I just wrote a letter to the editor of a local paper here in SF in response to this column:

Responding to your "In This Issue" column of last week, I am deeply disturbed by your call for more and earlier negative attacks in the Assembly campaign. Regardless of who and what campaign, negative attacks are a terrible problem within politics and need to be curtailed. Your paper has even advocated just that, especially in your support of the recent Proposition A for runoff voting. And yet, you specifically state that it would have been better if the Britt campaign had "attacked Leno a lot earlier in the race."

Never before would I have believed that a newspaper would actually call for earlier and more negative campaigning, especially one that holds itself out as a "progressive" paper involved in getting more progressive people out to vote. Negative attack ads have done nothing throughout the years but to limit voter participation, to the detrement of our electoral process and our democracy.

In general, I applaud your paper for having such a strong interest in politics and for encouraging people to vote. However, I urge you to rise above such petty negative activities, broaden the electorate through positive campaigning, and do your best not to stoop to such low standards. Only then will more people come back to the voter rolls. I encourage you not to add to the negative tone of elections and, instead, have the strength and foresight to do better.