Politics

I would like to join the many voters in Morgan Hill that agree with John McKay’s “Our Town” commentary (from the Sept. 15 edition of the Morgan Hill Times) regarding district elections. Not only is district voting a travesty, but it is an insult to every voter in our city!We do not need to be told how to vote or who to vote for. The fact is, our city council has enjoyed amazing representation of the diversity of Morgan Hill. When we had a choice to vote someone out of council and vote for a new candidate, we did. This district voting scheme is just that: another way for losing candidates to force themselves on the voting public!Look at what has happened at the Morgan Hill Unified School District! In the last election, we had one district with only one candidate, because other very qualified candidates lived outside that district.District elections narrow our choices and may very well force the voters to send an unqualified candidate to office.On the MHUSD board, we have a split board that rarely, if ever agrees with one another, and we have a board member that we know very little about that ran unopposed from her district. We, in Morgan Hill, deserve better than this on our school board and at city council!Please don’t insult our intelligence with district elections and term limits. Let the voters decide who is best qualified and aligns with our values in order to address the complicated issues we face.This insult is being forced upon us because of a few losers that ran and did not win want an advantage to their losing cause.A threat of a lawsuit is a challenge, not a reason to roll over and give these losers an advantage. Shame on us!Ever Onward,Swanee EdwardsMorgan Hill

State Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, and state Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Bakersfield, introduced legislation to create a tax credit for agricultural employers to help cover the cost of paying overtime wages to farmworkers.   Senate Bill 921, co-sponsored by the California Farm Bureau and the California Association...

Although a near-record 81.5% of eligible Californians were registered to vote as of May 23 — the highest percentage heading into a gubernatorial primary election in 68 years — just 14% of them had returned their ballot as of June 6, according to a...

With more than two weeks left to go for the official nomination period for candidates for local offices in the Nov. 5 general election, the list of potentially interested names on the ballot is growing.  As of July 23, local business owner and former planning...

Incumbent Alex Kennett is well ahead in the vote count for his reelection bid to the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority District 1 Director’s seat.

A Morgan Hill resident has publicly accused a city council member of verbally accosting him at a recent public event, although perceptions of the incident differ among those who were involved or witnessed it.  During public comment at the June 15 Morgan Hill City Council...

In Santa Clara County Supervisor District 1, San Jose Councilmember Sylvia Arenas led on Election Day, and never looked back. On the eighth day of ballot counting, Arenas cemented her victory, roaring to a more than 9,000-vote lead over former council member Johnny Khamis, with...

With only a single candidate qualifying for each of Morgan Hill’s mayor and city treasurer races on the Nov. 3 ballot, the city council this week will consider appointing Rich Constantine and Caitlin Robinett Jachimowicz, respectively, to the posts.

The Nov. 5 general election ballot features two candidates for Morgan Hill Mayor: incumbent Mark Turner and District B City Council member Yvonne Martinez Beltran.  Turner is running for his second term as the city’s mayor. Martinez Beltran is serving her second term on the...

Results tabulated so far in two of four races for Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Trustees’ seats show clear preferences for board newcomer Terri Eves Knudsen and incumbent John Horner.  The other two races are too close to call with uncounted votes still...