Letters to the editor | Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020: Misc election endorsements
Editor’s note: Space did not allow for the following letters to appear in print.
Kennedy for Congress
We’re retired seniors, with fixed incomes and preexisting conditions, voting for Brynne Kennedy. She earned the endorsement of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
As our representative, Tom McClintock proposed a 2019 budget to cut $259 billion from Social Security. He voted to slash Social Security disability benefits and to raise the retirement age. McClintock has had excellent taxpayer-funded health care all 40 years he’s been in office. He’s voted 60 times to remove health care, replace or restrict health care, eliminate preexisting conditions and increase costs, all while taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from insurance and pharmaceutical companies. Hypocritical.
Kennedy created a successful business. She’ll focus on cutting costs, promoting choice, expanding coverage including a public option, creating rural health clinics, and negotiating to decrease drug costs — without taking insurance, pharmaceutical or super-PAC money.
McClintock voted against Medicare negotiating prices, while supporting almost a trillion dollars in Medicaid cuts and cutting food programs for California Seniors.
Elaine Hagen, Tuolumne
Yes on W in Tracy
On our ballots in Tracy, we have the opportunity to implement Measure W, a business tax on commercial cannabis and industrial hemp businesses that has the potential to generate between $350,000 and $700,000 annually for our city funds. Now more than ever our city services need this revenue.
On top of that, Mayor Rickman has advocated that we need to allow cannabis businesses to compete with the illicit market, which means putting in place meaningful regulations. Right now, the city only allows four adult-use cannabis storefronts to operate, but Measure W will help demonstrate the potential benefits of legal cannabis sales in our community and hopefully open the door for more licenses in the future. The taxes proposed in Measure W are not going to open up the market completely, but they are a step toward improving and protecting our city and moving toward creating a safe, legal cannabis market.
Elizabeth A. Ortiz, Tracy
Goriel for Modesto mayor
I’ve known Naramsen Goriel my whole life because our families attend the same church. Naramsen has always been a cordial leader and sacrifices for his own community. We know that Naramsen will always do the best thing for others. That is the type of selflessness we need for mayor of Modesto.
Naramsen doesn’t appeal to the past because he is actually participating and interacting with Modesto residents on creating an art district, housing to solve homelessness, and science-backed measures to prevent another COVID-19 spread without compromising our local businesses. His ideas resonate with the people of Modesto and not just people in affluent neighborhoods. Naramsen has participated in the Point In Time count that helped count an accurate number of homeless people.
Naramsen has support from professors, teachers, social workers, nurses, and will not hesitate to denounce white supremacy or police brutality. We need an emphatic person as mayor to solve our problems, not a person that appeals to the past.
Barsen Lazar, Modesto
I met Naramsen Goriel my freshman year at Beyer High School. We had many classes together. In history class, we were both concerned about the first test of the year. We shared notes and studied together. Not only did we do well on the exam but we built a friendship that is still strong 20 years later. Our senior year, in English class he would turn around and just say random parts of the Constitution. “Article 1, section 8, clause 18, is the elastic clause, Peter.”
I do not think I have met someone with so much passion for civic engagement. As long as I’ve known Naramsen, he has been aware and socially conscious. He would talk so much about the Constitution that the teacher assigned him to read Macbeth’s lines in class so he would stop speaking about government. Even still, he would combine the Constitution while reading Macbeth.
He has passion and character to become a great mayor. I know his vision of Modesto is the best out of all the candidates. His plans are strong, providing more affordable housing, embracing our economic competitive advantage, and improving public safety.
Peter Markarian, Ripon
Buck Condit for supervisor
Our family is truly grateful to have a man as honest, dedicated and willing to serve his community as Buck Condit. Buck lives in this community. He is raising his children here and wants what we all want: a safe and thriving place for our families to live and grow.
We are proud to support Buck and know he will make an excellent supervisor. He will be the voice our area needs.
Tina Heaton, Oakdale
Harder for Congress
I attended Representative Josh Harder’s drive-in town hall and having listened to his presentation and response to questions, I feel lucky that we have such a dedicated, intelligent and caring man representing us in Washington. He has accomplished so much in such a short time and everything he promised he has delivered on.
The COVID virus demonstrates the need for universal health care. We have a large population that are considered essential workers but their health is being compromised from lack of health care, education and PPE. Harder recognized that the Latino population was being disproportionately impacted by Covid and immediately set up a Latino Emergency Task Force to implement aid. He acquired and distributed tens of thousands of masks and face shields for front-line workers. Most importantly he has been pushing to increase the capacity and quick turnaround time for testing. He has cared about the most vulnerable in our community.
He supported the CARES act and is fighting for further aid. He has done what the White House has not by showing compassion and strength. We are very fortunate to have him return to his home town to fight for our community.
Dona Varin, Turlock
I urge voters to evaluate the merits of candidates based on evidence far more significant than the numbers of campaign signs.
Congressman Harder has been creative and out front on so many issues that affect the daily well-being of us here in the Central Valley — an area so often an afterthought in public policy dialogue affecting California. He is a constant advocate on matters important for our region, such as water policy, access to health care, protecting Social Security for our present and future seniors, and addressing homelessness and public safety in the midst of the coronavirus. His first term has demonstrated his readiness to take on the issues rather than merely react to concerns that arise inevitably and unpredictably. Josh Harder has proven his accessibility to his constituents through town halls, appearances at events, and frequent scheduled office hours in many communities throughout the region.
