Editorial
Election re-cap: our recommendations
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alifornia voters will participate in a different kind of primary when they vote on June 5, less than two weeks from now. The new “open primary” allows voters to select any candidate, regardless of party, for state and congressional office. The top two vote-getters advance to the general election in November, regardless of party. Interestingly, neither redistricting nor the new primary system has resulted in more competitive races in our region. Democratic legislative incumbents, led by longtime Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo, face relatively weak and minimally-funded opponents. The only race that comes close to offering voters a choice between two qualified candidates is for the state Senate seat being vacated by Joe Simitian, where Assemblyman Jerry Hill faces former Assemblywoman Sally Leiber, both Democrats. Given the mess in both Washington and Sacramento, it is ironic that Republicans have not put forth credible candidates, although our local districts are so heavily Democratic as to make Republican chances almost nil. Previously published editorials can be found at www.PaloAltoOnline. com. Here is a summary of our recommendations:
Jerry Hill for state Senate In a race that will almost certainly be repeated in the fall, Assembly member Jerry Hill, who has been representing the northern portion of San Mateo County, is our pick to replace Joe Simitian. Hill and Leiber are both solid, smart Democrats with independent streaks. The two have similar positions on most issues and either would provide outstanding representation for our area, but we prefer Hill’s background as a business person and his track record as a collaborative legislator willing and able to reach across the aisle and try to find compromise.
Rich Gordon for state Assembly Three inexperienced contenders are challenging incumbent Rich Gordon in this race, and in our view, none is qualified to sit in the state legislature. Gordon brings long experience to his quest for a second term, after serving 13 years on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and one term in the Assembly. In his freshman term, Gordon has seen 15 of the 19 bills he sponsored signed into law, an enviable record for any legislator, regardless of experience.
Joe Simitian for Board of Supervisors After serving in virtually every public office available short of statewide office, termed-out state Senator Joe Simitian is running to regain the seat on the Board of Supervisors that he gave up years ago. In Simitian’s perfect world, he would be sliding into the Congressional seat held by Anna Eshoo, but she has given no indication that she is in any hurry to retire, blocking Simitian’s ambitions for now. In the meantime, he will put his lengthy legislative experience to work, saying he is ready to work on health care reform and helping the county as it takes on more responsibility for housing adult and juvenile offenders due to state budget cuts.
Colin, Pogue for Superior Court Paul Colin, Chris Cobey and Alex Cerul are vying for the seat held by retiring Judge Jerome E. Brock, while Cynthia A. Sevely and Steven R. Pogue are seeking to replace Neal A. Cabrinha, who is also retiring. For Judge Brock’s seat, we find Paul Colin and Chris Cobey equally qualified but believe Colin’s solid experience and reputation as a deputy district attorney edges out Cobey’s many years at a large business firm. Colin has prosecuted a wide range of criminal cases, including sexual assault, sexual predators, drug dealing, and many others. Law is Colin’s third career, after stints in bookkeeping and high-tech before graduating from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston in 1992. In the race for the second judgeship, our choice is Steve Pogue, a general-practice attorney who graduated from San Jose State and Lincoln University Law School in San Jose. Many of Pogue’s clients are immigrants, and we believe Pogue would bring a unique background to the court as well as a sensitivity to the average citizen that we find refreshing. His opponent, Cynthia Sevely, is a deputy district attorney and an experienced prosecutor, but we were less impressed with her judicial temperament during our interview.
