Issue 5 • Friday, Nov. 10, 2016 • deltacollegian.net
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Stockton veteran remembered for loving character By Devin Wickstrom Senior Staff Writer
City councilmember Michael Tubbs speaks to his supporters on Nov. 8 in downtown Stockton. PHOTO BY MIDORI MORITA
TUBBS MAKES HISTORY of community policing and work on the city’s homelessness plan. Assistant News Editor Kayla Shipley, a supporter of Tubbs, attended the event. Tuesday brought Donald Trump’s She is optimistic about Stockton’s surprising victory over Hillary Clinnext four years. ton, but also a landslide victory and “Opportunities for a lot of other shake-ups in local races. people … for people who aren’t given Trump’s 279 confirmed electora chance to be seen usually,” she said. al votes to Clinton’s 228, as of press “For him it’s like showing that there time, came after an evening of too are other people in this city that close to call races. The same isn’t true matter and he wants to show that he of Stockton’s mayoral race. cares about them as well.” When initial results posted around Mayor Anthony Silva published a 8:20 p.m., Michael Tubbs was alFacebook statement on Wednesday ready ahead with a wide margin. conceding defeat. Tubbs, the youngest man elected “One of the most difficult things to the office in Stockton’s history, to do in life is accept defeat. Conwon by 70.4 percent of the vote. gratulations to Michael Tubbs, he Tubbs is also the city’s first black is the new Mayor-Elect. This aftermayor. noon I will call him to personally “It’s an invitation to believe again,” congratulate him and offer my supsaid Tubbs, at a result-watching port. Tubb’s reaction in light of the event held in downtown Stockton. “I news was simple,” wrote Silva. know talking to folks throughout the The full text, which asks resident city, people have lost hope, in Govto “not rush to judge” new leaders, ernment, in City Hall.” can be viewed on Silva’s Facebook When asked about what his first page. task to tackle as mayor, Tubbs said Tubbs responded simply to his he would hound after Stockton’s viwin. olent crime problem through the use
“I feel excited to be the next mayor of Stockton,” he said. At the national level, despite Clinton’s massive rally/concert featuring Beyonce and Jay-Z and the initial cutting-edge closeness of the general election, Trump managed to seal the victory. Canada’s immigration website crashed as Trump’s victory became a certainty. Trump also took 47 percent of the entire popular vote to Clinton’s 48 percent. Gary Johnson gained three percent and only one percent went to Jill Stein. The Democrats failed to gain the House of Representatives or the Senate, in short, the Republicans won nationally across the board. The San Joaquin Delta College Board of Trustees will only see one new face soon, as two incumbents retained their seats. C. Jennet Stebbins won Area 1 with 54.79 percent of the vote, Carlos Huerta took Area 2 with 54.39 percent over incumbent Claudia Moreno-Rabago and Teresa R. Brown held on to Area 6 with 67.88 percent of the vote.
have been pressured into making the wrong choice and scared about how they’ll be affected by the elections outcome. “I’m voting this year because I don’t want Trump as president,” said 18-year old Delta student Francisco Damian. Jocelyn Rebolledo, 18, also a Delta student said she didn’t want Trump to win the election as well. She was part of the June Presidential Primary Election and liked how exposed she was to all the different parties — “it was actually interesting” — but looking back she said the whole election is horrible “because of all the hate that they have created between the people.” Throughout history there has been a struggle between those who want
to vote and those who want to deny people the right to vote based off nationality and gender. “Voting is a privilege to have,” said Rebolledo, “because there are people who can’t vote but want to vote, so if you can vote then vote.” Rebolledo feels the same way about voting, “it’s one of the things that says ‘Hey you’re a U.S. citizen and you should be proud of that.’” When the Voting Rights Act was signed into law in 1965 Lyndon B. Johnson declared the enactment was a matter of morality and not just politics. Christian Rodriguez, is a political major and second year student at Delta, said, “in order for a true democracy to work every person’s voice
By Killian Barnhart
Young voters optimistic leading to election By Sathina Flores Staff Writer
First-time voters sometimes stand in silence, as if they didn’t want to know what the person in front or behind them was thinking or whom they be voting for, along with the other hundred or so experienced voters waiting for their shot at the ballot on Nov. 8. Ebony Gonzales, 18, is a Delta College student hoping to vote for every election from here on out. “I wish to get my opinion in,” she said. “You never know when that one vote can make all the difference.” Then there are those who will change their vote last minute instead of voting for the candidate of their choice. There are also those who may
See VOTES, page 8
“He was our daddy before all of that,” she said with reminiscing smile. “He was 10-feet tall and bulletproof.” Her voice echoes from the kitchen throughout the rest of the living room, which is directly attached to it. An obvious patriotic color scheme, complimented by other red, white, blue home décor, covers the entire living and dining area — the Stars and Stripes neatly folded in a triangular fashion is present, as it always had been, near the fireplace. It’s in perfect position to be viewed from anywhere within the living area, especially from the dining table, where Tina Pittman-Carr sat. Her father, Richard Pittman, a Vietnam veteran died at age 71 in Stockton. A Stockton Unified School District elementary school is named after him. His family is mourning the loss of a larger-than-life character. Tina, remembers the salutes her father, a Master Gunnery Sergeant, would get upon entering any base, and how she assumed it was a common practice for guards to salute everyone. Then she noticed other Marines weren’t being saluted. “I tried to tell my mama on the guards because I thought they weren’t doing their jobs right,” she said. Her father found out about her catching on, and instructed the guard to salute everyone who accompanied Tina simply so she wouldn’t assume her daddy was different. The veteran seemed to have that kind of power most places he went. “We still knew he was the biggest, baddest marine of them all, but we thought he was normal,” she said. Rick was an influential person, not only on base but with whoever he was with. He grew up in a poor family in Stockton, and graduated from Franklin High School. He wanted a better life for his children. One of the many jobs Rick had was military police and he liked working first watch, which is from midnight to 6 a.m. It’s not the most convenient time to work on a daily basis, but one of the reasons he liked doing it was because it allowed him to make a breakfast every morning for his girls. “I don’t ever remember not having a warm breakfast when dad was there,” Tina said. That’s one of the many memories Tina has of her father growing up. There are only so many things Rick doesn’t like in this world, one of them being his daughters crying and another being the dark. Tina never remembered waking up to darkness — there were always nightlights lining the walls. “He called them his ‘aiming lights,’” she said. “He always made us
See VETERAN, page 8
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