Our View: There is integrity in city of Turlock, just too little of it
More than it needs a farmers market; more than it needs tranquility at City Council meetings, or even politicians with the wisdom of Solomon, Turlock needs this: integrity.
Unfortunately, it appears to be in short supply. That was evident at the crowded and contentious City Council meeting this week.
The council tried to wash its hands of the dispute between the community-run farmers market and a well-connected local entrepreneur who seeks to usurp it. During the meeting, Mayor Gary Soiseth implored the parties to work together – knowing such an accommodation between a nonprofit group and a for-profit market manager is impossible. Yet, the council voted 4-1 to urge negotiations.
Eventually, organizers of the 6-year-old, nonprofit Turlock Certified Farmers Market threw up their hands and walked away. So it’s likely the street-closure permit for Saturday mornings will go to Peter Cipponeri, the 24-year-old son-in-law of one of the city’s most prominent businessmen, Matt Swanson.
It was the smart political move. Swanson and other family members have given more than $20,000 to council members, including $14,000 to Soiseth. Such well-placed money can buy a lot of loyalty, just as it can buy a lot of T-shirts for those in the audience.
The interesting thing about loyalty, it can be sold over and over again. It’s a momentary commodity. Loyalty is for rent.
Some say politicians are for rent, too. In fact, the 150-year-old definition of an “honest politician” is “one who stays bought.”
Integrity is different. It has no value to anyone except the person who has it. Once sold, it disappears – like a flash of light. If it’s for sale, it didn’t actually exist.
Councilman Steven Nascimento took a contribution from Swanson, but voted against the proposal urging negotiations. Nascimento is the same councilman who brought a TIN CUP (Time Is Now, Clean Up Politics) ordinance to the council in 2014, which would have required council members who have received substantial contributions to recuse themselves from votes affecting the donor.
It angered several council members that anyone would insinuate that their votes might be for sale.
Taking campaign contributions is a smart political move and good politicians make smart moves. Good politicians stay loyal to their contributors. Integrity sometimes requires politicians to make bad political moves.
When someone comes up with a scheme to usurp a successful community enterprise, enabled through a regulatory loophole, it takes integrity to vote against it.
Only one council member made that stand – Nascimento.
By the time most of these council members come up for re-election, it’s likely the farmers market flap will have faded. People will forget. After all, Cipponeri will likely run a good market. He has experience, ambition and backing; his family has been part of the certified market since its inception.
We’re not certain that such calculations played into the decisions of Soiseth, Amy Bublak, Matthew Jacob and Bill DeHart Jr. We can’t be certain about any of their motives – other than their insistence that “rules were followed” and “better rules are needed” and “these entities should work together,” etc.
But we are certain that one council member acted with integrity. He stood with those who had less power and against those holding most of the cards.
When, or if, he runs again, Nascimento will have one thing to offer voters that has no price: integrity.
That’s something Turlock needs.
This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Our View: There is integrity in city of Turlock, just too little of it."