The gang (of ex-politicians) that couldn’t shoot straight behind the recall of County Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez is at it again. They are going after Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki.
Their first attempt failed because they didn’t or couldn’t read the simple rules governing recall petitions. Based on what has been demonstrated to date, incompetence has become the hallmark of this recall gang.
If we take a moment to climb above all the legal and political minutia, surrounding their bumbling efforts, this question remains: Why would a group of three failed politicians launch such an endeavor?
The answer should raise a red flag for all of us who are in favor of slow, sensible growth in our county. It’s about control and where it will reside.
Outside interests—developers, in particular—have a vested interest in doing two things: Opening the door to more development and controlling the local politicians who have the power to let them do it. They want political puppets who will do their bidding to replace Mr. Velazquez and Mr. Kosmicki.
They couldn’t care less about the quality of life of the people who live here in Hollister and the rest of San Benito County. The recent effort by a multinational corporation to build a mega-dump here in our county is evidence of that. Fortunately, citizens banded together and blocked this disaster. The people made politicians listen.
The voters made their priorities clear on a larger scale during the 2024 election. It wasn’t a dump this time. It was about slowing our out-of-control development without corresponding infrastructure improvements.
This development was being allowed by politicians who served the developers and not the people who live here. The voters pushed back and the results were astonishing, both in the primary and general election.
The people sent a resounding message: “If you are a politician who supports rapid growth and are pandering to developers, you are gone!”
The passage of measure A also came with the defeat of former Mayor Mia Casey and ex-Council Members Rick Perez and Tim Burns. It also resulted in the failure of Stacie McGrady, another member of the recall group, to attain office.
The removal of politicians Casey, Perez and Burns by the voters was a strong indication that our citizens were tired of politicians who supported uncontrolled growth and unconcerned about the adverse effects of that development.
The evidence of their short-sighted decision making was clear. A case in point of this was their attempt to extend the boundaries of Hollister outward and zoning to facilitate rapid development with thousands upon thousands of houses being added to the community without corresponding attention to infrastructure. That is akin to putting the cart before the horse.
The recall is a scam because it has absolutely nothing to do with a fire contract or conduct or even “ineffectiveness.” It never truly was about those things. As I mentioned earlier, looking at things from a 10,000-foot view, it becomes painfully obvious that this dumpster fire, lit by the aforementioned ex-politicians and their developer donors is simply an attempt to dupe (scam) the citizens who voted for Mr. Velazquez and Mr. Kosmicki, into removing them from office. Both men are considered “slow the growth” county supervisors.
Removing them from office would re-open the door to uncontrolled growth and bring back the corrupt politicians owned by developers. And, most importantly, it would send the message to San Benito County citizens frustrated by uncontrolled growth that the quality of our lives and our future will be decided by outside interests, not the voters who live here.
A “NO” vote on the recall stops the scam.
John Robles
San Benito County