Writing this as someone who has worked in the U.S. Congress and seen it all up close — where individual constituents’ needs as well as national crises call for thoughtful, creative, and persistent solutions every day — it is with confidence that I urge fellow citizens to appreciate our good fortune in having Josh Harder as our advocate and U.S. congressman.
George A. Condon, Ripon
Josh Harder understands our district’s needs and is a strong advocate for us. In the past month he has urged federal agencies to revise programs and services to support the health of our residents.
He pushed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to expand its housing criteria to make front-line agriculture workers eligible for temporary housing so they can isolate when they test positive or have been exposed to coronavirus. This is especially important for our Latino agriculture workers who have an increased risk.
He urged the United States Department of Agriculture to allow school districts to continue their nutrition programs through the end of the school year. Approximately 63% of students in our district rely on school lunch programs. This extension would provide a guaranteed source of nutrition during the pandemic.
He wrote the postmaster general, calling on the service to address delays of life-saving medicines. This is a serious issue for our residents because more than 500,000 people have asthma in the San Joaquin Valley where we are experiencing unhealthy air quality.
We need to keep Congressman Josh Harder in office so he can keep fighting for us.
Anna Roberts, Modesto
Josh Harder is an inclusive person. When he became our congressman, his staff was acknowledged as one of the most diverse in Congress.
Josh was able to get the House of Representatives to pass a bipartisan amendment to assist veterans and their families who experience mental health issues. Josh is able to work in a bipartisan way. He secured millions to create projects storing our water. Josh reminds his constituents that Dreamers are Americans.
Since COVID-19 hit, Josh has worked to combat the virus in our district, raising PPE and launching the #gettested initiative for residents to find free testing sites. He joined the Latino COVID-19 task force distributing safety kits.
Josh’s opponent, Howze, is wrong for the Valley because of racist remarks online. Howze proposed to raise Social Security and Medicare benefits to the age of 70. It’s unfair to seniors who depend on their benefits. Josh has proclaimed this will never happen on his watch.
Susana Ayala, Modesto
I want to commend The Modesto Bee for its endorsement of Representative Josh Harder’s reelection campaign. Harder has never ceased working for his constituents in the Central Valley District 10. He has been an advocate of farmers, working to protect water rights. Ever active, he has not ceased to serve the people of his district even while under COVID-19 restrictions. Whether handing out food baskets or health kits, he seems tireless.
In addition, Harder has earned the endorsements of several unions and Democratic associations here in the Valley, as well as the California Teachers Association and the National Education Association. Most importantly, he has been endorsed by members of the Democratic Party, which cannot be said of his opponent who has failed to gain the support of his own party.
The constituents of District 10 need to ask themselves: “Who do I want representing me in Washington, D.C.?” Harder has already gained seats on two important committees: the Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee on Education and Labor. Do you really want to start over with a freshman representative?
Patti Vargas, Oakdale
Representative Josh Harder is doing a terrific job of listening to our concerns.
He’s held a number of virtual town hall meetings, including a recent drive-in one in Turlock. He listens to our concerns and then returns to D.C. to act on what he’s heard from us. When the COVID pandemic disrupted our jobs, schools, hospitals and daily lives, he supported the CARES Act which saved 70,000 jobs in Stanislaus County. When farmers said they needed a reliable supply of water, he introduced the SAFE Water Resources Act.
When families complained about rising costs for healthcare and prescription drugs, Josh co-sponsored a bill to lower drug prices. When hard working wage earners complained that they couldn’t live on what they were being paid, he supported the Raise the Wage Act. This bill will increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024, which still feels too long to wait. California’s minimum wage is $12.
We in District 10 have a congressman who listens to us, not the lobbyists, and who works hard to push through bills that improve our lives. He deserves our vote for another term.
MaryAnn Reynolds, Modesto
As the election approaches, it is important to look at positive accomplishments achieved for constituents of the San Joaquin Valley. Josh Harder has pushed the United States Post Office to prioritize swift medical deliveries as service delays continue and the mail keeps piling up undelivered. Congressman Harder has sent a letter to USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy urging him to address the delays of these life-saving medicines. Josh has also urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency to expand support for agricultural workers in the Valley as well. Josh has sent a letter to FEMA asking for expanded housing criteria for these workers on the front lines during the coronavirus pandemic. As a teacher, I am most pleased that Josh is pushing the United States Department of Agriculture to extend school meal programs during the pandemic. Josh has written a letter asking the USDA to allow school districts to continue their nutrition programs throughout the end of this school year regardless of in-person status.
On the other hand, Ted Howze has stated during interviews that “Medicare is a nightmare.” He also wants to raise the social security retirement age to 70.
Scott Arbogast, Tracy
Sometimes heroes are invisible to their benefactors, as with essential workers who do the back-breaking labor in our orchards, fields and packing houses. They tend crops with surgical precision and expertise; they are the base that supports the success of our economy; some are housed in communal situations. They are primarily Latino, poor, and have become the most vulnerable to COVID-19. Latinos, at 47% of the population of Stanislaus County, represent 64% of the positive cases and 40% of the deaths.
Representative Josh Harder recognizes that the strength and heart of the central valley is agriculture and it depends on the health of those essential workers. Harder’s actions remain laser-focused on the needs of the Central Valley.
In late summer, Harder called on FEMA to expand the emergency housing criteria to support agricultural workers with non-congregating and temporary isolation shelters for asymptomatic workers. He fights for and delivers to them much-needed PPE to reduce their risk so they can continue to put food on our tables and support our economy. It is imperative that we re-elect Harder so he can expand his effective network of responsive, bi-partisan coalitions here and in D.C.
Trudy Silveira, Modesto