Sly: Of candidates, councils and possibilities

By Judy Sly
jsly@modbee.com

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Watching local governments over the years � decades, actually � confirms my belief that leadership dysfunction is like a flu bug. It moves around without apparent reason or fairness.

A few years ago, Turlock city leaders were rather smug abut the can-do, civilized atmosphere at their council meetings, while Modesto�s contentious meetings were referred to as "the best show in town."

Today, Turlock's council suffers from obvious discord while Modesto's seven elected leaders manage to play nice even when they aren't voting unanimously. And, for the record, they have quite a few divided votes.

Modesto Bee - Judy Sly

A few years ago, Hughson had so much turnover in council seats that it was hard to keep the score card up to date.

Now it's Riverbank that can't hold onto a mayor. And some Riverbank citizens have such buyers' remorse that they have a recall effort under way against two council members. It is the only active recall effort in the county at the moment � despite rumors and threats of others.

Finally, a prospective candidate has emerged for District 2 on the Modesto City Council. Alfredo Nava, 35, who recently moved back to Modesto after serving in the U.S. Navy, has filed a notice of intent to run. The formal filing period opens in July. Nava lived in the area from 1990 to 2004, when he graduated from California State University, Stanislaus in political science.

Three of the six council seats are up in the fall. For the first time, members will be elected by geographic area. District 2 covers the south and west neighborhoods whose lack of representation in the past drove the push for district elections.

There has been more far more activity about the 2010 election. As columnist Jeff Jardine reported, Rob Jackson, a Turlock police captain and former Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department employee, has launched a campaign to run against Sheriff Adam Christianson.

Meanwhile, Ceres Mayor Anthony Cannella has filed a notice of intent to run for the Senate seat currently held by Jeff Denham, R-Atwater, who is being termed out and is the most visible Republican candidate for lieutenant governor.

Also without fanfare, two incumbents � county Superintendent of Schools Tom Changnon and County Clerk-Recorder Lee Lundrigan � have filed the early paperwork signaling their intent to seek re-election in 2010.

Sen. John McCain headlined a fund-raising event in Orange County on Saturday for Denham's lieutenant governor campaign. Denham was a dedicated supporter of McCain early on, when many local GOP activists were supporting Rudy Giuliani. Denham later traveled out of state to work for the McCain campaign.

Last week, I heard a scenario so intriguing that it's worth repeating even in the rumor stage: If Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo, is confirmed for the U.S. State Department position to which she was nominated, and if Lt. Gov. John Garamendi is elected to replace Tauscher in the 10th Congressional District, that would leave the lieutenant governor spot open for a year or so, until the next lieutenant governor is elected in November 2010.

So who might Gov. Schwarzenegger appoint to fill a short-term vacancy? No, not Denham, who so much wants the job. Rather, one name that is being circulated is that of Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, who earned the governor's respect and appreciation during the intense budget negotiations early this year. Cogdill lost his minority leadership post, but he�s still got more influence than your average legislator.

Sly, the editor of the Opinions pages, can be reached at jsly@modbee.com or 578-2317.