Voters’ choices are clear in two Stanislaus supervisor races

To solve leadership crises, there comes a time when the best thing a governing body can do is clean house and start over. For the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, this is not one of those times.

People throughout the county would be best served by retaining Supervisors Terry Withrow and Mani Grewal in the June 7 election.

The incumbents both serve leadership roles in the success that the county has enjoyed over many years running. Their opponents — Tony Madrigal is challenging Withrow, and Joel DeGraef is running against Grewal — cannot find many meltdowns to blame on these two supervisors.

Quite the contrary. Working with fellow Supervisors Vito Chiesa, Buck Condit and Channce Condit, Withrow and Grewal are keeping the county mostly on an even keel, despite some mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. On balance, county government remains the area’s gold standard for effective and efficient public service.

Withrow has represented District 3 — including Salida, Wood Colony and parts of northwest and west Modesto — for 12 years, and seeks a third term. He survived a scare from Madrigal four years ago; when election officers finished counting more than 25,000 votes, Madrigal had only 129 less.

The current rematch makes logical sense for Madrigal, a Modesto city councilman who must leave that job this year because of term limits. Some of the area he now represents is in the county district he seeks. And many of his constituents are pleased with his city representation.

Withrow brings more to the table in terms of experience, partnerships and results.

Withrow has a heart

When state leaders mandated groundwater regulation, Withrow helped bring upset stakeholders to the table to figure out a plan. When state leaders threatened to take river water from farmers, Withrow helped mount a formidable defense. When homelessness increased, Withrow championed housing options including shelters — overcoming a heartless minority on his own board.

In a recent debate before the editorial board of The Modesto Bee, Withrow — a certified public accountant in downtown Modesto — noted the county’s favorable fiscal position. “We’re actually stronger than ever before in the history of Stanislaus County,” he said, “and I like to think I had something to do with that.”

Withrow deserves blame for his role in some regrettable pandemic stunts, including a vote to turn the other way should businesses ignore public safety protocol even as the coronavirus swept through the county. He also pushed for a vote assuring schools of no enforcement if they should choose to reopen early in violation of state rules. The idea was so bad that even curmudgeonly conservative Jim DeMartini (who left the board two years ago) could not support it, partly because Stanislaus stood to lose $33 million in state funding. And Withrow’s refusal to mask up in board meetings was pitiful.

Withrow’s record on social causes, however, suggests someone with a heart. Withrow deserves credit for pushing Focus on Prevention, an initiative addressing the many root causes of social dysfunction and not just symptoms.

A few weeks ago, representatives from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office paid Withrow a visit — and learned that he’s intrigued by CARE Court, the governor’s proposal to help mentally ill offenders. Shortly after, Withrow was one of two supervisors from California’s 58 counties invited to join Newsom and some legislators in a roundtable discussion, followed by a Senate committee embracing CARE Court legislation.

“As much as we see the world differently, I’m his best friend forever if he can get me what we’re missing to really help solve our county’s homeless issues,” Withrow told the editorial board.

When a dyed-in-the-wool conservative talks like that about a progressive, you know you’ve got a leader who deserves support. The four other Stanislaus supervisors — two of whom belong to the same political party as Madrigal, although this is a nonpartisan office — all endorse Withrow and not Madrigal. That speaks volumes.

Lastly, differences between Withrow and the newspaper have never stopped him from taking calls and answering hard questions. The same is not true for Madrigal. Accountability is a must for true public servants, and Withrow gets points for courage.

Grewal serving Stanislaus well

Endorsing Grewal is a simple matter, because his opponent did not respond to multiple invitations for The Bee forum and by policy is not eligible to receive a recommendation. Again, accountability is not negotiable.

Newsom appointed Grewal in late 2020 to fill a Stanislaus board vacancy created by the death of then-Supervisor Tom Berryhill. This is Grewal’s first county election for District 4, which takes in Del Rio and central Modesto. He previously served well on the Modesto City Council, and is meeting high expectations on the county board.

Like Withrow, Grewal grew up and does business here in Stanislaus County, including commercial development. The Bee’s interview with Grewal can be viewed at modbee.com/opinion/, along with the Withrow-Madrigal debate and others featuring candidates for Congress and for California Senate and Assembly. The site also features The Bee’s endorsements in each race.

This county recommendation could be very different under other circumstances. The truth is that Stanislaus government runs reasonably well because of leaders like Terry Withrow and Mani Grewal, and they have The Bee’s support.