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The Pleasanton Weekly in its Friday edition has endorsed candidates in key local, state, federal and school board offices that most closely affect local voters in the Nov. 4 General Election.
The newspaper said its endorsements are based on candidate forums the Pleasanton Weekly and Tri-Valley Community Television (TV30) have hosted, editorial staff interviews and extensive coverage of this year’s candidates by its news staff.
The newspaper’s endorsements follow:
Mayor of Pleasanton
Vote for Jerry Thorne
Thorne’s an easy choice for re-election. He serves on numerous local, national, state, and regional boards, commissions and committees. Elected two years ago after seven years on the City Council, his policies and leadership have added to the city’s fiscal strength, wiped out all construction debt and encouraged the addition of multimillion-dollar business growth, including Clorox, Workday, CarMax and a new auto mall on Staples Ranch, adding significantly to the city’s job and tax base.
Matt Morrison, his opponent and a local attorney, is best known for his advocacy of slow growth and environmental concerns, but he is without the public service experience needed to enhance his readiness for mayor.
Pleasanton City Council
Vote for Kathy Narum, Arne Olson
Narum’s list of public service, civic and community involvement and achievements earns her a place as one of Pleasanton’s busiest Council members. Elected last May in a special election to replace Thorne after his election as mayor, Narum has shared in the council’s recent achievements, including adopting a new housing plan that fulfills a state mandate that previous councils ignored, which cost Pleasanton taxpayers $4 million in legal fees. A planning commissioner for five years and member of a host of city task forces and committees before that, she wins our endorsement for re-election.
Olson, a retired high-tech corporate finance executive who stepped down last May after eight years on the Planning Commission, brings the accountability and keen business acumen that we need on the council. He has our support.
Challengers George Bowen and Olivia Sanwong lack the seasoned experience necessary to cope with the tough finance, growth and state and regional pressures Pleasanton faces. Both have good credentials and we hope to see them advance their municipal interests with service on one of the commissions, such as Housing, Planning or Parks and Recreation.
Pleasanton School Board
Vote for Mark Miller, Joan Laursen
It’s been a troubling year for the Pleasanton school district which, despite national achievement awards and high student test scores, faced management turmoil as too many principals and teachers headed to other districts or out the door. The board faced a packed meeting room many times as parents and a few teachers complained about programs, calendar changes and personnel issues.
Mark Miller is a breath of fresh air whose professional demeanor can help end the strife. An IT architect for a major Tri-Valley corporation with children in Pleasanton schools, he became concerned by the recent change of the school calendar and other actions, or inactions, by the current school board. He believes that parental input has too often been ignored and is concerned about personnel issues and the poor relationship between the district and the community. If elected, he pledges to seek a balance of parent, student and staff needs, to be as transparent as possible and to work collaboratively with the community and neighboring districts to improve our schools.
Although Laursen has been a part of the board’s problem in recent months, her longtime work in Pleasanton schools, as a leader in the local and state PTA and now four years on the board provide experience and background the board needs. While it’s easy in considering the recent turmoil to say “throw the rascals out,” there is so little history in dealing with Pleasanton school issues and operations in both the current administration and on the school board that Laursen’s experience is needed.
Two others are seeking election to the board: incumbent Jeff Bowser and challenger Paige Wright. We recommend Miller and Laursen.
16th State Assembly District
Vote for Tim Sbranti
Tim Sbranti, Dublin’s mayor for the last eight years and 16 years as a classroom teacher, is our favorite for election to the 16th Assembly district, which represents Pleasanton. His well-rounded and broad dedication to public service puts him in a unique position to take on the challenges as a member of the State Legislature that few can duplicate. He’s also established good working relations with the mayors of Pleasanton and Livermore, serves with them as board members of TV30 and was responsible for saving our local community television system from bankruptcy a few years ago.
As much as Republicans would like to see another member of their party in the Legislature, Catharine Baker lacks the political savvy needed to be an effective advocate of Tri-Valley needs. A Dublin resident and skilled Pleasanton lawyer with notable social outreach skills, we’d like to see her serve first on a Dublin commission or its City Council.
15th Congressional District
Vote for Eric Swalwell
We said two years ago when we endorsed Swalwell for election to Congress, based on his service as a Dublin city councilman, “What’s there not to like about this guy?” After two successful years, we can say it again as we support his re-election in the 15th Congressional District, which includes Pleasanton. Swalwell is a member of the Dublin Lions Club, Hayward Rotary, Cornerstone Church in Livermore, and serves on the advisory council of Tri-Valley Conservancy. Add to that his “day job” as a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, he’s become a go-to congressman for gaining bipartisan support on ways to deal with ISIS and most recently on protection measures from Ebola.
His opponent is Hugh Bussell, a Republican.
Whatever your choices, be sure to vote by mail or at the polls on Nov. 4.
I know it’s traditional for newspapers to post their endorsements of candidates for office. You have to wonder tho, since a newspaper is not an voting entity, did the newspaper use a democratic process in choosing their preferences or was it just one person on the newspaper staff who chose their preferences, namely the person who the article
The Pleasanton Weekly endorsement of Tim Sbranti is nothing short of laughable. Here is a person that used his position as head of the California Teachers Association political action committee to basically smear his opponent, Steve Glazer, with the association spending millions on campaign contributions to assure that their lackey was the Democrats choice. The California Teachers Association has spent a record $211 million in the last decade to influence political outcomes. Follow the money and it is obvious who Sbranti is beholden to. In addition, Sbranti opposes transparency in public – sector collective bargaining, supports BART workers ability to strike, bringing the Bay Area to a grinding halt (refresh your memory on both the frustration and time delays caused by the unreasonable demands by the BART unions) and opposes reduction of future pension benefit accruals. His opponent for the 16th State Assembly District, Catharine Baker would ban strikes by BART workers; Sbranti would not. Baker has refused to fill out any secret questionnaires by interest groups, which are often a condition of endorsements and contributions; Sbranti has played that game. Baker agrees with a Los Angeles judge’s recent ruling that found that California’s overly protective rules on teacher tenure and the primacy of seniority undermine the civil rights of low-income and minority students; Sbranti sees no need to disrupt the status quo on that point.
Is this the type of representation that the 16th District wants?