Editor:
If what I have been told about the SM candidates form the Press is correct, it appears that the Press is weakening the forum's value to the people and the future of the community.
1. Hearing from all ballot-qualified candidates gives the voters a broader context in which to consider each of them.
2. New ideas which are later adapted and adopted usually come first from outside the conventional thinking. That is a reason that reaches beyond the elections.
3. Fairness and public service require that all be heard.
4. The political-electoral system is overwhelmed with a tide of money. Posing an alternative is worthwhile, even if having 15 speak is inconvenient for event managers.
Joseph Maizlish
Los Angeles