Cartoonists and Candidates

Your article Aug. 19 (“Drawing Fire”) concerning the activities of a Woodland Hills cartoonist who has been posting caricatures of me on the Internet was amusing but not particularly relevant to the crucial issues facing voters in the 24th Congressional District. The article accurately reports that I voted in favor of the cartoonists and exempted them from a sales tax that had been in place since 1939; I expressed bewilderment over why one cartoonist organized an attack on me anyway. Republican cartoonist Daryl Cagle, who has organized the Web page, said that he was targeting me because I am running for Congress, which seems to answer the question succinctly.

There are many dramatic differences between my opponent and me on much more important issues.

I would hope that some of these issues will receive comparable coverage sometime before election day. And if we need to provide cute illustrations with our press releases in order to merit coverage, please let us know.

BRAD SHERMAN

Sherman Oaks

Sherman is a candidate for Congress, 24th District.

* We were disappointed to read your article “Drawing Fire,” which implied that the National Cartoonists Society has no good reason to oppose local congressional candidate Brad Sherman. We have lots of reasons.

As chairman of the Board of Equalization in recent years, Sherman shares responsibility for the growing complexity of our tax regulations--a crazy quilt of lobbied-for exemptions and arbitrary language imposed on California artists and most businesses in the state.

It has been interesting to see how eager many people are to see our nonpartisan effort as somehow in league with the Republicans. For most of my career I have been accused of being a liberal. I post a collection of my cartoons lampooning Rush Limbaugh along with a bulletin board filled with angry e-mail from conservatives and dittoheads.

It’s strange to be accused of being both a Democrat and a Republican.

DARYL CAGLE

Woodland Hills

Cagle is a member of the board of directors of the National Cartoonists Society.