‘Morgenthau for D.A.’

I wholeheartedly second The New York Sun’s endorsement of Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau for renomination in the September 13 Democratic Party primary, and find its attack on the New York Times’s endorsement of his opponent fully justified [“Morgenthau for D.A.,” Editorial, August 31, 2005].

But Mr. Morgenthau could have saved himself a lot of trouble, and the possible embarrassment of losing the nomination at the end of his long and distinguished career in public service, had he declared at the opening of the campaign that this would indeed be his last term, and that, further, he would use it in major measure as a “transition term” for his successor, whoever it may be, after his extraordinarily long tenure. In this way he would have shutout Judge Crocker Snyder’s challenge and surely have secured the Times’s endorsement, as well as your own.

In this sense, your ringing endorsement of an “infinite” term for Mr. Morgenthau at the conclusion of the editorial echoes the District Attorney’s own slip of political acumen in misreading the crucial, extremely tricky intuitive judgment about when to finally call it quits.

HOWARD CHARLES YOUROW
Riverdale, N.Y.

‘The Terrorist Katrina’

The New York Sun editorial “The Terrorist Katrina” [September 2, 2005] cites Muhammad Yousef Al-Mlaifi as stating that the terrorist Katrina is one of the soldiers of Allah. I say beware of false prophets and predict that in a couple of years, New Orleans will rise to become an even more culturally, socially, and economically vibrant city. As the crescent of Katrina’s darkness dips, the renaissance sun over the city of peerless European heritage in America will rise. To herald this resurgence, New Orleans should drop the moniker the crescent city in favor of the renaissance city.

ARUN KHANNA
Indianapolis, Ind.

‘Doubtful Registrations’

Ernie Dahl wrote in a letter to the editor “shouldn’t the Board of Elections review an application before placing someone on the voter’s roster? I am shocked that in New York City people can register as cartoon characters, probably multiple times, at addresses that belong to schools and other municipal buildings” [“Doubtful Registrations,” September 2, 2005].

How does Mr. Dahl expect people at the Board to do this review? Should anyone who registers with the name of Richard Tracy, Peter Parker, or Clark Kent (all cartoon names) be disqualified from voting? Should the overworked staff of the Board of Elections compare the address of every registrant to the addresses of the more than 1,000 public schools in New York City?

It’s amusing to see people demand of government workers the ability to do the impossible. It’s usually the same people who oppose paying higher taxes to pay such workers.

JERRY SKURNIK
Manhattan

Although fraud is an issue of concern in elections, and the Board of Elections must do everything it can to ensure that those who are not eligible to vote do not vote on Election Day, it is important not to marginalize or disenfranchise those who legitimately have the right to cast a ballot. The Sun article “City Voter Rolls Riddled With Doubtful Registrations,” Meghan Clyne, Page 1, August 30, 2005] failed to mention that eligible homeless voters are allowed to register using an address that (though still acceptable) does not fit the typical definition of a residence – which includes churches, public buildings, or even parks.

Homeless voters must also list an address where they can receive mail. According to the latest figures from the mayor’s Department of Homeless Services, there are 7,788 homeless adults in the city, many of whom are eligible to vote. Before there is public outcry to purge the voter rolls, we should recognize that there are legitimate voters that could be disenfranchised.

AMY NGAI
Program Associate
Citizens Union of the City of New York
Manhattan

‘Revolution at NYU’

Re: “Revolution at NYU,” Editorial, September 1, 2005. Trying to unionize graduate students at a university strikes me as rather similar to trying to unionize a Wal-Mart. In both cases the business models are dependent on low-paid labor. I am surprised that there is so little interest in the former and so much interest in the latter.

EUGEN TARNOW
Manhattan

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