Election, election and more comment on the election
Sweep out City Hall – elect those who are ‘for the little people’
Dear Editor,
Like we use to say in construction in the fall of the year just before the rainy season, “The big push is on.”
I could not have said it any better than Lisa Pampuch’s column in The Dispatch published Oct. 19. She must have read my mind and I am sure the minds of many more about the mayor’s race.
I think The Dispatch played dirty pool with the two pictures on the front page of the mayoral endorsement issue. The mayor had a big smile and Craig Gartman had a scowl. I know The Dispatch has better pictures of Councilman Gartman. I see these pictures as: the mayor is smiling as he is thinking, “If I get back in office I get a second chance to pull off some more behind closed door deals” like the one he and City Administrator Jay Baksa pulled off with the police chief’s retirement. I’m sorry I voted for Mr. Pinheiro. He has been a big disappointment to me and, I am sure, many others. But then the scowl on Councilman Gartman’s face may not be a scowl at all, but a look of him thinking about all the hard work he and the new City Council will have ahead to get our great city of Gilroy back on the right track. I am sure he is looking forward to the job or he would not (along with many other good people) be working so hard to get it.
A footnote to Supervisor Don Gage, who is a friend of mine: Don, I have been with you all the way from city council to mayor to supervisor, but not this time. I think you are wrong in backing Mr. Pinheiro. I know that when you were on the city council, and as mayor you would not have been for any part of the things that have been pulled off since you left to be supervisor.
I am not one to kick someone who is down, but now that the city administrator is leaving, I hope they don’t give him a sweetheart deal, like the police chief, to stay on. He has done some good things for Gilroy in the past, but not lately.
Some who write letters should do a little more homework. Unless Mr. Emilio B. de Sousa is going way back, he wrote that three ex-mayors are backing Mr. Pinheiro. Ex-mayor Tom Springer is not backing anyone, and the letter from Bob and Pat Lesko (10/26) made it clear that ex-mayor Mike Gilroy (also a friend) is backing Gartman. Who are the three ex-mayors Mr. de Sousa?
Former Mayor Gilroy and Supervisor Gage have always been for the little people like myself who pay most of the taxes to keep our great city of Gilroy running. Good people of Gilroy, please join me in getting the broom and shovel out to clean up City Hall by putting Craig Gartman and a new city council in office.
Richard D. Janisch, Gilroy
A simple way to keep two good men in office serving our residents
Dear Editor,
Gilroy is fortunate to have two excellent men running for mayor, and voters should thank them by keeping both men serving Gilroy: Al Pinheiro as mayor and Craig Gartman to finish his four-year council term.
This is a win-win for Gilroy.
Ron Gurries, Gilroy
Editor’s note: This letter is being re-published. The author’s name was inadvertently omitted.
Important to keep in perspective how well the city of Gilroy is run
Dear Editor,
Thank you for your recent support of Al Pinhiero for re-election. I have been fortunate to have been able to work with Mayor Pinheiro and City Administrator Jay Baksa over a 20-year span while on city committees. They have given much of their time and energy to make Gilroy a good place to live and raise a family.
At League of Cities meetings I was always impressed how well Gilroy was run compared to other cities of similar size and resources. It is sad to read comments trying to find fault with the way our leaders manage our city, especially when the writers have not volunteered and or served on the commissions, task forces, or advisory boards that support city government. I thank Pinhiero and Baksa for their past and future efforts to guide Gilroy in the day-to-day challenges that cities face. We have been fortunate to have had their leadership.
Phil Buchanan, Gilroy
Ethics, integrity hallmarks for one council candidate
Dear Editor,
How do you spell integrity and ethics? – TIM DAY
I encourage you to read beyond the headlines to determine for yourself that Tim Day’s actions as a planning commissioner are ethical and are always conducted with the highest integrity.
Over the years, I have come into contact with many individuals in my business and personal life. Tim Day stands out as one of the best I have ever met and he has earned my trust as a friend and a leader in our community.
