 On The Line -- Issue 587 -- June 16, 2006  Online News and Views of Life in San Benito County with Herman Wrede Published by HollisterOnline.com -- Copyright 1995-2008 HollisterOnline.com
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On The Line -- Issue 587 -- June 16, 2006 Online News and Views of Life in San Benito County with Herman Wrede Published by HollisterOnline.com -- Copyright 1995-2008 HollisterOnline.com
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Because citizens of the United States of America live under a representative form of government, they have the privilege of selecting their leaders from municipal through the federal branches.
It was a hard-won privilege and one that people in many parts of the world envy, especially those where government is decreed by inheritance or, in many cases, by who can command the strongest army. San Benito County has a robust legacy of elections, dating from 1872 when it won secession from Monterey County. In the 134 years since, its residents have determined who will speak for them. Thus, for the primary election on Tuesday, June 6, registered voters went to the polls for 13 hours until 8 p.m. to decide their choice for leadership in the county and also on the federal level. As it turned out less than a third of those eligible to vote actually cast ballots. John R. Hodges, county clerk who chose not to seek re-election to that post after six terms, was at the county courthouse early to be sure that all the mechanics of the election and poll workers were ready to count the vote after the polls closed. He also had a personal interest. Even though Joe Paul Gonzalez, who was unchallenged on the ballot, was to succeed him as county clerk, Hodges was seeking the county Board of Supervisors Fourth District Seat. Reb Monaco is the incumbent and he was also challenged by Tracie Cone. Hodges' son, Mike Hodges, was there to be sure that the computers and other machinery involved was working well. With Mike Hodges were his wife, Linn, and her father, Russ Jeffries. John Hodges' daughter, Donna Rider, was also present. Lillian Pereira of the office staff was on hand as usual as were Kim Hawk and Karen Breen. In the hour before the polls closed a flurry of voting there gave a slim hope that the low turnout forecast might be a little higher. John Ivancovich, former Hollister mayor, was among those casting ballots in time for the election and he threw a slightly abashed smile at Hodges as though to gain expiation for waiting until the last minutes. In the meantime, people began filing into the former Supervisors' Chambers to await the results as they came in. Anna Marie Dos Remedios, Tracie Cone's chief supporter, was among them, and Kate Wood, another supporter, arrived shortly after. Linda Churchill and Sally Navarez took their places at a seat within the vote reception area, and Joe Paul Gonzalez kept an eye on the proceedings. Nick Lovejoy of the Free Lance shot a number of photographs to offer a selection for the next day's edition. Tom Slavich, who succeeded Arnold Fontes as county assessor last year and who was also unopposed on the ballot grinned ruefully. "I thought as a candidate I could take it easy during the vote gathering and counting," he said, "but the women insisted I lend a hand because I'm unopposed." Jim Pacheco, retired county worker, also was there to help and the faithful Montie Bryan was ready to bring votes up to be counted as they were delivered from the various polls, a duty with which he is very familiar. Tim Foley, county superintendent of schools, was on hand to see what was happening in his first challenge in the post since accepting it 10 years ago. His opponent, Dee Brown, came in about the same time with a number of supporters wearing T-shirts advocating her election. Neither Mary Lou Andrade nor her challenger, Jane Dabo Cruz, came to the court house but the latter's sister, Ann Marie Dabo, was there during her one-night stopover from San Francisco. She sat in the front row and greeted school friends from years before. Fulton Picetti was present as he often has been in past elections and talked with many friends. Each time an elections worker emerged from the back room with results from precincts that were in, people rushed forward to get them. Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz, who was elected two years ago and so was not running this time, showed up to see the returns for two friends. Art Cantu was in a three-way race with Candice Hooper Mancino against incumbent District Attorney John Sarsfield, and Ignacio Velasquez was alone in seeking the Republican nomination for the 24th State Assembly District. From the beginning, Supervisor Pat Loe held a commanding lead over Richard Place, former supervisor. The other challenger, Ron Stubblefield, died last month but his name still appeared on the ballot. Fran Taluban, wife of Judge Steve Sander who was unopposed for a second six-year term, stopped by to see how the other races were going. She talked briefly with Irene Agredano, who said succinctly that she regretted coming. At that moment groans and cries of gladness punctuated the ballot results. "One person's joy is another's pain," she said. Indeed, after each precinct was reported, many spectators called candidates in cell phones to report the standings. Supporters of Anna Caballero were elated in letting her know that she appeared to be carrying the county in her race against Ana Ventura Phares for the Democrat nomination for the Assembly. Noticeable by their absence were followers of the local political scene like Tony Ruiz, Leonard Poletti, Robert Scattini and others, some of whom were with the candidates they supported at private homes, restaurants and bars. Others, though, such as Becky McGovern, Louie Sumaya and others faithfully showed up to be a part of the Election Night scene. Much speculation was raised about what this or that vote meant. Meanwhile, in the area around the county clerk's office, John Hodges assessed the Fourth Supervisorial District race. Although about 3,000 votes would not be counted until later, he noted that he was third in that contest. Some friends tried to cheer him but Hodges said, "It's possible that the standings could change but I'm not going to stick my hopes on it. I never complained when the people elected me to office many times so I'm not going to argue about it now. When the people speak, that's it." |
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