I voted for both the district attorney and the sheriff, but now I must say that I am disappointed that the district attorney is wasting his time on protecting the rights of the Hells Angels.

Not that they do not have the same rights we do, but the district attorney is the public prosecutor, not a civil rights activist.

Blocking off freeways to keep warring outlaw bikers apart is a trick as old as the Watsonville-Hollister takeovers by these same Hells Angels.

I am sure that if they had known in advance what would have happened, they would have employed the same tactics to provide for public safety.

The temporary loss of rights is as old as man; when the public good is threatened, we even suspend property rights.

I wish both departments would just do their jobs and work together. We have big enough challenges with the state shifting prisoners back to the counties with no increase in facilities.

Maybe the district attorney and the sheriff are too young to remember Watsonville-Hollister and the Angels, but there is a movie that shows the fun they had at everyone else’s expense.

Remember that we must learn from history, or else.

Save the politics for elections, keep the emphasis on public safety and justice for all.

Too often, small rural agencies become private fiefdoms, extensions of their leaders. That may be fun for the leaders, but as a citizen, I would feel better if they concentrated on their responsibilities.

David Gebhard lives in Lakeport, Calif.