Letters to the editor | Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020: Special interests, and other election thoughts

Watch out for special interests

Re “Oil industry backs Modesto councilman for state senate” (Front Page, Feb. 10): Well, it looks like the 5th Senate District race could be turning into a real can of worms. Sorting the candidates’ true intentions could be rather simple. If a candidate says that they did not solicit the funds and will not be influenced by contributions, there is a simple solution: return the money.

If we, as the electorate, truly desire to eliminate special-interest influence then we have to change the spots on the leopard. All political contributions could be accumulated in a pool to be drawn from by qualified candidates who desire to make their skills and interests available to promote the public welfare supported by industries and interests desiring to further the public good.

I’m backing Buck Condit

Buck Condit has served Stanislaus County for 32 years as a firefighter, saving lives and putting his life on the line fighting fires. Buck is honest, has integrity and is a family man who wants to serve our county as supervisor. Buck is the best candidate as he has our best interests on issues facing Stanislaus County: ag, water, public safety, bringing jobs to our county, education, homelessness, mental health, and veterans issues.

Please join me in voting for the best candidate, Buck Condit, on March 3 for county supervisor District 1.

The anti-Trump candidate

Voters who are fed up with Donald Trump’s antics, please consider Michael Bloomberg. Unlike Trump, Bloomberg is a self-made billionaire. As mayor of New York, Bloomberg delivered balanced budgets. Look at Trump deficits taking us toward bankruptcy. Like Trump, Bloomberg is a disruptor. In New York, he disrupted entrenched bureaucracies to make important changes that improved service delivery, education and economic development. Unlike Trump, Bloomberg actually hires the best.

Bloomberg may be running as a Democrat, but he is more conservative than many Republicans. Why not elect someone competent, civil, and presidential who knows how to get improvements done? What happened to the rebuild of our infrastructure that Trump promised?

We can make America great again. Don’t let Trump reduce us to a third-world country.

Noodling a voting strategy

I’m trying to decide what candidate to support in the upcoming primary to go up against Trump. A lot of young people like Bernie. I get it, but he comes off like a cranky, jealous-of-people-with-money communist to older folks like me. Same with some other candidates who put down people with money. I certainly don’t have near that kind of money, but hey, if you can get Trump out of office, I’m in.

That is what it may take right now. I don’t hate billionaires unless they screw people along their way. A lot of them give large amounts of money to charities and do good with their fortunes. So don’t count them out. We need to make the right decision in our votes right now to deny Trump a second term, or billionaires will be the least of our problems.

Think and vote carefully. Get back the White House, Senate and keep the House, and then initiate progressive ideas and see how it works out.