Salinas Californian, November 23, 2011
Vote economy, not politics
How do members of the Assembly typically get elected? This is perhaps the saddest thing about politics in California: it is all about money and gaining access.
Each Assembly district is rated by power brokers in Sacramento as either safe (meaning either a Democrat or a Republican will hold that seat) or competitive. Most districts in California are safe, and most are Democrat. Sophisticated money (political parties and other special interests) only support candidates in safe districts, not caring about what political philosophy (liberal, conservative, moderate) a candidate has.
Your readers need to ignore political affiliations. Open primaries will help that, but we need to make the decision to vote for the best candidate that has the pro-economy growth qualifications and the will to restore jobs, fix education, and bring common sense solutions to California.
We need our schools fixed. Now. We need fully staffed fire, sheriff, police, and other necessary public service departments. Now. Too many ordinances, laws, and regulations actually stop job creation, take away resources from necessary services, and chase businesses away from California.
Individuals in unions are good people, but in many cases their leadership has led them to a path of an unsustainable government model.
Newspapers and other news organizations need to make sure they are fairly reporting on issues and candidates. We are in a crisis and news organizations are not doing themselves any favors by ignoring the most qualified candidate.
Rob Bernosky
Salinas
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