It has been my honor to serve three times as the mayor of the city of Port Huron. The duties and responsibilities of mayor are many and take time away from family and friends. Those who choose to accept to serve as mayor or council member fully understand the responsibilities when they take the oath of office.

Our current election system allows for change every two years in the event voters wish a new direction for the city. In reading the Nov. 8 front-page story about the newly elected officials (including myself), I find the method to describe those not elected to be the most disappointing type of journalism I have ever witnessed.

To label three former mayors and a council member who have dedicated themselves to this community in so many good ways as "rejected" is disrespectful of the time, money and commitment they and their families have invested. This description of those who lost the race depicts these wonderful citizens in a public light that is irresponsible, cheap journalism and at the lowest nature of any reporting I have ever seen.

I honor their combined decades of service and thank them for all they have done for Port Huron. A community should honor those who have served, even if they are not elected or re-elected.

For the Times Herald to place a label on the front page of the paper, directly over the individual faces of those not elected, is truly disgusting.

I, for one, have less respect for the substance and style of reporting of the Times Heraldwhen the best they can come up with to sell papers is to cover the faces of community volunteers with the word "rejected."

JAMES RELKEN

Port Huron, Nov. 9