All of the candidates running for office deserve immense credit
for their efforts and willingness to take part, while voters have
the best slate of residents from which to choose in many years.
All of the candidates running for office deserve immense credit for their efforts and willingness to take part, while voters have the best slate of residents from which to choose in many years.
There were three locally contested races on the ballot a week ago. Voters spoke loud and clear that incumbents face imminent danger, that they want a new direction, that it is time for bold leadership and a move against a status quo defined by continual digression.
Both incumbents running for supervisor seats, in District 3 and District 4, lost by stunningly wide margins. Supervisor Pat Loe lost by 42 points in a head-to-head with challenger Robert Rivas, while Supervisor Reb Monaco finished a distant third against two challengers, and with just 15 percent of the vote.
The surprise wasn’t the result. Around the country, there is an overwhelming mood against incumbents. In a county with unemployment over 20 percent, where a high foreclosure rate reaped havoc throughout the local economy, it’s not a shocking development that voters ousted two board members.
The surprise in those races became the size of the defeats – against two-term supervisors who have been widely respected – and it signaled an adamant tone from the public that it’s time for something vastly different.
In the race for sheriff, two qualified candidates – Undersheriff Pat Turturici and police Lt. Darren Thompson – are moving on past the primary that featured four contestants. It is sure to become an interesting matchup between a longtime sheriff’s office employee and an outsider still working to establish his name. Both candidates have ideas to fix the problems in the sheriff’s office and to promote a more professional workplace. Voters cannot lose with either.
Regardless, there is certainty for major turnover in leadership for San Benito County. Undoubtedly, the same might be in store at the city, where two council seats, those of Pauline Valdivia and Eugenia Sanchez, are open come November.
If there is one clear message voters sent last week, it is that they want leaders who are action-oriented, leaders with aggressive ideas, leaders who are against the grain.
