Editor:

As a citizen of Antioch I was very proud to see so many of our fellow residents take time out of their busy schedules to attend the Sept. 25 City Council meeting to show support for the Antioch Police Department Community Action Team.

Apparently, Public Advocates was under the impression that their clients' complaints of racial discrimination and harassment was supported by East County NAACP. It was quite amusing to discover that Public Advocates did not find out until the City Council meeting that the NAACP had not taken a position in this matter and they do not support the actions of Darnell Turner, Willie Mims and their Section 8 clients.

If the oldest civil rights organization in the United States doesn't believe two members of their board of directors or the allegations of African-American Section 8 tenants, why should we? "What a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive."

United Citizens for Better Neighborhoods firmly believes that Section 8 is a good program that provides affordable housing for seniors citizens, the disabled, and families needing temporary housing assistance. However, we are also well aware of the problems some Section 8 tenants are creating in neighborhoods throughout East County.

In response to this growing crisis, UCBN invites the residents of Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay and other East Contra Costa County cities to join us at our next monthly meeting on Saturday, Oct. 20. If you would like to become apart of our strategic plan to address Section 8 problems on a regional level, please e-mail us @ ucbn@ucbn.us for more details.

Gary Gilbert

Antioch

Founder, United Citizens for

Better Neighborhoods