To help win water war, elect Ken Vogel to the Assembly
When the State Water Board sent its top legal beagle to tell the board of supervisors and more than 300 Stanislaus residents its plans to take twice as much water out of our region as it does now, both 12th Assembly District candidates were in the audience.
But only Ken Vogel got up to speak. He spoke forcefully of building a large coalition to fight the state’s water grab, getting those who live near the Delta and those who live along the San Joaquin River’s tributaries to make common cause against a common enemy – the state. “It’s not a local issue,” he said, “it’s a regional issue. We need to join together.”
That rallying cry should resonate throughout the 12th District just as it did with us. The Bee recommends sending the Linden walnut farmer and former San Joaquin County supervisor to fill the Assembly seat left vacant by Kristin Olsen.
“No matter what (the state) says about salmon, it’s actually about backfill for the Delta,” Vogel told The Bee’s editorial board of the state’s demands for more water from the Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers. And that’s only the start. He pointed out that “buried in that flow proposal,” is the state’s plan “to change the water rights throughout the entire state.”
His plan? “The legislature set up that board, so it should be able to change the powers of that board.”
Heath Flora, in his first run for any elective office, moved from Modesto to Ripon last year. He shares many of Vogel’s concerns and solutions, also wanting to “unite Stanislaus farmers and delta farmers” – both of whom live in the district. But any solution to this water grab will involve every resident of every city in Stanislaus, Merced and south San Joaquin counties and all those living in the 28 Bay Area cities that rely on Tuolumne River water.
Both candidates are Republicans and strong conservatives (despite what their fliers might say). Both are deeply tied to the farming industry (despite the fliers). We don’t consider Vogel a career politician who would cheat taxpayers (despite Flora’s fliers) and we don’t consider Flora a tool of unions (despite Vogel’s fliers). Both have plenty of campaign funds. All considered, money spent on this race will exceed $1.2 million.
Flora and his team have knocked on 22,000 doors in the district and Vogel has appeared before every board, club and organization that will let him through the door.
These two emerged from a primary field of five that eliminated the only two Democrats. Flora got roughly 23 percent of the vote in each county, while Vogel got 20 percent in Stanislaus and 35 percent in San Joaquin. This race could come down to who the district’s Democrats – with no candidate to call their own – find preferable.
Stanislaus, meanwhile, has roughly two thirds of all eligible voters, perhaps giving Stanislaus native Flora a slight edge. Perhaps not.
Vogel has been campaigning in Stanislaus County for at least two years, laying the groundwork for this run by garnering dozens of endorsements – including the entire city councils of Turlock, Manteca, Escalon and Ripon, four the five Stanislaus supervisors and former Assemblyman/farmer Bill Berryhill. Flora counters with firefighters in Modesto and Turlock and the Highway Patrol officers and a smattering of local electeds including Sen. Anthony Cannella.
As his long list of endorsements reflect, Vogel knows the players and the rules of this game. And he has a strategy we appreciate.
“You need to build bridges,” said Vogel, “not just across the aisle, but across the regions.”
If we’re going to win the war for our water, we’re going to need someone who will do just that. Ken Vogel is the most qualified to represent the 12th Assembly District.
This story was originally published November 5, 2016 at 1:49 PM with the headline "To help win water war, elect Ken Vogel to the Assembly."