Now that the results are in and the dust has settled, it seems
appropriate to draw some conclusions about the election just past
and to state some hopes for the Gilroy City Council terms just
ahead. job well done.
Now that the results are in and the dust has settled, it seems appropriate to draw some conclusions about the election just past and to state some hopes for the Gilroy City Council terms just ahead. job well done. It was a lovely campaign: no mud, no blood. Just good clean statements about who stands for what, and a lot of hard precinct-walking work.
Secondly, isn’t it interesting how the first three candidates listed on the ballot won the three open seats?
Thirdly, it seems clear that the ballot initiatives regarding unions brought out the union vote in force and swayed the City Council election accordingly.
Fourthly, there seems to be an undercurrent in the electorate of elevated concern about growth. The town is different: more shopping, traffic jams on Tenth Street, lots of new construction and the impending new development of more than 1,000 Glen Loma homes. The residents who are already here seem poised to say: “Enough already. I got mine; close the gates.”
Fifthly and most emphatically, it seems clear that a substantial portion of the electorate unfortunately relies solely on the ballot statements when it comes time to choose their candidates. Bob Dillon’s decision to save the city $1,000-plus by forgoing his ballot statement may have been good stewardship, but it likely cost him the election.
Looking toward the future, we hope that Dillon stays active in local politics and plans a comeback in the next election cycle.
We hope that Dion Bracco maintains his small-businessman good sense when dealing with the city budget, and that he expands his repertoire of expertise to handle issues not directly related to planning.
We hope that Peter Arellano makes good on his promises to do his homework and come prepared to council meetings. We think, based on his campaign statements, that he would be an excellent choice to serve on the Valley Transportation Authority board and represent Gilroy’s transportation needs to the county.
Arellano’s campaign mailer even mentioned sidewalks. We fervently hope that the city fixes this problem once and for all. Gilroy has some major challenges ahead. We need to provide services for a massive new development, maintain momentum on the current downtown revitalization and deal with old sexual harassment claims and counter charges of fraud.
It would be great to begin by burying the bloodsucking sidewalk vampire with a stake through its heart.
