Dear Editor, An anonymous trickster, with enough money to hire a
Sacramento marketing firm to blanket Morgan Hill with a political
postcard, has done real damage. And not to its intended victim,
Mayor Steve Tate. Someone has punctured Morgan Hill’s hard-earned
culture of political civility and discourse.
Anonymous mailer dents city’s political civility and discourse
Dear Editor,
An anonymous trickster, with enough money to hire a Sacramento marketing firm to blanket Morgan Hill with a political postcard, has done real damage. And not to its intended victim, Mayor Steve Tate.
Someone has punctured Morgan Hill’s hard-earned culture of political civility and discourse.
As a part of this small town’s culture, candidates are uncommonly respectful of one another, even while presenting radically different perspectives. In the distant past, the town learned the hard way that dirty tricks and bad behavior do not bring leaders together to make collaborative decisions.
The anonymous mailer asks several questions of Steve Tate, all of which can and should be addressed in open forums. It is the sheer creepiness of the anonymity and its lack of accountability that makes it deeply troubling. While the mailer is technically legal, so is the shouting, distortion, disdain and other political tactics that have generally gone unrewarded by the local citizenry.
It is curious that the sender chose to hide behind the cloak of a so-called “Safe and Clean Schools Coalition” to ask questions that could be fielded from any audience. This is a small town, and somebody knows who was behind it. It would be a good thing if the identity of the shadow were revealed. The town deserves to know who is both afraid of being accountable, and is underhandedly trying to change their community ethic.
Sherry Hemingway, Morgan Hill
Vote for the candidate who has been here and helped
Dear Editor,
Jerry McNerney deserves to be re-elected to Congress for a third term.
Jerry has been here for us in Morgan Hill. He is here often when compared to Richard Pombo, and the latest GOP candidate for that office. Many of you don’t even know the name of the carpetbagger running against Jerry. On recent mailers, Jerry’s opponent has a list of NO’s next to his name; no healthcare, etc. Well I wish to add to the No’s next to his name: NO experience and a NO show in Morgan Hill, and let’s not forget, NO plan for getting us back to work!
This GOP candidate has moved three times to different districts to run against Democrats, and he has had NO success. Jerry has helped get the ball rolling on the Llagas Creek Flooding Issue, has talked to us about healthcare and listened to us voice our concerns. Jerry has put action behind his words to take care of our veterans and their traumatic brain injuries. Jerry understands the district because he has gone to every corner of it and listened to farmers, vets, and all of us with concerns about water, jobs and healthcare. As the only member of Congress with the background in green jobs and the degree to prove it, Jerry is exactly what this district needs to lead us forward to green jobs and a cleaner environment.
I would think long and hard about voting for a man without an original thought in his brain. I would think long and hard about voting for a man that has not “bothered” to come to Morgan Hill to talk to and listen to us. I would think long and hard about voting for a man that moves to three different districts to run for office. I would add here another NO vote: Vote NO to Harmer, a career politician in every sense of the word, Vote NO to inexperience and the obvious snub to Morgan Hill.
I voted for Jerry and so did my Republican husband! Vote YES for Jerry and our future and vote NO for Harmer and his district hopping!
Swanee Edwards, Morgan Hill
A request to the candidates in the upcoming Morgan Hill election
Dear Editor,
The dirt dump on the southeast corner of Cochrane Road and U.S. 101 is blight and should be removed.
Back in 2006, before the new Target shopping center was developed, the property on the southeast corner looked like any normal farmer’s field in Morgan Hill.
Then someone dumped all that ugly gray dirt there.
This was done without any public input at all.
I find this dump surprising. I still remember all the discussion back in 2003, when In-N-Out wanted to build on the northwest corner of Cochrane Road and U.S. 101. Wow, what a controversy that was. The articles are still viewable in the online archives of the Morgan Hill Times.
The In-N-Out controversy was the first time I heard the terms ‘Gateway Property’ and ‘Gateway-to-the-City.’ For people not familiar with these terms, you can Google to find the ‘Morgan Hill Architectural Review Handbook’ and read what it had to say about ‘Gateway Properties.’ Reading the handbook, it is obvious that the city feels a good looking gateway is important. That’s why a four-year-old dirt dump seems so out of character on one of Morgan Hill’s most visible gateway properties.
This isn’t NIMBY, this is our city’s front yard.
I hope the candidates that win the election this November do something about this blight.
David Bengel, Morgan Hill
Another throwing support behind Mayor Steve Tate
Dear Editor,
Imagine my surprise when I read an editorial from Kathy Sullivan (not the School Board Kathy Sullivan) supporting Steve Tate for Mayor. Since I am the Kathy Sullivan of the School Board and I do wholeheartedly support Steve Tate for Mayor, I thought I would make it unanimous. I make it a practice never to disagree with Kathy when she is right, which is more often than not.
So if you want to make two Kathys happy and do the town a great service, vote for Steve Tate Nov. 2.
Kathy Sullivan, Morgan Hill
Is the water district’s agenda this time around to get more money?
Dear Editor,
Flood fears. I’m not buying it. This is just another water district move to milk the taxpayers in Santa Clara County for more money. Cost of repairs to the Anderson Dam: $100 million. They must think our pockets are deep and our heads empty. I’d like to see at least six different independent surveys done on the dam. See what the real threat to the folks down in the flat land is so that the dam isn’t unnecessarily drained like it was in 1987. How much did we get milked for that time and who really pays the cost? I’ve owned my home in Holiday Lake Estates for over 27 years. I was here when the water district was in cahoots with the parks and recreation department to get the owner of the Holiday Marina out of business. That was their agenda back then when they “fixed the dam.” What is the agenda now? Money?
Diana Guido, Morgan Hill
It’s time for a change at City Hall; elect Art College for mayor
Dear Editor,
During a recent candidate forum a member of the public asked how much the downtown development was going to cost. Neither of the two incumbent candidates, (Mayor Steve Tate and council person Marby Lee), for the mayoral position could answer the question. The lack of understanding the size and scope of the impact to Morgan Hill is concerning.
Since 1981, the RDA has spent a rather large amount of money. The original RDA created in 1981 was for $100 million, later increased to $198 million and the extension approved in 2006 added $330 million. The original plan promised to fix the downtown flooding – today we are no closer to a fix than we were in 1981. The city leaders promised to build recreational facilities that would break even. Today they continue to lose money and there seems to be an acceptance of this fact since we are losing less than other cities that have built recreational facilities.
For too long, city leaders have over promised and under delivered.
The RDA has sold bonds for the downtown projects and they report they have spent $40 million in the downtown. What are we getting for $40 million? The inability of our leaders to answer a simple question earns them a “no confidence” vote.
The city needs to detach itself from the downtown developer and not put our local tax dollars at risk.
The idea of giving it away is entrenched in the incumbents. that’s why we need a change in leadership at City Hall. Elect Art College for mayor.
Cesar Arellano, Morgan Hill
