Coming this fall to a ballot box in Stanislaus County is a rehash of two previously failed sales tax proposals. As in 2006 and 2008, the current proposal would increase the sales tax by a full half percent. The proposal includes allocations for projects that will supposedly benefit everyone: road repairs, increased road capacity, and improved public transportation are all promised. Each time the half percent sales tax has gone […]
Politics
Is Ted Brandvold the New Dick Lang?
In the 1990s, Dick Lang was the Mayor of Modesto. During his tenure, he made a number of unpopular decisions. In 1999, Mr. Lang was voted out of office because citizens were fed up with higher fees and declining city services. Early this year, Modesto Mayor Ted Brandvold won a runoff election. Since assuming office, he has established a pattern of decision making that eerily resembles the regime of former […]
Denham vs Eggman: the Trump Factor
When the “Denham for Congress” signs pop up all over Modesto, it must be election time. Mr. Denham may not accomplish anything in Congress, but he’s great at placing signs in public right-of-ways. With Congress still garnering single digit public approval ratings, Mr. Denham is again facing opposition. Three opponents are listed on the June 2016 ballot—one Republican and two Democrats. None of the opponents has operated a high profile […]
Homeless: Why Work?
Two of the most common claims about people experiencing homelessness are, “They don’t want help,” and, “They don’t want to work.” Both assertions make it easy to dismiss homelessness as a matter of choice, but neither accounts for the stark realities of an unfair economy. When Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation that will increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2022 on April 5, local politicians argued it […]
Farming and the New Politics of Water
Among the biggest surprises of Modesto’s last election, none was more puzzling than the defeat of Measure I, the anti-sprawl initiative designed to protect the region’s prime farmland. Historically, Modesto residents have supported farmland protection by huge margins. Most observers felt Measure I would pass easily, especially since it followed closely on an emotionally-charged revolt against the city’s attempt to include portions of historic Wood Colony in its general plan. […]
Does the Modesto City Council Really Listen?
The greatest honor of my life was the four years I served on the Modesto City Council, from 1999 to 2003. During my term on the council, I vowed I would do my best to put personal prejudices aside and represent the will of the citizens who elected me. As one of my colleagues liked to remind me, I was naïve and idealistic. While I agreed with his assertion, I hoped that […]
New Low for Local Politics
Within 30 minutes of Stanislaus County Supervisor Bill O’Brien announcing that he would not be running for re-election, State Assembly Member Kristin Olsen announced that she would be running for his seat. Obviously, the timing of the announcements was no coincidence. The question is, did these two public officials act in the best interest of the community? Political pundits commonly assert that an incumbent usually has a twenty percentage point […]
Modesto Amgen: Seed Money or Wasted Money?
On February 3rd, a slim majority of the Modesto City Council, led by outgoing Mayor Garrad Marsh, voted to donate $75,000 to the Amgen bicycle tour to pay for an overnight stay of bicycle riders. Was the expenditure a sound investment or a waste of money? We don’t know. Citizens are having a lot of trouble understanding the decision, especially since they were previously told of the need for a […]
Marsh: Still the Choice for Mayor
The decision to include Wood Colony in Modesto’s General Plan haunted Mayor Garrad Marsh the full four years of his first term in office. Marsh’s critics insisted he’d sold out to developers and cried for his scalp. Today, with the defeat of Measures I and G and the rise of Ted Brandvold as the developers’ choice for mayor, Marsh looks like a prophet. He’s said all along that those who […]
California Separatist Movement Growing
For many years, talk has periodically surfaced about splitting California at the Tehachapi Mountains into the states of Northern and a Southern California. The proposal never gained momentum. Now, a new proposal to split California along political lines rather than geographic ones is gaining traction. The new state would be called “Jefferson.” It would be comprised mainly of counties dominated by the Republican Party and libertarians; Democrats would be left […]