A packed ballot awaits Morgan Hill voters in the upcoming general election. Especially in years with presidential politics grabbing the spotlight, local races can be overlooked. That's too bad, because it's the local races that have the most impact on voters' day-to-day lives. Two of those local races are for the California Assembly's 27th District, and for Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge.
Bill Monning for Assembly
Of the three candidates for assembly, Democrat Bill Monning is the clear choice to replace termed-out Assemblyman John Laird. Monning advocates a two-year budget cycle and changing the rules so that budgets can be passed with a simple majority. Both are key steps that will go a long way toward eliminating the annual budget showdown that locks up Sacramento every summer.
The other two candidates - both Morgan Hill residents - are ideologues who espouse extreme views. Republican Robert Murray opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest. He advocates school vouchers with almost no restrictions, and sees no separation of church and state issues with state dollars being spent on religious school tuition. He opposes same-sex marriage and domestic partnerships for same-sex couples.
Libertarian Mark Hinkle wants to "separate church and school" and when quizzed by editorial board members about the effect of having no public schools on poor children, seemed unconcerned and said that kids who come from families that don't value education don't succeed in school anyway, leaving us with the distinct impression that he equates poor families with families that don't value education. He also repeated an easily debunked theory that the current mortgage crisis was caused by too much government regulation of lenders, not too little. We urge voters to select Bill Monning for the 27th Assembly District.
Diane Ritchie for Superior Court
Voters can choose from two excellent candidates for Santa Clara County Superior Court. It's nice to have a difficult choice, and we've made it: We endorse Diane Ritchie.
Ritchie has broader experience than her opponent, Lane Liroff, having worked, like Liroff, as a deputy district attorney. Unlike Liroff, Ritchie has also worked as a mediator and has broad experience in civil as well as criminal cases.
Although we think of judges presiding over trials involving accused criminals, approximately half of the caseload in Santa Clara County Superior Court is civil. Civil cases include employment law, family court, discrimination, personal injury, real estate, and more. Because judges are rotated throughout various courts during their six-year terms, Ritchie's broad experience during her 26-year career earns our endorsement.
Vote Diane Ritchie for Santa Clara County Superior Court.
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