Steve Peat, Gilroy
‘Pandering’ candidate has done little on the council
Dear Editor,
Mark Zappa is at it again – distributing hysterical misinformation to try to help his friends Craig Gartman and Perry Woodward. The “report card” rating Mayor Pinheiro and Councilman Craig Gartman that Mark Zappa dreamed up has some very serious errors. For one, he fails to mention that Craig Gartman voted in favor of budget deficits, too, in recent years. He also fails to acknowledge that the city council has NOT passed the ordinance in question concerning sidewalk liability.
I’m not going to pick apart each point, but I think that voters are smart enough to know that anything negative said about a candidate late in the election is purely a politically motivated attack.
I am a fourth generation Gilroyan and currently serve as a city councilman with both candidates for mayor. I have known and worked with Mayor Pinheiro for more than 25 years and I strongly support his re-election. I have also known Councilman Gartman for about six years. Pinheiro is by far the better candidate. He is not a politician. He is a respected community leader who the people elected because he is fair, honest and brings the community together. He welcomes and encourages differing opinions because he knows that this is how to get the best out of people to get things done. A good example of his leadership is our downtown.
Before he got involved, our downtown was an eyesore with very few people going there. Just go downtown any day of the week now and you will see a thriving city center with new businesses, shoppers and a true sense of community. Downtown isn’t just pretty to look – the revitalization increases residential and business property values and helps our local economy. There are more improvements and more work to do downtown, but none of it would have happened without Mayor Pinheiro’s leadership.
Contrast that with Gartman, who in his six years on the city council has accomplished very little. He is truly a politician in that his motivation to run for mayor is because he is looking out for what is best for Gartman, not Gilroy. As many people already know, he wants to get elected to a higher office someday (beyond Gilroy). Despite what he claims, he doesn’t listen to the people. Instead, he pays attention to which direction public opinion is going then tries to jump in front and call himself the leader on it. Since his decision to run for mayor, he has been voting against the rest of the council, or abstained on controversial issues. He then goes to the Dispatch to try to get a story that applauds his stances. Unfortunately, his political tactics often work and many people have been swayed by this.
Gartman is trying to run for mayor as an outsider, distancing himself from many of the decisions he has made and been a part of over the years. This is not leadership. Leadership is making tough, sometimes unpopular decisions for something you know is right. I have yet to see him take a strong stance and champion an issue that is good for Gilroy but may be unpopular with the newspaper or some voters.
For example, he panders to the fiscal conservative crowd by voting against this year’s budget because of the budget gap. He rants and raves about supposedly huge deficits but he conveniently fails to mention that he voted in favor of several recent budgets that also had gaps. He panders to residents about sidewalks, saying that he has a plan to fix the problem. Many people remember his well-known line in 2005, “I have a plan to fix the sidewalks in two years.” It is now 2007, and all of the progress that has been made on sidewalks has been from Pinheiro’s leadership, not Gartman’s.
Mayor Pinheiro is doing a great job for Gilroy and we need his leadership for another four years. Vote for him Nov. 6.
Dion Bracco, Gilroy City Councilmember
Gilroy born and raised, committed to community
Dear Editor,
Voters should re-elect Councilman Roland Velasco. I have known Roland for his entire life. Born and raised in Gilroy, Roland’s only time away was to serve our country as an intelligence analyst in the Army, serving four years. Even as a child, Roland has always been honest, reliable, and committed to others. As our councilman, he is a true public servant, working through tough issues by being fair, approachable and responsive. The community has benefitted from his leadership, not just on the city council, but in the community.
Beginning long before he ever ran for public office, Roland has been serving others through his volunteer work for: Leadership Gilroy, Rebekah Children’s Services, as well as raising money for local charities as a Garlic Festival volunteer.
There is no doubt that he is committed to maintaining the quality of life that we residents enjoy. We are fortunate to have such a community-minded person who is willing to serve on the city council. Roland Velasco has earned the public’s trust and deserves our vote.
Irma Batrez, Gilroy
