This is one of the more important “off year” elections that we have had. The gubernatorial race seems to have already concluded and that may suppress turnout with serious consequences. The following are some good reasons to make sure that you vote.
Ben Gilmore has told you that the Congressional race is a “no brainer.” I will refrain from the obvious retort, but will only point out that a number of prominent conservatives have come to a different conclusions. The respected political magazine, Washington Monthly, has published a series of op-ed pieces under the collective title, “Time for Us to Lose.” Seven leading conservatives including Joe Scarborough, Chris Buckley and William A Niskanen (chief executive of the Cato Institute, a conservative think tank) have come to the conclusion that it would be good for this country if the Republicans lose control of Congress in this election.
This is what Pete McCloskey has been saying since he endorsed Jerry McNerney for Congress. Another voice has been added to that chorus. Joseph Farrah, editor of the conservative World Net Daily and co-author of Congressman Richard Pombo’s one book, has flatly stated that the “Republicans are unfit to govern.” Farrah’s opposition is all the more surprising since Pombo’s longtime political consultant, Wayne Johnson, is on Farrah’s board of directors.
If there is a single reason that the Republicans are unfit to govern, it is their protection of power whatever moral choices they have to make that characterizes the House Republicans. The only way to end this is to get every one of the House Republican leadership out of office, and our task is to remove Pombo.
Morgan Hill residents have demonstrated a just anger about the way that the current gerrymandered legislative districts have taken away the power of community. Morgan Hill went so far as to challenge the 2000 redistricting in court. There is one candidate for secretary of state that has a real, simple and effective plan to solve this problem. That is Forrest Hill, Green Party candidate. The major parties have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. We all know that Bruce McPherson is an honorable man who served us well as a legislator. However, it will take an outsider to make fundamental change and Hill is the right person for that task.
When we consider the obvious connection of big money to politics, the pay to play legislative practice that has become standard in Washington and Sacramento, we must take whatever action we can to solve that problem. The first step would be to pass Proposition 89, the only thing that the California Nurses Association and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ever agreed on. While not perfect, it takes a lot of the power of money out of the electoral process.
Long after his terms as president were over, Jefferson wrote that “I know no safe depositary of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves … ” In California, we have an initiative mechanism that allows the people to take direct action, but that mechanism is just as open to the manipulation by big money interests through their incessant, intentionally misleading advertising. You can be sure that the financial gain someone seeks is directly related to the amount of money they spent getting the issue on the ballot and then attempting to confuse the public.
The other trick that they use is to get something on the ballot and then to hope that it slips through unnoticed. Such is the method that was chosen by mega-developer Howie Rich through the New York-based Fund for Democracy. Rich has sponsored similar legislation in Arizona, Idaho and Montana. One wonders what he plans to gain.
While under the guise of eminent domain reform, this is really about the question of whether a community has the collective right to make decisions about the nature of the community through their general plan, zoning regulation and environmental restrictions. If proposition 90 passes, all of those actions will come with a financial cost. Anything that a developer tries to do which might be blocked by any of these restrictions will have to be litigated in court and some amount of money paid to the developer. With most cities on a tight budget, the result will be that no community will have the money to fight those battles.
We have a similar situation in Santa Clara County with Measure A. This is really a question about whether the people of this county should have a say in the nature of the community that we are building. The opponents of Measure A tell you, “don’t risk Santa Clara County’s future.” What they don’t say is that they are asking you to trust the good nature and civic consciousness of the developers.
If we, the people of Morgan Hill, are to be the safe depository that Jefferson envisioned, we have the responsibility to be involved, to try and understand rather than just react to media manipulation. These are serious decisions we have to make. I am going to vote for McNerney for Congress and Hill for secretary of state. I am going to vote against Proposition 90; for Proposition 89 and Measure A.
“I find I have a great lot to learn – or unlearn. I seem to know far too much and this knowledge obscures the really significant facts, but I am getting on.”
– Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Wes Rolley is an artist and concerned citizen. The Board of Contributors is comprised of local writers whose views appear on Tuesdays and Fridays.
