We challenge those unhappy or wanting change in the school and
city government communities to step forward and run for office
The filing period for the November election started eight days ago and yet only one candidate has filed the required paperwork to run for a Morgan Hill City Council seat. Three seats are up for grabs. In the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Education races, no candidate has yet completed his or her candidacy papers for the four seats available.
Why the lack of paperwork filed by the six candidates who can run for either a school board or city council seat?
Morgan Hill stands to lose by uncontested races in the November election. It could be appalling. The lack of candidates will mean no competition for those running. No competition translates to a lack of debate about the issues that need to be addressed in the elective offices up for grabs.
Only Councilman Steve Tate has shown enough courage to seek the mayor’s office. Who else will run for mayor in our city? Who will challenge Tate? There are so many qualified individuals who love this community that we hope one or more will come forward and give residents a reason to care about the campaign this fall.
So many residents out there are frustrated with city government and the condition of public education. Surely one of them will want to run to correct one of those issues and maybe tackle some more, at least, for one term in office.
Who will challenge Greg Sellers in his run for re-election? Sellers is an admirable councilman. He’s likable, smart, hard working and ethical, but someone out there could make the race for this open city council seat more interesting by just reviewing his record and citing areas where the councilman can improve on.
Who will stand up to Alex Kennett, who is running for Tate’s vacated council seat? Kennett is a dedicated community activist whose love for Morgan Hill is obvious from his many hours of service during the Independence Day festivities, but only a challenger can make him better define his campaign platform and explain to local voters why he’s seeking office.
Who will challenge the four school trustees to tell voters what they plan to do during the next four years?
The reward for seeking office is not just in the pleasure of service, but in learning about the issues facing the city. While the hours will be long and the compensation small, the benefits will also come from leading one of the most dynamic small cities in the South Bay.
How about an ethnic minority? Better yet, what about a female candidate to challenge Sellers and Tate? This town is full of beautiful smart women. We hope one of them will have the courage to run. The current five-man, all-Caucasian council can change.
We challenge those unhappy or wanting change in the school and city government communities to step forward and run for office. We also encourage churches, clubs, charitable organizations and the local Democratic and Republican clubs to begin grooming candidates who can advocate for the issues they care about. Having uncontested races this fall will mean those agencies in our community truly don’t know that getting one of their own elected could help further their cause.
