More Modesto Bee readers endorse campaigns | Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022
Gray gets crossover vote
I am a registered Republican, but I have supported Adam Gray since his first election to the state Assembly because I have always believed he was a man of integrity and would do the right thing. He has proved that by repeatedly representing his district’s interests.
In 2014, I was serving as the Merced County Superintendent of Schools. I learned that our project to build a classroom for students with severe disabilities was no longer on the funding list because in 2011, we did not submit a one-page form to keep our request current. I contacted Gray to help with the appeal before the decision-making committee. Gray asked Senator Cannella to be involved and we were successful in winning a rare appeal. In June 2015, we dedicated the building on the Stefani Elementary School campus.
About two dozen students (some medically fragile) use the facility every day instead of traveling to Modesto for their education. These parents and children did not wield political influence or donate to campaigns, yet Adam Gray worked tirelessly across the aisle to do the right thing to help people he did not know.
Steve Gomes, Merced
Self is selfless
I support Jess Self for Assembly District 22. I know her to be a tireless advocate for a future of economic stability, educational excellence, and an outstanding quality of life for all residents. She is honorable, smart and hard-working with a vision for the Valley that puts the lives of residents at the forefront, that provides programs to rebuild our middle class and allows all residents to live happy, healthy lives. She will be a catalyst to remove barriers of economic inequality that hold back our community.
Jess is a lifelong Democrat endorsed by the California Democratic Party and a member of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 3. She has spent her professional career as an attorney defending those folks who have fallen through the cracks due to our lack of a comprehensive social safety net. She is dedicated and works relentlessly until a problem is solved.
Jess will work in Sacramento to improve investments in affordable housing, in accessible healthcare, in pre-K and childcare, in traditional post-secondary education, trade and vocational schools and to bring good-paying jobs with benefits and stability to the Valley.
Jean Hendrix, Modesto
Vote out Bublak
In college, passing off the work of others as your own is an automatic F. Amy Bublak has earned a failing grade.
Several issues come to mind. Turlock’s budget was only balanced when we, the voters, passed Measure A which also allowed us to increase the ranks of the police department, improve public safety, and address homeless issues. Similarly, the countywide roads tax (Measure L) has allowed us to repave our streets. Both measures were opposed by Bublak. The main grants for the drinking water project were obtained in 2018 by previous local and state officials. The Amazon warehouse was only possible by reconstructing the Fulkerth interchange using county and federal tax dollars, a project which Bublak voted against. The short-term subsidy for garbage rates was proposed by another council member, not Bublak, and is funded by congressional stimulus funds.
I could go on, but you get the point. Bublak is just another cynical politician who “votes no but spends the dough.” We previously called this grandstanding; we certainly can’t call it leadership.
Turlock, it’s time to elect a mayor who doesn’t shy away from the tough decisions and certainly won’t take credit for others’ work. Vote Gil Esquer for mayor.
Vincent T. Flanders, Turlock
We can’t afford Newsom
To nobody’s surprise The Bee’s Editorial Board is endorsing Gavin Newsom for governor. Perhaps they did not read their own critique of his performance just a few weeks ago which said he did not bring about a dramatic revival of housing production, which he pledged. He was caught exaggerating forestry achievements while helping keep the state’s most pyromaniacal utility, PG&E, in business. His promise of single-payer care never materialized, but he did extend healthcare to illegal immigrants. Newsom’s pandemic management was, like much of his governorship, certainly messy, marred by frenetic policy shifts, dodgy contracting and of course his infamous adventure in bare-faced dining.
The Editorial Board seems ignorant of Newsom’s violation of the state’s constitution by inserting himself into the PUC’s dealings with PG&E regarding their causing numerous wild fires and the loss of many lives; the waiving of a $200 million fine which helped PG&E escape bankruptcy; hiring a private law firm to craft AB1054 at a cost to taxpayers of $9.6 million to allow PG&E to obtain safety certificates for two seasons after the Camp fire; and, let’s not forget the ever cost-growing bullet train.
Clifford Nagle, Riverbank