Modesto rallygoers love what the senator has to say

Gravity had hold of them like it does everyone, but many Bernie Sanders supporters left Modesto Centre Plaza on Thursday afternoon feeling like they were walking on air.

“He’s an inspiration,” said Elizabeth Zaremba, 52, of Modesto. “I’d really, really believe in my future if he is our next president. I’d feel hopeless with any of the other candidates.”

The Vermont senator, who’s seeking the Democratic nomination for the presidency, was dead on when he spoke about the rich getting richer and the American middle class being almost nonexistent, Zaremba said.

Her cousin Mary Timothy, also of Modesto, said Sanders “makes you believe he can change our country.”

What stands out most to her about Sanders, she said, is his support for free higher education and reducing student debt. She’s getting her teaching credential, said Timothy, 23, and she’s roughly $12,000 in debt from earning her bachelor’s degree.

Both women said that should Sanders not win the nomination, they’ll write his name on their ballots in November. “I’ll write him in because I’m not voting for anyone else,” Zaremba said. “And I always vote.”

Jennifer Carlson-Suarez, 56, of Modesto, who was listening to the rally outside over the public-address system, said she agreed with everything Sanders had to say. His position on education reform especially hit home with her. Her daughter carries $35,000 in student debt and is paying 8.5 percent interest, she said. And college took her four years, attending full time, because she couldn’t get into the classes she needed.

The nation is broken, Carlson-Suarez said: The rich buy politicians, and “one person, one vote doesn’t count anymore.” She can’t understand, then, why “the only ones listening (to what Sanders has to say) are the fringe and the kids,” she said.

Should Sanders not win the Democratic nomination, she said, her vote would go to Clinton. Writing in Sanders’ name at that point would be wasting her vote, she said.

Tonya Halvorson, 40, of Modesto said she’s confident Sanders will get the nomination. She said she puts no stock in polls. “They’re calling landlines. Who do you get when you call landlines? Old people,” she said. “Most people under 40 don’t even have landlines. ... There’s going to be a big surprise on Election Day.”

If he doesn’t get on the November ballot, Halvorson said, she will “do what Bernie says” with her vote.

Modesto resident Draco Day, who’ll turn 18 in August, has no vote in Tuesday’s primary election. He hopes he’ll have his chance in November because “lots of things he was talking about were really resonating with me.”

The one thing Sanders supports that Day has some concern about, he said, is raising the minimum wage across the nation to $15 an hour. “What’s to keep prices from just going up?” he said.

Zaremba, too, expressed reservations on that point. “ I don’t particularly agree with his $15 across-the-board minimum wage proposal,” she said, “because if we want businesses to come back to the U.S. and stay in the U.S., that could be an obstacle.”

A third rallygoer also brought up the minimum wage hike as a concern. Taneea Thompson, 25, of Modesto shared Day’s thought that raising the wage will simply result in higher prices for goods and services.

But as a student with debt of about $10,000, Thompson really liked Sanders’ stance on education reform. She found his speech “very invigorating.”

She was pleased to hear him address Native American rights. The senator has said that he supports the right of Native American tribes to self-govern and have sovereign jurisdiction over their lands and that the nation needs to work with American Indians to improve their standard of living.

“Me, as a Native American, I feel I’m finally getting some support, a voice.” Thompson said.

Brothers Jordan and Ian Martin of Modesto felt much the same way. The brothers said they are of Apache heritage and appreciate his support for American Indians.

They were Sanders supporters even before knowing his position, they said.

“Voting for him is the right thing to do,” said Jordan Martin, 25. As an American Indian, he said, the issue he agrees most with Sanders on is the importance of protecting the environment.

Asked if he thinks Sanders’ big ideas like free health care and higher education are realistic, Martin said, “Everything starts with something small. He might not be able to do it in four years,” but if he’s making progress, “then he’d have four more. ... Acorns grow into mighty oaks.”

Added Ian Martin, 32, “This is the first time I’ve ever felt this kind of attraction to a candidate, where I’ve gone to a rally, contributed a few dollars.”

He shared his brother’s – and Sanders’ – support for grand ideas. “It’s about time to start reaching for the stars,” Ian Martin said. “We have to try it, see if we can.”

This story was originally published June 2, 2016 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Modesto rallygoers love what the senator has to say."