Rep. Eshoo responds to reader who pointed out overflowing mail boxes

Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, is pressuring the U.S. Postal Service to pick up the mail more frequently at Palo Alto’s Hamilton Avenue Post Office after reading this letter in Wednesday’s Daily Post:

Overflowing mail boxes

Dear Editor: On Monday at about 9 p.m. I rode my bike to the Hamilton Avenue Post Office to mail a birthday card. There were three outdoor boxes there that were overflowing with mail. I could have pulled out dozens of envelopes, packages, as they were sticking out of the boxes. I decided to go back Tuesday morning, and at 10:30 a.m. these boxes were still overflowing. I called three different phone numbers for the Palo Alto Post Office and none answered. I wrote County Supervisor Joe Simitian and Rep. Anna Eshoo.

If there were ballots among this mail, they could easily have been removed. If folks mailed their ballots out from this location, please check to make sure that they are received by the voter registrar.

Roberta Ahlquist
Palo Alto

On Wednesday, the Post received this reply from Rep. Eshoo:

Eshoo takes action

Dear Editor: My thanks to Dr. Roberta Ahlquist for reporting the overflowing mail in the collection boxes at the Hamilton Avenue Post Office in Palo Alto. No one answering the phone when she called the post office to report the situation is unacceptable, as is the overflow of mail. Dr. Ahlquist was performing a great service to the community.

I’ve directed my staff to check the bins daily, and as of noon yesterday, they were empty. I’ve also written to the San Francisco USPS District Director, the regional office in charge of Palo Alto, to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

Bravo to Dr. Ahlquist for her vigilance on behalf of all of us.

Anna G. Eshoo
Member of Congress
Palo Alto

Eshoo’s office provided a copy of the letter she sent to the San Francisco USPS District Director.