After thoroughly reviewing the five candidates for District 3 running to replace Gassandra on City Council, we are not making any endorsement at this time.
We interviewed Army veteran Kenneth Bell, who definitely opposes the Oligarchy agenda and advocates for less borrowing and spending, but we worry about his progressive positions on a range of issues. He served as President of Veronica Carbajal’s PAC and advocated for the ill-fated climate initiative, Proposition K. Of the candidates for District 3, he seems to be working the hardest and, to us, is the most focused and capable. If he wins, we have no doubt he will support lower taxation but we hope he will “stay in his lane” and not support initiatives that are outside his purview or that are wasteful or destructive. We invite you to watch our interview with him.
We contacted Navy veteran Jesse Romero to ask him whether he approves of the tax-and-spend policies of the current office holder and he refused to answer the question. His webpage is extremely thin on substance.
We reached out to County attorney Fabiola Arellano but she refuses to respond to us. She seems like an intelligent and capable professional but her webpage lacks focus, leaving us wondering whether she has a good grasp of the issues. In any case, she will not communicate with us.
We texted Deanna Maldonado-Rocha the same question we asked Mr. Romero: “Do you plan to continue the policies of Cassandra Hernandez? Do you approve of her performance on City Council?” Like him, she refused to answer but instead insisted on an in-person interview. We declined because she would not answer these basic questions.
Realtor Jose Rodriguez is the least serious candidate. He combines his business page with his campaign page and seems intent on using his candidacy to sell houses. He, too, refused to tell us whether he approves of the performance of the current office holder.