And I’d lie to you for your love…”
Opinion:What the Congressman George Santos scandal says about American politics
He would only need to change the closer to: “I’d lie to you for your vote.”
Neal Snyder, Columbus
Decade later, fear of gun violence hangs over us.
December 2022 marked 10 years since the gun massacre that killed 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
More:Pause in gunfire gave students chance to escape
That tragic day prompted a new era of the gun safety movement. Though progress has been painfully slow, and gun deaths have become the leading cause of childhood death in America, we should recognize and celebrate the progress that has been made.
More:‘You never know’: Ohio teachers wrestle with fear of school shootings after Uvalde
According to a recent Giffords Law Center report, over 525 gun safety laws have been passed at the state level since 2012.
According to the report:
- 29 have passed laws that either enacted or strengthened background check laws.
- 21 have passed 86 significant laws to address community-based violence.
- 37 have passed 87 significant laws to make it harder for people who commit domestic abuse to access firearms.
- 18 have passed laws that either created or strengthened extreme risk protection order laws.
- 18 have passed laws to make it harder for kids, teens, and young adults to access guns or prohibited guns on K–12 or higher education campuses.
Each of these laws has, potentially, saved numerous lives. We owe our gratitude and support to those who are working for a future where fear of gun violence no longer hangs over us.
Jennifer Logan, Brunswick
More:How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch
Sports betting a big gamble
The Dec. 29 columns by Oyauma Garrison “Sports betting is ‘illusion of control'” and Dan Sewell “Sports gambling is a boon? Wanna bet?” were exactly the message needed as Ohio steps into the land of sports betting.
Oyauma Garrison: Move over Santa! Sports betting is coming to town with ‘illusion of control’
Unfortunately, I fear we are whispering into the face of a hurricane of advertising.
We humans are unable to control our addictive tendencies.
Families and individuals already suffer the effects of gambling addiction. The columnists correctly state the exponential risk associated with the easy online betting.
The state treasury will take their cut happily. And somewhere down the road, when the human and social costs exceed that monetary windfall, the hypocritical state attorneys general will sue the Draft Kings of that world.
We’ve seen this before.
Ronald Walker, Westerville