The election that almost was
And the election race is on.
With the election for three of the five seats on the county
Board of Supervisors less than three months away and the candidacy
filing deadline just last Friday, the deck chairs on the ship of
state were abruptly reshuffled last week.
The election that almost was
And the election race is on.
With the election for three of the five seats on the county Board of Supervisors less than three months away and the candidacy filing deadline just last Friday, the deck chairs on the ship of state were abruptly reshuffled last week.
In San Juan-Aromas District 2, incument Anthony Botelho’s expected unopposed bid for re-election was sidetracked with the last-minute candidacy of Anthony Frietas. Freitas opposed Botelho four years ago, when he first took office. The surprise in incumbent Jaime De La Cruz’s west Hollister district arrived not in the person of a new candidate. It’s been known for months that he’ll run against former Hollister Council member Marian Cruz. But court testimony in the seemingly endless Los Valientes soap opera tarred Cruz’s spouse, former Supervisor Bob Cruz.
For those of you who’ve been vacationing out of area for the last four years, Los Valientes is an anonymous group who bankrolled a series of legal actions directed against local politicians and county staff who were either a.) irredeemably corrupt, or b.) not toadying up to avaricious development schemes. Absent anything conclusive and no filing from the district attorney’s office, you’re still left to decide.
But the real weirdness is reserved for the Fairview-east Hollister supervisorial seat occupied by one-term incumbent Don Marcus. Marcus has come to his senses, and decided that politics is best left to people who are not as nice. With half a dozen would-be candidates circulating nomination papers, it was shaping up to be the county’s marquee contest. Until it began looking like only one candidate – Margie Barrios – would run as of last week’s filing deadline. However, when an incumbent does not run, state law mandates a filing deadline extension. Filing petition signatures were verified this week and the candidacy of two other candidates was declared. Joining Barrios are organic farmer Grant Brians and business owner Bonnie Flores-Voropaeff.
Barrios is kin to Mary Lou Sanchez Andrade, the county treasurer-tax collector for as long as she chooses to be, and Mike Sanchez, the man widely rumored to be the next county superintendent of schools. The rest of the large clan can be found wherever good works are taking place. Smell a benefit barbecue? Look for Ray. More people owe more to this family than almost any other in the community. Most recently, Barrios has been donating her talents as a Hollister School District trustee.
Brians is a veteran of county politics. A former supervisorial candidate, he has championed sustainable agriculture and slow growth across the county that has been his home and source of income since childhood.
Flores owns a graphic arts business with her husband. A dedicated champion for the county, she’s served on more do-gooder committees than she can count. Her mission now is the economic revitalization of the place she calls home.
After looking like there’d be no race, it’s reassuring to know that representative democracy appears pretty robust in San Benito County.
We don’t need no stinkin’ badges
Out at Ridgemark, San Benito County’s gated golfing ghetto, some residents are peeved about the latest security gambit. Ridgemark’s Department of Niblick Security recently announced to residents that the ubiquitous garage door openers and windshield decals that once permitted no-questions-asked admission to the neighborhood would no longer do. Instead, small transmitters are to be affixed to the upper left corner of residents’ windshields. The magic boxes will automatically trigger entry gates. The result: less waiting and smoother traffic flow.
The problem is that some Ridgemark residents know how to read. The California Vehicle Code explicitly forbids pasting anything to windshields outside of a five-inch square in the bottom corner of the driver’s side.
What really raised the hackles of one resident is the attitude of the Department of Golf Course Security. When one long-time resident let them know that he’d checked with the Highway Patrol and received a copy of the relevant Vehicle Code section, which he’d be happy to provide he was told in no uncertain terms they were not interested. “They were very arrogant,” the caller reported.
It ain’t over ’til it’s over
The county Bar Association made it official with a powerful letter to the Office of Court Construction and Management authored by Paul Breen: they think a courthouse out near the Hollister Airport is a lousy idea.
The four-page missive offers an array of arguments so compelling that even Perry Mason couldn’t foil them.
The Flynn Road site recently tagged by the state as the future home of local courts is not convenient to the public, particularly those of limited means who may not have reliable transportation. The presence of Fremont School in one piece since the 1930s argues that the favored site for the court is not a seismic time bomb.
The site is a far piece from the district attorney’s office, the probation office, county counsel offices and other governmental agencies. Not incidentally, it’s also a long way from local attorneys’ offices. Finally, the letter notes, moving it out of downtown Hollister will be bad for downtown Hollister.
We’ll know soon if the state’s listening.
