GILROY
– Voters will be selecting their party’s number one choice for
state-level representation when they enter polling booths March
2.
GILROY – Voters will be selecting their party’s number one choice for state-level representation when they enter polling booths March 2.
In the California Senate, seven men and women across three political parties vie for Bruce McPherson’s seat, which will be termed out in November.
And in the Assembly, incumbent Simon Salinas is seeking the Democratic nomination, while Farm Bureau Manager Bob Perkins goes after the Republican nod. The two men are running for their respective party nominations unopposed.
Winners on March 2 will go head-to-head for the seats on Election Day, Nov. 2. And in these budget-tight times, voter choices will play a pivotal role in determining how much of Gilroy’s tax money stays here and how much heads north to Sacramento.
“I don’t think these elections are any more important for Gilroy than past ones, but they have a lot to do with cities and local governments in general,” Gilroy City Administrator Jay Baksa said. “Standard operating procedure in Sacramento is to take revenue from local governments (and use it to balance the budget of the state). We’re reaching a crisis in home rule.”
The Senate race
Three Democrats are campaigning for their party’s Senate nomination. They are Elaine Alquist, Manny Diaz and Jose Medeiros.
Alquist is an educator who wants to make education, economic development, and children and seniors her top priorities. She was a state assemblymember from 1996 to 2002.
Diaz, a current state assemblymember, wants to safeguard funding for public schools, ensure access to quality health care and protect California’s environment.
Medeiros is an information technology consultant who wants to cancel government contracts to vendors that outsource work overseas. He also wants to pass an import tariff on imported technology, as well as amend the Homestead Act to help protect homeowners.
Libertarian candidates include Michael Laursen and John Webster.
Laursen is a software engineer whose priorities are local control of public schools, making California business-friendly and increasing fiscal responsibility. Webster also is a software engineer. He wants to restore freedoms he says have been lost or are at risk due to the Patriot Act and political correctness. He also said the state must change its relationship with the citizenry from “lord/serf” to “provider/customer.”
Republican hopefuls are Shane Patrick Connolly and Andrew Abe Diaz.
Connolly is a finance manager who wants to focus on job creation. He also wants to restore excellence to California schools and balance the budget by combating waste, fraud and abuse.
Information on Diaz could not be obtained before press time.
Only Democratic, Libertarian and Republican party candidates are on the ballot for District 13 State Senator.
Gilroy is presently within McPherson’s Senate District 15, which contains a small portion of Santa Clara County, including Morgan Hill and a portion of San Jose. It also includes all of San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.
Effective December 2004, Gilroy will be in Senate District 13, which will include San Jose and much of unincorporated Santa Clara County, but not Morgan Hill. The current District 13 senator is John Vasconcellos.
The Assembly race
Only Democratic and Republican party candidates are on the ballot for the District 28 member of the State Assembly. And both parties only have one nominee each.
Salinas will get the nod for the Democrats as he tries to get re-elected in November to the seat he won in 2000. The former Salinas City Councilman sits on several committees in Sacrament. His assignments include the Transportation, Agriculture, Health, Housing & Community Development and Veterans Affairs committees.
Perkins, who has been a farm industry spokesman for 25 years, is promising to improve the economy by attracting businesses and increasing jobs. He wants to reduce regulations, taxes and unnecessary spending at the state as well as increase District 28’s legislative influence on the full Assembly.
For more information visit www.smartvoter.org online.
