EDITOR: The state Senate District in which Morgan Hill is
located is a long narrow one, running roughly from South San Jose
to San Luis Obispo west of the 101
– a coastal district. I am writing to encourage all Morgan Hill
voters to consider casting their ballot for Peg Pinard, the
Democratic candidate for this seat in the Legislature.
EDITOR:
The state Senate District in which Morgan Hill is located is a long narrow one, running roughly from South San Jose to San Luis Obispo west of the 101 – a coastal district. I am writing to encourage all Morgan Hill voters to consider casting their ballot for Peg Pinard, the Democratic candidate for this seat in the Legislature. In the 30 years that I have been interested in local politics, I have never seen a candidate for state office so well suited to protect and advance the local quality of life, which I believe is a foremost concern for virtually every resident of Morgan Hill. She is the best candidate for our town. We should not miss this very rare opportunity.
Peg’s personal history offers proof of my belief. She co-founded the Old Town Neighborhood Association to help preserve the old historic neighborhoods of San Luis Obispo. She was thereafter elected to the City Council and as mayor. When she ran for the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors she won by nearly 70 percent of the vote. She has never lost an election.
Under her leadership, the communities of Avila Beach and Guadalupe were cleaned up from massive contamination left by Unocal. She believes that an often-overlooked environmental issue is the need for contiguous open space areas for wildlife habitat, and that too often “open space” is seen as an amenity for development and is isolated or enveloped by buildings. She has consistently advocated providing real habitat set-asides because wildlife needs corridors to be able to roam and travel to other food sources.
But Peg’s strength and perspective not just single-focus but broad and balanced. She grew up in San Jose, went to local schools, and graduated with honors from Santa Clara University. She worked her way through college as a bookkeeper, Postal Service Employee and waitress. Peg was the first one in her family to go to college.
She served in the Peace Corps as a math teacher and afterward taught migrant farm workers in San Luis Obispo. She started her own small business, dealing with issues of insurance, taxes and payroll. She understands the needs of small business owners.
There is a good deal more I could cite in Peg’s favor, but I am out of space. I hope you will watch her campaign and join me in voting for her in the March primary and November general election.
Bruce Tichinin, Morgan Hill
