Politics is a dirty business even locally, so who sent the
mailer is pure speculation
Bad news: an anonymous mailer has been sent to “a number of prominent Gilroyans,” according to a Dispatch story printed Thursday, June 21. The mailer says that Mayor Al Pinheiro and Councilmen Paul Correa, Roland Velasco, Dion Bracco and Russ Valiquette give “Rubber Stamp Approvals.”
Mind, there is nothing wrong with the accusation itself. The above named council members do indeed rubber stamp virtually everything that City Administrator Jay Baksa asks them to.
No, the bad news is that the mailer was anonymous. (The lesser bad news is that I did not receive one. I guess I am not prominent enough.)
There are several possibilities as to the nature of the anonymous sender. Most likely, he is a coward: unwilling to state his opinion in a public forum and take the inevitable flack.
But it is also possible that he (or she) is ignorant: too young or politically naive to know that it is perfectly acceptable in political discourse to make the statements made in the mailer, but totally unacceptable to do so anonymously.
It is even possible that the author is a supporter of Pinheiro et al trying to throw dirt on Craig Gartman in a roundabout devious fashion. Politics is a deep and filthy game.
Councilman Russ Valiquette, while nobly refusing to name a possible culprit, said, “Look at the terminology used in it, and think about the few letters and articles in the last few weeks and who has used the term “rubber stamping.”
All right, let’s do that. Councilman Gartman used the term publicly from the dais. Mark Zappa has used it in a letter. The editorial board used it in one recent editorial and three earlier ones. Ben Anderson used it in two recent columns. Al Pinheiro used in a recent guest column attempting to justify council’s actions. I used it in a recent column and five past columns.
In fact, a search in the Dispatch archives on the term “rubber stamp” brings up 40 references in Opinion, 16 in News, and two in Lifestyles, including ancient opinion pieces by James Brescoll and Dennis Taylor. (In an ironic coincidence, the Lifestyles pieces dealt with roof rats, not politics.)
The point I would like to make to Councilman Valiquette is that the people who use the term “rubber stamp” publicly are the last ones in the world who would sneak around and send an anonymous mailer.
I sincerely hope that whoever sent the hit piece will come out of the shadows and say, “Hey! I sent that. I did not realize it was wrong to do it anonymously, and I want to take responsibility for my actions.”
I am not holding my breath.
n n n
Another recent Dispatch article states that Councilman Gartman has been drawing the ire of his peers for, first, voting against them on issues, and secondly, for the way he votes against them. The comments of his peers are illuminating.
“… He tries to embarrass the council'” Velasco said. “Maybe he’s right, and six other intelligent, independent-thinking adults are wrong.” But are they really independent if they always vote in lockstep?
“I don’t believe this is a good way to go, being a maverick'” Bracco said. “The election’s a long ways off, and if he’s elected, how’s he going to lead a council that isn’t on his side? … He’s running the risk of alienating everyone.” Do you mean you will vote against him out of spite?
“I think my job as a mayor has been to build consensus, to keep dialogue open,” Pinheiro said, and: “As mayor, he’s going to have to bring people together. He can’t just go in there like a bull in a china cabinet, what is he going to do as mayor? Force them to agree?”
To me, the council’s job is not to vote with the majority, build consensus, or bring people together. The council’s job is to represent the interests of the people of Gilroy. Sometimes that means voting against the recommendations of the city administrator. To his credit, Craig Gartman frequently ignores peer pressure. He safeguards our interests and, in so doing, makes the rest of council look bad. He’s my kind of maverick.
Cynthia Anne Walker is a homeschooling mother of three and former engineer. She is a published independent author. Her column is published in The Dispatch every week.
