November 10, 1998 Port plan   There are lies, damn lies and "creative" lies. The lies in the Naval Station Reuse Plan (Letters, Nov. 1) illustrate how this new, improved form of lies cheats taxpayers. James Hankla's creative renaming public funds something other than tax dollars explains why taxpayers are now paying close to half their income in some form of taxes. The port's plan subsidizes a means to increase our national trade deficit. The handful of public officials who are heavily funded by those who will profit from this reuse are neither a majority nor representative government. Lies that result in the misuse of drydocks that could be used for shipbuilding and historic buildings that could attract tourists cheat the public of the best use of tax funded resources. Colette Marie McLaughlin Long Beach   City Manager   City manager James Hankla shows remarkable foresight and judgment at times, most recently when he announced his decision to retire. Assertions he made in his reply to attorney Richard Fine's Oct. 25 letter were astonishing. Namely, claiming the citizens had been allowed fair participation in the decision-making process regarding the future of the Long Beach Naval Base. I attended several of the public meetings Hankla referred to, taped and transcribed them verbatim. The June 16 council meeting was especially interesting, because one of the plaintiffs in the Naval Station case, Ann Cantrell, was denied legal representation before the council. Yes, the Long Beach City Council voted unanimously to approve decisions of their committees, but they overruled the wishes of their constituents and utterly ignored democratic principles. Diane Rush President Queen Mary Foundation