Stanislaus and San Joaquin voters should send this man to Congress

Josh Harder’s first term in the U.S. House of Representatives has been marked with action and success, and he has earned another.

Not content to just absorb the bright lights in Washington in his freshman term, the Turlock Democrat quickly went to work and produced results for the Valley that any seasoned veteran would be proud of.

Harder’s record includes legislation guaranteeing that military veterans exposed to Agent Orange will get treatment. He sponsored the first bill in 50 years to set aside federal money for Valley water projects. His legislation to halt the invasion of giant swamp rats awaits the president’s signature.

His pace did not slow when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He has helped secure emergency loans for small businesses, pushed for relief for farmers, and advocated for more virus testing in nursing homes.

Don’t be fooled by his opponent’s attempts to portray Harder, 34, as dependent on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for direction. The truth is that no other Democrat in Congress — none — has cosponsored as many pieces of cooperative legislation in partnership with Republicans.

Speaking of Republicans, many party leaders can’t stomach standing behind Harder’s GOP challenger, Ted Howze, 53, a Turlock veterinarian.

The wheels came off Howze’s campaign in May, when news broke that posts on his social media accounts had insulted Blacks, compared immigrant Dreamers to pedophiles and denigrated Muslims. The state and national GOP soon withdrew support, rebuking the bigoted posts as “disappointing and disturbing.”

Any candidate who loses the faith and confidence of his or her own party during a campaign is in a world of hurt. But Howze’s troubles stretch back many years and include:

• Bullying a girl refereeing a youth soccer game, as well as players and parents, his political opponent said
• Suing that opponent for $12 million for citing the incident in a campaign, and then losing the lawsuit
• Pressuring the San Joaquin County sheriff to ease Howze’s embarrassment when a pedophile was arrested wearing a Howze T-shirt
• Wrongly telling an audience of 500 that Harder’s office had refused to help a 100-year-old veteran and “so many others” before the March primary in The Bee’s Debate at The State, then throwing a campaign volunteer under the bus when later confronted with the lie

Despite initially indicating interest in participating in another debate with Harder before The Bee’s editorial board in September, Howze later refused.

“It shouldn’t come as a shock that somebody who has a record that’s indefensible and doesn’t reflect the values of our community is too embarrassed to show up in front of the voters and talk about what he believes in,” Harder said during the forum, which can be viewed at modbee.com.

With no other alternative on the Nov. 3 ballot, some local Republicans — Modesto Mayor Ted Brandvold, among others — have chosen to pretend to ignore Howze’s toxicity. His campaign signs have multiplied throughout the 10th Congressional District, which includes Stanislaus County and southern San Joaquin County.

Creative campaigning in Stanislaus County

The pandemic restricts usual in-person campaigning, so both candidates have turned to other activities. Harder’s team has handed out tens of thousands of face masks and medical gowns and has worked alongside him at food banks. Howze sponsored bread drives and graffiti cleanups, and calls the effort “Operation Compassion.”

Voters who recognize Howze’s many shortcomings are not likely to be bought with a free loaf of bread.

They will remember that Howze’s political stances would rank him among the most extreme members of Congress. For instance, he indicated opposition to the CARES Act, which saved 70,000 jobs in our area by providing payroll relief early in the coronavirus pandemic. Howze also has talked about upping the retirement age for Social Security to 70.

The 10th Congressional District is a purple district — neither solidly red nor blue, with no overwhelming Republican or Democratic majority. We deserve a representative who lines up closer to the center, not on either end of the political spectrum.

That describes Josh Harder, a successful incumbent who has earned The Modesto Bee’s endorsement.

This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.