Let’s be clear: In Gilroy, it’s still not the
”
machine
”
that wins elections, it’s the candidate.
Let’s be clear: In Gilroy, it’s still not the “machine” that wins elections, it’s the candidate.
Despite a concentration of labor union attention and money, the winners in Tuesday’s election, for the most part, were not chosen on the basis of special interest, Chicago-style hardball politics.
Voters wisely chose people who had served the community, who had established track records and who espoused middle-of-the-road positions.
Mayor-elect Al Pinheiro’s landslide victory resonated that message. His track record as an honest, good-hearted person willing to listen and to lead earned him the victory and the responsibility to live up to his promise to be balanced and inclusive.
Pinheiro’s election is cause for genuine optimism. His first term, we believe, will mark a return to a fine tradition of Gilroy leadership that has included well-regarded mayors like Roberta Hughan, Don Gage and Mike Gilroy.
Pinheiro embodies the best that is the spirit of Gilroy. The clear mandate that voters have given him should pave the way for action on downtown revitalization and city capital projects, like the youth sports park, which have seemingly been on the books forever without progress.
Joining Pinheiro will be incumbent Roland Velasco, the top Council vote getter, and Russ Valiquette, a planning commissioner with a, you guessed it, established track record of community service. Both are rock-solid choices.
Velasco’s even-keeled style and well-considered, independent positions on issues continue to be a huge hit with voters. And we would be remiss not to take a sentence to congratulate him on his gracious and heartfelt election night proposal to his bride-to-be Elena Burn.
And Valiquette, though not glib, is someone who has earned a reputation for rolling up his sleeves and getting his hands dirty. Voters made him a clear second choice.
In this election, we heard quite a bit of negative talk about the “current machine that runs Gilroy.”
Which “machine” is that exactly? The one that elected three Democrats, three Republicans and an independent? Not that partisan politics are supposed to matter in local races, but that’s the make-up of the seated City Council.
The real “machine” that has begun to rev up operations to influence local elections is the labor unions, which were dealt a resounding defeat Tuesday.
In the last days of the campaign, unions poured more than $11,000 into candidate Paul Correa’s coffers for last-minute mailers and phone bank get-out-the-vote calling.
In the campaign, Correa likened the union money and influence, which gave birth to the Gilroy First! organization, to money from developers and home builders.
In truth, the difference is vast. The union donations were planned well in advance, but not reported until just before the election. That clandestine manner in which the unions use their cash, attorneys and public relations wizards sets an entirely different tone for a local election.
And though Correa apparently has won the third open seat by a slim margin over outspoken political newcomer Dion Bracco, we don’t believe the union alone delivered that victory. Correa’s anti-Wal-Mart stance is shared by some Gilroy voters and others hope his fresh eyes and urban planning background will yield sharper, healthy debates on land-use issues.
We hope that’s the case because whether Gilroy builds a Wal-Mart Supercenter is certainly and clearly not the driving issue for Gilroy voters.
Gilroyans understand there are more important matters to deal with and they’ve elected a fine group to tackle those challenges.
Tuesday, voters put Gilroy’s future first and agenda-driven politics second.
Let’s hope it stays that way.
