Councilman Martinez and Credit Card Abuse

Ever since Mr. Uvaldo Martinez became a city councilman, the phrase “Out to Lunch” has assumed new meaning.

It is strange that anyone caught in a simple misunderstanding would have to hire an attorney to explain what all of us have known for a long time: It’s not wrong if you don’t get caught!

Now that Mr. Martinez has been feeding well and often at the public trough, perhaps the abuse of credit cards will end. Yet, if the discussion of city business justifies having the city pick up the tab, then why don’t others in the public eye enjoy similar benefits? Federal employees don’t receive a lunch subsidy.

The real shame of this latest scandal stems from . . . Mr. Martinez’s critics who alluded to his roots. The councilman’s ethnic background has nothing to do with it. The issue is the arrogant disregard for the public he is supposed to serve--Chicano or no.

The councilman’s annual lunch bill could have fed hundreds of his needy neighbors to the south. And that’s a lot of lunches, Mr. Martinez, and a lot of nerve.

ALFRED C. STROHLEIN

San Diego