GILROY
– Residents headed to the polls Super Tuesday morning to make
their voices heard on national, state and local issues.
GILROY – Residents headed to the polls Super Tuesday morning to make their voices heard on national, state and local issues.
The high voter turnout for last October’s recall election is not expected to repeat today, although there are 316 more registered voters in Gilroy. In fact, voter turnout statewide is expected to hit record-low levels for a presidential primary.
Several voters who cast their ballots shortly after the polls opened at 7 this morning said they most wanted to sound off on state and local measures. Polls will be open until 8 p.m.
A fairly steady stream of voters, many on their way to work, moved through the Heath residence at 9274 Calle Del Rey just after 7 a.m.
Carlos Garcia, who cast his vote at the polling place, said he makes a habit of voting but was most interested in voting “no” on statewide Propositions 56, 57 and 58. Proposition 56 requires 55 percent of legislators to approve the budget and sets up rainy-day reserves, while Propositions 57 and 58 together make up the governor’s proposed economic recovery plan that would purchase $15 billion in bonds.
“I think there’s alternatives to just going out and getting more bonds, rather than just sticking this with my kids,” Garcia said. “I’ve been laid off before, and there’s cuts that have to happen.”
Another voter who stopped by the polling place in northwest Gilroy this morning echoed Garcia’s concerns, saying that state officials must budget like any other person.
“They have to cut their own spending,” he said, declining to give his name because he does not discuss his voting choices. “I don’t budget to a projection and to what I may make or may not make, and I think that it has to stop. I think it’s been an accumulation of bad decisions.”
The same theory applies to Gavilan College, he said, which was why he voted no on Measure E, Gavilan’s $108-million bond proposal. The college should make budget cuts before asking property owners for money, he said.
“I don’t make $100,000 a year, and I can still afford to live here,” he said, referring to administrators’ salaries.
Turnout was brisk at the Hart residence on Redwood Lane, off Westwood Drive; roughly 15 people voted there before 7:30 a.m.
On the other hand, there were almost no voters at two east-side polling places: South Valley Junior High School on IOOF Avenue and the Kemetic Institute on Forest Street. Poll workers at those precincts said their voters tend to wait until the afternoon.
At the Harts, Colin Rogers said he voted yes to all the state propositions except 56.
“I voted for the governor,” Rogers said. “I wanted to give him what he wanted to use to get things done, but I did not like lowering the level from two thirds to 55 percent for raising taxes.
Rogers voted no, however, to all four local measures – including the Gavilan bond; Measure A, which reorganizes Juvenile Hall and the Probation Department; Measure B, which gives money to libraries; and Measure 2, which would increase bridge tolls to fund public transit.
“The way Gavilan was managing things, it didn’t sound like that was going to help things,” Rogers said.
As for the library tax, Rogers said it sounded like politicians had diverted money from libraries because they thought people would likely vote to give libraries more money.
“I am very suspicious of politicians … closing down highly visible things that everybody wants while they’ve shifted money over to other things that they wanted to do,” he said.
For president, Rogers said he voted for his Libertarian party candidate.
“I always vote for Mr. (Gary) Nolan,” Rogers said. “With the small parties, it’s kind of the same guy every time – until he dies, and then it’s somebody else for a generation.”
Marjorie Burchell had little decision for her Republican Party’s presidential candidate, but unlike Rogers, she voted yes to local measures B and E.
“I think those reflect the community,” Burchell said.
“I did not vote for the bonds,” she added. “I feel they have to be fiscally responsible the same as I do.”
Gilroy voters might not reflect the sentiment of voters statewide.
In a Field Poll released last week, voters strongly favored Propositions 57 and 58. The Economic Recovery Bond Act, Proposition 57, was supported by 50 percent of voters, while 36 percent opposed it. Its companion measure, Proposition 58, also saw a surge in support, with 55 percent of voters approving it.
According to the nonpartisan Field Research Corp., today’s vote count is not expected to exceed 6 million, or 39.8 percent of registered voters. That would represent 27.5 percent of all eligible adults living in California, a record low for a presidential primary.
Secretary of State Kevin Shelley is predicting a 43 percent turnout, which would be lower than in the last presidential primary, when 54 percent of registered voters cast their ballots. Turnout was 42 percent in 1996 and 47 percent in 1988.
With President George W. Bush running unopposed and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry the clear front-runner for the Democratic nomination, the presidential race itself does not offer voters much drama. The high level of interest in the recall election likely detracted some of the attention away from today’s primary, The Field Poll indicates.
Also, the Republican Senate race has generated little interest and Propositions 55, 57 and 58 have not seen a formal opposition campaign.
The proportion of voters using absentee ballots in the statewide election is expected to hit a new high, however. The Field Poll estimates that 31 percent of today’s votes will be cast using absentee ballots, more than the previous record of 26 percent cast in the last gubernatorial primary in March 2002.
Staff Writer Peter Crowley contributed to this report.
Note: You can vote ONLY at your designated polling place. To find which polling place is yours, check the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Web site at sccvoter.org or call them at 299-VOTE.
• St. Mary Church, Serra Cottage, 7980 Church St.
• Hart residence, 1371 Redwood Lane
• Gilroy Senior Center, Rec. Room, 7371 Hanna St.
• First Baptist Church of Gilroy, 8455 Wren Ave.
• Glen View School, library, 600 W. Eighth St.
• South Valley Junior High, 385 IOOF Ave.
• Brownell Academy, library, 7800 Carmel St.
• Gilroy High library, Tenth and Princevalle streets
• Kemetic Institute Center, 7469 Forest St.
• El Roble School, library, 930 Third St.
• Good Shepherd Church, 1735 Hecker Pass Hwy.
• Antonio del Buono School, 9300 Wren Ave.
• Mount Madonna High School, 8595 Culp Drive
• Wojahn residence, 685 Dawn Way
• Luigi Aprea School, 7225 Calle del Rey
• Heath residence, 9274 Calle del Rey
Source: Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters
