Consider the source
In all of the rhetoric of campaign season, one has to sort through a lot of orotundity to find truth and reason. As for the Morgan Hill mayor’s race, I have listened to and read a plethora of comments online, in the newspaper, in coffee shops and around town. It’s good to have a robust discussion about political views and people have the right to voice their opinions whether others agree with them or not.
When I listen to or read comments from individuals who pontificate about a candidate or candidates, I usually try to figure out what angle the person who is pontificating is coming from. What credibility do they have? Are they just simply biased toward one candidate or another, which is completely fine.
I recently read comments made by Ann Horner in the Oct. 4 edition of the Morgan Hill Times. To me, her comments are clearly biased toward a group of candidates who she philosophically aligns with.
Again, perfectly fine; however, I have to look at the credibility factor of she who penned that article. If I’m not mistaken, and I’m not, Ann Horner, posted social media comments just a few short years ago as to how those marching against the police could act in aggressive ways, avoid detection and throw smoke canisters at the police.
While Ann may philosophically align with the group of candidates she has endorsed, I hope they don’t philosophically align with her. It’s just my opinion, but Ann Horner is not the voice of reason when it comes to my choice for mayor or other candidates.
David Lynch
Morgan Hill
Leave politics out of local election
I can’t help but to take exception to Ann Horner’s letter to the editor in the Oct. 4 edition of the Morgan Hill Times. The attempt to categorize people into two extreme camps highlights the divisiveness of the very candidate they support for mayor.
The Horners seem to believe that one must vote for the most unprofessional, uninformed and unprepared candidate for mayor in order to prove true allegiance to the Democrat party.
If that’s the approach one chooses to take at the national level, so be it. But at the local level, we need a mayor who takes the time to understand the community, not one who simply claims they were born here.
We need a mayor who takes action and gets things done, not one who just talks about getting things done. We need a mayor who brings people of all stripes together to find solutions, not one who divides us at every turn.
Speaking as a Democrat, I don’t care what political party our local elected officials belong to, so long as they put party politics aside and work on behalf of our community’s best interests.
In my observations of our current mayor, Mark Turner, I have not seen anything that remotely represents partisan party politics. I see a mayor who is actively engaged in every aspect of the community, who is well informed of the issues, who is polite, compassionate and highly professional.
The other candidate, Yvonne Martinez Beltran, proudly boasts of the Horners’ endorsement. Some of the most mean spirited, divisive comments I’ve read online and now in the newspaper seem to be coming from those who support Martinez Beltran.
I for one will no longer remain silent when comments, similar to that of Ann Horner’s, attempt to divide the community simply because most of us want a qualified individual for our mayor.
Swanee Edwards
Morgan Hill
Well said, David and Swanee. As a progressive myself, I cringe when anyone attempts to divide and “other” an entire group.
David Lynch, you ARE gravely mistaken by inferring that I was advocating for actions against the police. I WAS NOT. At a time when people were driving cars into BLM protesters in other cities in our nation and when many of us were marching peacefully in Morgan Hill, I re-posted information about people taking extreme actions.. I never advocated for or said that any of us should take such actions. When I saw people like you spinning the conversation as though that is what I was advocating for, I made it clear that I was not and stated that I was glad to live in a community where we were able to have peaceful protests with the cooperation of our local police which I did then and do now appreciate. Don’t twist my words or my intentions! I reiterate I do NOT and NEVER have advocated for violence against the police anywhere and I also do NOT and WILL NEVER advocate for violence against any citizens. HEAR MY WORDS! One thing I love about our country is that we have opted for being civilized under the rule of law. I have always been and still advocate for non-violent actions and solutions to solving problems because if history as taught us anything, it is that violence and killing don’t work!
Swanee,
Unfortunately, local elections *are* politics. That’s part of the definition of what an election is. By “politics” do you really mean “divisiveness?” Local elections (and yes, local “politics”) are where people of every stripe feel the most impact of policies and legislation; indeed these are decisions that affect the community we all directly live in. If someone supports Donald Trump or if they support Kamala Harris for president of the country, that gives a pretty big clue as to where their own values are at. This isn’t a sport, where someone’s choice in team they root for is, at the end of the day, a lighthearted decision and all in good fun. Someone’s opinion on national policies will and does affect how they would like to enact policies and legislation on a local level. If someone wants to elect Donald Trump, there is a very good chance they also have strong feelings negative feelings toward immigration, LGBT rights, gun safety, etc. These are issues that affect your neighbors, on a local level first and foremost. As an example, Mayor Mark Turner has asked the downtown restaurant Chacho’s to shield their drag shows from public view and floated introducing legislation that would ban drag in public in Morgan Hill. This is one way to prove he is in line with his national party on an anti-LGBT agenda. This very directly affects LGBT people here in town.
I believe Ann was simply providing transparency. If someone supports the policies of Donald Trump, they should at the very least have the decency to own up to it. That allows voters to make the most informed possible decision; the real core of how democracy in this country can be an effective system.