And to the voting public of Napa County; There are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you vote for district attorney in the June 6 election.

1) Why has the Napa Register taken such an extreme bias in favor of endorsing the incumbent DA? (Blatantly, I might add.) And just who are the persons who comprise the "editorial staff" that are endorsing him? Newcomers to Napa who have no real knowledge or understanding of the dynamics or history of the individuals they are endorsing? The new publisher, who is a member of the same Rotary Club as the incumbent?

2) Why has the Napa Register failed to disclose the fact that upon moving to Napa, the editor, Bill Kisliuk's wife, an attorney whose name is Elisabeth Frater, was immediately hired by the district attorney's office as a deputy DA when other lawyers have waited in line for years to be hired? ( She worked there for a year before going into practice with Chuck Gravett, listed under "bankruptcy lawyers" in the yellow pages.)

3) Why has the Napa Register failed to print a front page interview with Jeff Hammond as they have for the incumbent and the other contender, Steve Flinn? (Indeed, Mr. Hammond has not even been contacted for an interview by the Register.)

4) Why are so many of the DA's staff intimidated by disclosing the truth to the members of the Grand Jury about the recurrent themes of low morale and the unavailability of the incumbent? (Refer to the Grand Jury Report of March 2001 in the Napa Register about the DA's office. Same problems, different date.)

5) Why did Steve Flinn decide at the last minute to run for DA after stating publicly that he would not run and endorsing Jeff Hammond for DA, including contributing to Hammond's campaign fund? And where did the $52,000 come from that Flinn loaned himself at the zero hour? (Everyone knows that Flinn doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning, just like the last time he ran, but it certainly will take votes away from Hammond.)

6) Why has the Napa Register failed to cover the lawsuit filed against the incumbent DA by Christina Cunningham, a disabled woman who has a 27-year history of public service with a volunteer agency, for wrongful termination and emotional distress? (See the front page of the Napa Sentinel dated Friday, May 26, 2006, and public information at the Napa Superior Court. The Register is usually all over news like that.)

7) Why were other female attorneys (one of them also disabled), fired with no warning whatsoever, a day or so before their probationary status was to be completed? (If there was good cause for the firings, these women were never advised of it. It was just shock, out of the blue, by the incumbent DA.)

8) Why are all of the Napa Valley newspapers, other than the Sentinel, endorsing the incumbent? (And all of these papers are under the direct control of the editor, Bill Kisliuk, and the publisher, Brenda Speth. Refer back to items 1, 2, and 6 above.)

9) Why has the incumbent DA misrepresented claims of endorsements by several prominent public figures who have stated that they did not, in fact, endorse him?

10) Why is the incumbent so unavailable to his staff that he is rarely even in the building and that his own deputies have to make an appointment with his secretary to be able to speak with him? (Again, a recurrent theme with the Grand Jury reports.)

It could appear that the incumbent has spent most of his past two terms as DA schmoozing with the Napa Valley high-rollers, which would explain how he has so much money to finance his attempted re-election. Two terms is enough. Napa County needs a new district attorney who truly has some integrity.

Me, I'm voting for Jeff Hammond.

(Ramey lives in Napa.)