Letters

This is a letter of support for Keith Snow who is running for mayor of Hollister.

The lines are more sharply drawn in this election than at any time since the Civil War. And there are similarities between the two periods. In Civil War times the Republicans were the party of freedom for the individual and the Democrats were the party of slavery. Today, once again, the Republicans are the party of individual freedom and the Democrats are the party of an all-powerful central government trumping individual rights.

It will be Election Day shortly and Hollister residents will have to decide – shall we continue the current policy of running up enormous debt, spending every penny including millions in extra sales taxes every year, even running a deficit – or shall we use less than 20 percent of the Measure E money to invest in our economic future?  Yes, the choice is as simple as that.

Ignacio Velazquez is the right choice for Hollister mayor. His personal and business success add to his many characteristics that make him the roadway to a thriving Hollister economy. He understands that investing in our local economy is the answer to a balanced budget and staffing public safety. In fact, he has gained the support and endorsement of our Hollister Firefighters and supports our Public Safety. Ignacio is unafraid to stand up to adversity and make a stand for what is right. Velazquez opposes the Measure E tax and will tackle the difficult task of cleaning up the mismanagement of tax funds and poorly performing City management. Status quo in Hollister is unacceptable and Ignacio Velazquez is the breath of fresh air Hollister has been gasping for.

Keith Snow had worked for North West Surfacing and North West Recyclers. We were first introduced to Keith Snow when he was about 12-years old, a Sacramento Bee paper delivery boy. While delivering the paper, he was soliciting mowing lawns. The soliciting of mowing lawns evolved into detailing all of our company vehicles. When Keith Snow was old enough to work, we hired him as an employee and he was one of the best. Keith Snow has an immense loyalty and a compelling drive to do what is right even in adverse situations. Keith is driven by honesty. He later became a foreman and directed construction activities. He always had a unique disposition to put the customer first. Keith later would direct the North West Recycling daily activities.

Everyone seems so caught up by Romney’s “47%” comments. With a secret hidden camera the twisted press sensationalized it by taking Romney’s comments out of context to generate “breaking news” and “serious investigative journalism” which gave the talking heads weeks of fodder.

Measure E will callously squeeze a large percentage of income from the poor, seniors, the disabled and families who have lost jobs, health insurance, even their homes, than of the affluent.

I cannot believe the San Benito Public Works Department gave permission to a company to do seismic testing all along our county roads and then allowed them to begin pounding the ground with huge trucks. The pounding was so powerful that windows rattled and almost shattered. Someone was hiking along the road and they said it was so powerful that it could have knocked them down, but they saw her and stopped pounding until she went past the truck. The road bed was destroyed in some places. They told us they were testing for earthquake activity. The public works department gave permission without even investigating who this company was and what they were really doing. Perhaps they did know and just didn’t care! Big money talks. Shame on them for deceiving the taxpayers of this county who pay their salaries. They were really testing to see if they could extract oil and gas with a method called fracking. If this company is allowed to do this it will affect all of San Benito County.

I recall attending city budget hearings back in June of 2003 when former City Manager Dale Shaddox had to find a way to scale back department requests that exceeded $1.8 million dollars above projected revenues.

As a current student who majors in Health Information Management or “medical records”, I am compelled to respond to the Guest View by John and Tess Ucovich in the Friday issue of the Hollister Free Lance. In my current class, Principles of Healthcare Reimbursement, it is mandatory that students do copious weekly research in order to fully participate in weekly discussions of the healthcare industry.