“Personal” Elections

“Personal” elections
Windsor voters should take the Nov. 8 elections very personally, especially when it comes to choosing new leaders for the Town of Windsor council and Windsor Unified School District board.
We don’t mean “personal” in the way Trump and Clinton have been getting personal by firing ugly personal attacks at one another. That kind of “up close and personal” campaigning has led our national politics into the gutter and worse. It seems risky to urge voters to actually study the personal traits, character and principles of candidates.
But in our local elections where the candidates are also our neighbors, fellow citizens, business people or colleagues, the best voting technique is to actually meet and talk with the  candidates. Just reading all the local campaign mailers is never very informative. Those “hit pieces” is where the “personal” gets a bad name.
Let’s not forget that character and good judgement are important. We want honest, articulate and attentive people to watch over our tax money, public services and well-being.
If you only relied on all the campaign literature we get in our mailboxes or in our spam folders, you wouldn’t be able to find a single candidate worthy of your vote.
But, many of us know the men and women on our school and town ballots. We know that they actually possess outstanding personal qualities and have the desired values and viewpoints that will serve us well as our next school board and town leaders.
In the Windsor Town Council election there are five candidates seeking two open seats, including incumbents Debora Fudge and Bruce Okrepkie.
The three challengers are Michael Wall, Julia Donoho and Rosa Reynoza. Each offers a very personal reason for seeking elected office and putting their name in front of the entire Windsor community.
Wall moved here in 2005 with his young family and last year got immersed in the public debate over Lytton Pomo tribe development on the western edge of town. Wall opposes the project but favors other economic and commercial development in town.
Donoho, a lawyer, ran for town office in 2006 and is seeking office again, not to “push anyone out” but to offer her own skills and viewpoints, she has said. She wants to streamline council meetings, involve more Latinos in city affairs and keep the current General Plan update planning moving forward.
Rosa Reynoza is new to politics but is running to “maintain a smart, controlled growth with a focus on our infrastructure.”
Deb Fudge should be well known to all voters, having served on the council for 20 years. After running unsuccessfully three times for county supervisor, she is now asking voters to elect her to a new four-year term closer to home. Okrepkie, the other incumbent, is seeking his second term and currently serves as the town’s mayor.
The WUSD board race is equally as competitive and personal. Incumbents George Valenzuela and Bill Adams and challenger Mitchell Egan are competing for two four-year terms and Alex Egan and Esther Lemus are competing for a separate two-year term.
Much of the campaign debate among the candidates has been about the WUSD Measure F, a $62 million school bond to fund future school construction, remodeling and campus upgrades. Mitchell Egan is “vehemently” opposed to Measure F, Alex Egan declined to answer a newspaper question on the topic and the other three candidates all support Measure F.
Fifty-five percent of the voters must support Measure F for it to pass on Nov. 8. If passed, Windsor homeowners’ taxes would increase by $49 per $100,000 of assessed valuation on a property or home. The bond debt would stay on local tax bills at least through year 2030.
Few things get more personal than having a new line item on your tax bill. And, just remember, if you don’t vote, you could still win the higher tax bill.
— Rollie Atkinson