Pat Trieweiler: Whelan has chance

I don't believe that Brian Whelan is as much a long shot as the Sun-Star indicated in "Costa facing another Republican upstart in new Congress district" (Sept. 27).

Tea leaves or not, our valley is plagued with record poverty, unemployment and farmers whose water concerns are not addressed. This is all on Jim Costa's watch.

Costa's solutions are old, tired and failed policies that helped create this mess in the first place. I fail to see how the tea leaves line up for him.

Brian Whelan has fresh and new ideas to bring jobs back to the valley and address the needs of agriculture. His youthful energy is exactly what our valley needs in Congress.

I beg to differ with the assessment of the Rothenberg Political Report in writing off this race. Whelan can win in November because the "tea leaves" are lining up in his favor.

PAT TRIEWEILER

Merced