Yes on county Measure A When the Board of Supervisors decided in 2010 to give the Sheriff control over most of the county’s jails some, including Supervisor Liz Kniss, believed the move violated the county charter and needed a public vote. So after two years of operating the jails without voter approval, a lawsuit has forced the Supervisors to put the issue to the voters May 5. If approved, as expected, Measure A will reaffirm the 2010 restructuring and give supervisors the ability to change oversight of the jails in the future. Supervisors say with the Sheriff in charge, the county is saving $7 million a year. We don’t see a downside here and urge voters to vote yes on Measure A. Page 12ÊUÊ >ÞÊÓx]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V
Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions
Adopt parking permits Editor, Parking has been an escalating neighborhood issue in recent years, talked to death by committees and City Council alike. Now, there is a safety factor in addition to the inconvenience having to park blocks from one’s own home should one have the audacity to go out in the morning and return at midday. Each morning eager Millennials arrive in our Professorville neighborhood, park their cars and head for their jobs downtown. The cars stay all day. The streets are narrow. With cars parked up and down either side of the street and visibility blocked by the cars parked too close to the corners, it is very dangerous to make a safe passage. Today I practically had a head-on collision with a truck driver speeding his way down the middle of a narrow street to a remodel site in the neighborhood. We need parking relief, and we need it now. Our homes are more than a century old and do not have garages; if they do, they are generally one-car ports. And it’s the rare 21st-century family that has fewer than two cars. I urge the council to adopt the residential parking permit program, or come up with a better solution. But please, I’m begging you to act now. Our college kids are soon to be home for the summer. They have been away for nine months and are not anticipating speeding truckers barreling down the narrow streets of their childhood. None of us wants a tragedy. We just want our safe neighborhood back. Susan Wolfe Ramona Street Palo Alto
Teachable moments Editor, May all the saints bless our dedicated, hard-working school board, but I wish that in their Tuesday deliberations on a district homework policy, they had shown more skepticism about directing high school teachers to post homework assignments online. If, as an English teacher at Gunn, I post my assignments online, the students will no longer pay attention in class when I announce the assignments. (My students are not dumb.) If they don’t pay attention when I announce the assignments, I lose the benefit of their reactions: faces or body language that tell me that the assignment is too complicated, too easy, too long, or too confusing; or raised hands seeking clarifications. And thus the Board’s larger purposes — of opening communication between teachers and students about homework, and of making sure homework is appropriate and sensible — are defeated. Giving assignments during class is invariably a “teachable moment,” useful in reminding my kids of the
importance of paying attention, writing things down and taking responsibility for their lives. Moreover, posting homework assignments online enables many kids’ parents to monitor their child’s school life in a suffocating way. Some parents even believe that missing a single high school homework assignment will ruin their child’s future. Parents shouldn’t be encouraged in this kind of mentally unhealthy thinking. The school board’s efforts in the matter of homework — especially Ms. Townsend’s caveats at this week’s meeting — are praiseworthy. Marc Vincenti Gunn High School Palo Alto
El Camino Elysées? Editor, Heard of the “Grand Boulevard”? Though the phrase conjures up images of Paris’ Champs Elysées, it refers to a local plan to, among other things, commandeer two lanes of El Camino for busses. Something gets lost in translation. Our serviceable, workaday thoroughfare, lined with Walmarts, gas stations, banks, Starbucks and Safeways, is a far cry from “Grand.” No Place de la Concorde
or Arc de Triomphe here. But it does serve our purposes as a transportation artery — that is, it has up to now. However, eliminating two lanes would surely create unbearable traffic congestion and gridlock. But perhaps that is the intention. After all, the so-called sustainability agenda that is inflicting high-density, mixeduse urban squalor on our downtowns in Palo Alto, Menlo Park and surrounding cities, also calls for “transit corridors” to replace our “unsustainable” use of cars. It is time for Peninsula residents to connect the dots. Sustainable Development, the U.S. version of an international agenda, is using the environment as an excuse to enact a “wrenching transformation” of America into a beaten-down, sovietized, state-controlled society. If that sounds good to you, and/or if sitting in your car in gridlock inhaling bus fumes is your cup of tea, you’re in luck. Otherwise, take action to stop the Grand Boulevard from further reducing our quality of life. Cherie Zaslawsky Oak Lane Menlo Park
YOUR TURN The Palo Alto Weekly encourages comments on our coverage or on issues of local interest.
What do you think? What do you think of the school district’s change in graduation requirements? Submit letters to the editor of up to 250 words to letters@paweekly.com. Include your name, address and daytime phone number so we can reach you. We reserve the right to edit contributions for length, objectionable content, libel and factual errors known to us. Anonymous letters will generally not be accepted. You can also participate in our popular interactive online forum, Town Square, at our community website at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Read blogs, discuss issues, ask questions or express opinions with you neighbors any time, day or night. Submitting a letter to the editor or guest opinion constitutes a granting of permission to the Palo Alto Weekly and Embarcadero Media to also publish it online, including in our online archives and as a post on Town Square. For more information contact Editor Jocelyn Dong or Online Editor Tyler Hanley at editor@paweekly.com or 650-326-8210.