Our national motto, “e pluribus unum” is Latin for “from many one.” It spoke of the unity of sovereign states into one nation. It also spoke of the melding of many cultures into one American culture. That culture, conceived in the 1600s, and born in 1776, grew to become the most creative, most productive, most benevolent, most liberating and most sustainable culture in human history!
Today, that culture and those it has spawned, are under attack. On every side, we see efforts to divide rather than unify. We must turn from blind, baseless hate and distrust. We must use our God given ability to reason and make decisions, to unify our culture and protect one another’s liberty, else we will be hopelessly divided and fail, piece by piece.
The key to that rests in each of us casting wise, informed votes on Nov. 7. Remember, in the American form of government, power is at the bottom and trickles upward. Look first at your local candidates! You will tend to select the candidate with whom you most identify. Let us encourage one another to raise our standards!
Morgan Hill has an opportunity to make a fresh start with three seats open on the city council. I recommend three newcomers. Longtime resident Dennis Delisle is an outstanding candidate for mayor. It will be a long time before you find a businessman and administrator with the principles and quality of character he brings to the table! Without a working majority to back him up, we will have more of the same endless bickering that has become traditional in our councils. Thus, Delisle needs Chris Borello and Marby Lee to back him up. I have confidence these three councilpersons will be good for our city.
Judge Dolores Carr stepped down from a secure position on the bench to run for Santa Clara County District Attorney because she saw the need for better administration in that office. That says it all! This lady is tough and clear headed. We need her in that office!
Regarding the open Santa Clara Valley Water District seat. Unwise votes in the past have given this board almost unlimited access to your wallet! Candidate Ram Singh has fire in his belly to reform and shrink that bloated bureaucracy and bring it back in line as a service organization. He will be only one voice, but I am sure he will rock the boat and keep the press and public informed!
At this writing I have had no contact with the candidates for the various educational boards. My long standing recommendation – Remove your children from the public education system today! You brought them into this world and you will answer for their character and training. The public system, dominated by a self serving teachers’ union, is using your children as lab rats in endless social experiments that are dumbing them down and fragmenting our culture.
I don’t recall ever seeing so strong a Republican ticket for statewide candidates. Were that not the case, I would predict that Arnold Schwarzenegger would lose his race for re-election as governor. As it is, even without consistent administrative principles, he is by far the lesser of evils.
The downticket is headed by State Senator Tom McClintock, easily the most articulate and principled legislator in Sacramento. He is running for lieutenant governor and will be a major candidate for governor in four years.
Bruce McPherson has been doing a great job as secretary of state and deserves to stay there. Tony Strickland is a McClintock protege and will be an outstanding controller. Remember, the state controller signs all the state checks and has audit authority over each of them!
Claude Parrish for treasurer and Chuck Poochigian for attorney general are familiar faces in Sacramento and are well respected for their straight forward honesty.
Steve Poizner is a silicon valley millionaire running for insurance commissioner, an office I think should be eliminated all together. That said, it was my privilege to grill him on his principles and reason for running. I am satisfied that he will stand up to the pressures that go with that slot and do the citizens of California proud!
The race for congress is a no brainer! Richard Pombo, rancher from Tracy, has done such an outstanding job of standing up to the environmentalists and big spenders, that he has been targeted by the entire Democratic party and the left within the Republican party. One of his great “sins” – He wants to develop America’s bountiful oil reserves and make us independent of offshore oil!
Lastly, one of California’s best and most respected legislators, Dick Mountjoy, has thrown his hat into the ring for U.S. Senate. It is a long shot race against an entrenched incumbent. I will be proud to cast my vote for Mountjoy.
Ben Gilmore is a Morgan Hill businessman. The Board of Contributors is comprised of local writers whose views appear in the newspaper on Tuesdays and Fridays.
