Modesto Bee endorsement: CD 9 deserves this candidate, not another flamethrower

The Ninth Congressional District will be better served in the hands of U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, an experienced Democratic problem solver, than by aggressive Republican Tom Patti, a San Joaquin County supervisor who can’t seem to escape trouble’s shadow.

Verbal fireworks were on display nearly from start to finish of a high-spirited Oct. 13 debate co-hosted by The Modesto Bee and The Record in Stockton, the heart of the Ninth District. Both men repeatedly accused the other of lies and distortions.

Harder, unflappable, maintained his composure throughout. He knew his facts and stuck to the truth.

Patti, who trained with boxing champion Mike Tyson in his youth, was relentlessly bombastic. Small wonder he has been the target of various misconduct investigations, one of which ended with his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors censuring him for violating ethics.

Independent investigators found that Patti had berated staffers and threatened to use his influence to hurt organizations that didn’t see things his way. In two instances, Patti played the wounded victim and filed formal complaints against those who had complained about his bullying, and both times, different probes found his claims unsubstantiated, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Instead of owning responsibility, Patti said Harder was spreading lies “to deflect attention away from your abysmal record.”

Did he mean Harder’s record of writing legislation obtaining health care benefits for 50,000 Vietnam veterans sickened by Agent Orange? That bill was approved by 100% of Republicans and Democrats alike, and was signed by former President Donald Trump shortly before he left office.

Did Patti mean Harder’s record of co-sponsoring more bipartisan legislation — working alongside members of the opposing party — than any other House member in the country?

Harder calmly noted that Patti was on parole for DUI when his campaign started. Patti came back with an accusation that Harder’s wife, who works for an economic development agency in Virginia, “successfully drafted Nestle out of California, and they relocated to Virginia.”

While Harder, again, relied on truth, Patti did not. Pam Harder got her job in 2019 — two years after Nestle left Glendale.

In various campaign antics, Patti has referred to Harder as Gavin Newsom’s cousin and Nancy Pelosi’s nephew. Both are false.

“Is this really the foundation of your campaign?” Harder asked. “The fact that you’re lying about things like that tells voters you’re willing to lie about just about anything to get elected.”

The debate was a true political unicorn, in the words of Don Blount, The Record’s executive editor and a former Bee employee, because it’s the only known event this campaign season bringing Patti and Harder into the same room.

The Ninth Congressional District includes Ripon and Escalon, where Bee readership is strong, and takes in the sparsely populated northeast tip of Stanislaus County. Although Harder has represented all of Stanislaus the past four years, post-census redistricting recently split the county into three congressional districts: the Ninth in the very north; the 13th on the west, where Adam Gray and John Duarte are locked in a similarly close race; and the Fifth, which includes most of Modesto and areas east of Highway 99. The Bee has not endorsed in the Fifth because it’s a noncompetitive race that Rep. Tom McClintock should easily win.

Asked about his many dust-ups, Patti told The Chronicle, “I’m a white Christian heterosexual male. ... I’m the Antichrist to the leftist agenda.” With one quote, Patti managed to alienate a swath of his Democratic-leaning district. That’s some talent.

Congress has had more than its fill of flamethrowers. With control of the House of Representatives hanging in the balance, the Nov. 8 election is no time to send one more to Washington, D.C.

The Modesto Bee recommends Josh Harder in the Ninth Congressional District.