Madueño, Marks offer voters best choices for Assembly

Unless they’re wearing a monarch’s crown, no one makes laws alone. To get things done, elected officials must be willing to listen, learn and cooperate. A really good politician has “people skills” to help them explain, persuade and, when necessary, compromise.

We see such skills in Virginia Madueño, the former mayor of Riverbank. She gets our recommendation to replace termed-out Kristin Olsen in Assembly District 12.

Five capable people are running for the seat, with the top two advancing from the June 7 election to a November runoff. With Madueño, we hope Cindy Marks will be the other.

Also a coalition builder, Marks’ service on the Modesto City Schools board – where she dealt with an often angry public, budget issues, unions and students – gives her a wide range of experience. A race between Marks and Madueño would give voters a choice between a principled Republican and a pragmatic Democrat.

Replacing Olsen won’t be easy. In six years, she rose to prominence in the Republican Party while simultaneously ignoring party labels. She stood with fellow Republican Anthony Cannella and Democrats Adam Gray and Cathleen Galgiani to form the unofficial Valley Caucus. Their work on predatory lawsuits, water infrastructure, negative bailout and better rail connections to the Valley demonstrated what cooperation can accomplish. Such cooperation must continue unabated.

District 12 stretches from northernmost San Joaquin County to southernmost Stanislaus. The Tuolumne, Stanislaus and San Joaquin rivers run through the district and to the Delta. Its residents are pure Valley – Lodi winemakers, Manteca commuters, Turlock professors and farmers from Escalon, Ripon, Riverbank and Oakdale. It’s such a huge district that those who live in it sometimes have wildly varying interests that can collide. Being able to find a solution amid competing agendas is a necessity.

Madueño is backed by a broad coalition of conservatives, liberals, mayors, city council members, business leaders, farmers, doctors, lawyers, etc. She’s raised roughly $95,000, which puts her in third place on the money list behind two of the three Republicans. In a district that skews Republican (41 to 34 percent registration advantage), it’s an uphill battle.

Waiting at the top of that hill is former San Joaquin County Supervisor Ken Vogel. A former school administrator, Vogel has raised at least $165,000 from farmers, builders and varied business interests. His knowledge of water politics is formidable; he deplores Gov. Jerry Brown’s “California WaterFix” plan to siphon the Sacramento River away from the Delta, saying “it just fixes us.” He’s right.

But during the forum with The Bee’s editorial board, we were caught off guard by his strong feelings on immigration. Vogel wouldn’t build a wall, but his insistence on securing the border – a federal responsibility – raises concerns.

Heath Flora, a firefighting farmer, emphasizes his desire for public service. But he’s openly disdainful of the very thing he aspires to become with campaign literature proclaiming, “Heath Flora isn’t a politician and never has been.” Why is he so intent on becoming what he dislikes? Flora has raised $110,000 from public safety unions and ag groups and got a sizable gift from Cannella. We believe Flora would benefit from serving on a smaller elected body such as a school or water district board before taking on the Assembly.

Harinder Grewal is making his second run, and we liked his emphasis on education, water and ag as our region’s backbone. We were moved by his gratitude for the opportunities he has been given since becoming an American. Anyone seeking an alternative to Madueño should hear him out.

Between them, Grewal and Marks haven’t raised $100,000 – putting them at a distinct disadvantage.

Winning public office shouldn’t be about money or endorsements. It must be about building relationships and getting things done. Madueño is best positioned to do that job.

This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Madueño, Marks offer voters best choices for Assembly."