Modesto, Turlock political endorsements | Letters to the editor: Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022
Gray for 13th District, U.S. House
I am a small farmer endorsing Adam Gray. Adam has brought money and support to Merced County for infrastructure, recently securing money for taking care of our land and water to remove arundo, the bamboo-looking plant you see along Bear Creek. I am a believer in taking care of our resources and living within our means. Water and land have been exploited, resulting in reduced productivity, creating much expense for us all. I see so many people buying bottled water. Wells around me are going dry. We need to be addressing the demands and live with nature, not destroy it.
Dams have made it possible to store some water and produce hydroelectric power, but they don’t last forever, and they destroy the life of the river. More than half of the 1,476 dams in California are rated high hazard dams, and 70% are greater than 50 years old.
I will vote for Adam as I believe he is the best person to represent us. My advice to Adam is to work with nature, as it will always win.
Jean Okuye, Livingston
Dokoozlian for MID ratepayers
Modesto needs people like Nick Dokoozlian for Modesto Irrigation District director. With prices rising, there are three main reasons why he should win. First, Dokoozlian is very well-informed and passionate about the issues. We should empower young, smart people like Dokoozlian to tackle our problems. Second, he talks a lot about keeping our electricity rates low, and I like that he would serve on our MID board with ratepayers front-and-center of his mind. Third, he has a lot to say about the state’s water grab. With the drought we are experiencing, we need people on the MID board who understand the state politics.
Beyond all this, Dokoozlian has many endorsements: Modesto Bee, Chamber of Commerce, Stanislaus County Farm Bureau, the entire Board of Supervisors, and even the sheriff. If he has their blessing, he definitely has the relationships in place to be effective and successful.
Armand Ash, Modesto
MID needs Gilman’s expertise
I endorse Stu Gilman as Modesto Irrigation District board director. I worked with Stu for two years in my role as an MID senior manager before I retired.
I found Stu to always work in the best interests of MID farmers and electric customers. Stu is always engaged in the MID board meetings and asks the right questions to make informed decisions. Stu continues to put in the extra time and effort to support his constituents. Stu has a strong information technology background and provides this expertise to the board.
Stu Gilman has worked to keep MID rates the same for the last five years while making sound decisions and reducing MID debt and improving MID’s electric and water systems.
Greg Salyer, Oakdale
Esquer not beholden to big business
After seeing the campaign donations for both candidates, it made me absolutely certain that Gil Esquer is the right person for the position of Turlock mayor. There were so many large donors from outside the area that contributed to Mayor Bublak’s campaign chest, this makes me uneasy. Gil is an advocate for the city of Turlock in a positive way and won’t succumb to those big-business interests.
Brent Bohlender, Turlock
Carlson for Turlock school board
There is nothing more important than ensuring high-quality public education for our children, and we need exceptional leaders to serve on every local school board to make this possible. Turlock has an exceptional leader in place: Lori Carlson.
As a Turlock parent and teacher, I am in awe of Lori’s commitment to the challenging collaborative work of learning about the constantly evolving issues at hand and making decisions based on that information. Lori’s dedication shines through in her meeting attendance; she has attended nearly every meeting in her seven years of service on the board, and as our forefathers knew so well, that’s “the room where it happens.” In addition, in the past seven years she has joyfully been present at almost every Turlock graduation as a proud mom, citizen and community leader. Lori Carlson works with her elected team to serve our children with experience, intelligence, an open mind and most importantly, integrity.
Jane Cluff, Turlock