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Category: Politics

  • Letter: Winters Councilmember supports Colin Walsh

    Walsh-photo-2I am writing in support of Colin Walsh for Davis City Council, District 2. He is a staunch advocate for transparency, accountability, and well-planned responsible city growth. These are all qualities I believe to be paramount in a city council member.

     

    Colin supports farmland preservation and has long supported putting peripheral growth and green field development to a popular vote even before it was on the ballot in 2000 as Measure J. He has and is currently working to prevent further sprawl and to encourage infill without stifling economic growth.

    Your vote for Colin as a council member will elect an official who will listen with respect to differing points of view, research the issues, carefully analyze and vote responsibly.

    As council member for the City of Winters, I believe these are essential qualities necessary for effective and representative city leadership. I have known Colin for many years and observed his development from the time he worked as a para educator at Holmes Junior High, where I worked for more than 30 years. He demonstrated competence and initiative at Holmes and has continued building these qualities.

    I strongly encourage your vote for Colin Walsh for Davis City Council.

     

    Pierre Neu

  • Letter: Larry Guenther brings hope

    GuentherLarry Guenther has some frustrations with Davis, but mostly, he has positivity.

    He brings hope for a better future to Davis. But not just hope alone—hope teamed with ability and passion for making hope come to fruition.

    He brings hope for more effective and people-oriented development projects. Hope for more advanced tech for all Davis. Hope for more effective, earth-focused solutions to our energy and waste needs. Hope for improved fiscal responsibility to better serve all Davis.

    If you share these hopes, vote Larry Guenther for City Council (District 3).

    Catherine Rudiger

  • Sept 24 Greenbelt Chat with Colin Walsh

    Walsh-photo-2(From press release) Greenbelt Chat with Colin Walsh on Thursday morning, Sept. 24, 7:30 am to 9:30 am!

    Please come meet Colin Walsh, candidate for Davis City Council, District 2. Neighbors are invited to drop by the Greenbelt near the sculpture of the dog on the tricycle. Feel free to ask questions and share your concerns.

    Literature and hand sanitizer will be available. Physical distancing and masks required.

  • Letter: Vote for Guenther for transparency and procedural reform

    GuentherVote for Larry Guenther for City Council. The Council needs more voices committed to more transparency and procedural reform. Larry Guenther is committed to being that kind of voice. The City needs a healthy balance of the "expert" recommendations of staff and the considerable real subject matter expertise of the community and its Citizen Commissions.  

    The Cannery project, with its litany of developer miscalculations and repeated applications for reconsideration of their ever-changing plan, is a text book example of failure in transparency and procedure. Cannery is just one example of a continued pattern of failure that is a huge problem for the city and its residents. All across the city we have been saddled with  months-long traffic problems and extra expenses without meeting our need for low income housing.

    We need a city that does not regard the General Plan as an invitation to developers to come in with a half-baked request for an exception. The City Council needs to represent its electorate. There is a long history of the City Council's development decisions that documents its failure to do so. This goes all the way back to the saving of Central Park and the great Farmers' Market we now have there. If the City Council had had its way in 1986, we would have a three-tiered shopping mall, with incalculable damage to downtown business, crawling traffic and more climate carbon footprint.

    We really have to get past the "business as usual" mentality, and Guenther will help us do that.

    Don Price

  • Darrah Runs Unopposed for Seat on DJUSD Board Area 2

    Lea-Darrah2(From press release) Lea Darrah, an advocate for children for more than 20 years, will be representing the Davis School Board as Trustee for Area 2. Under recently adopted policy, the Davis Joint Unified School Board election process established five trustee areas. As Darrah was the only person to file for candidacy in Area 2, she will be appointed to the office and her name will not appear on the Nov. 3 ballot, per CA Elections code 10515.

    Darrah's term as the Area 2 representative is scheduled to begin in December. The district's Area 2 map consists of some neighborhoods in north to east Davis. But, as part of the full board, she represents all students in the DJUSD.

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  • Letter: A breath of fresh air

    Walsh-photoBy John R. Pike

    This is in reference to the forthcoming election on Nov. 3, and not the change of climate caused by regional fires. I mean the election of Colin Walsh to District 2 of the City Council.

    For the past four years, the incumbent has reigned over the following events in Davis, each of which has contributed to a deterioration of public services:

     
    • Increased crime with particular reference to bike theft.
    • Chronic degradation of road conditions.
    • The Council approval of the U-Mall development despite a 7-to-0 opposition by the Planning Commission.
    • The BrightNight project, in which the city made a bad deal on valuable city-owned land.

    Each of the above suggests a changing of the guard is needed at City Hall to encourage greater public participation and transparency over important decisions that affect our City and lifestyle.

    Colin Walsh offers a ray of light in addressing these issues and more as we strive to re-engage our citizens with improved decision making and public services.

  • League of Women Voters to showcase local school board and city council candidates via Zoom

    Davis-LWVJoin the League of Women Voters Davis Area and Davis Media Access for a Zoom forum from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27 for five candidates vying for three spots on the Davis Joint Unified School District Board of Education.

    Zoom forums will also be held on Sunday, Oct. 4 for the nine candidates vying for three seats on the Davis City Council. The District 2 forum will be at 1 p.m., followed by District 3 at 3 p.m. and District 5 at 5 p.m.

    This is the first time candidates will compete to represent specific city council districts and school board areas, which are different.

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  • Two Virtual Candidate Forums to Focus on Race and Equity Issues

    YCDIEThe Yolo Committee for Diverse and Inclusive Elections (YCDIE) will be hosting two virtual candidate forums on Saturday, September 12th. The first will run from 10 am to 12 pm and is for candidates running for the Davis Joint Unified School District and Los Rios Community College District boards. The second forum will run from 2 pm to 4 pm and is for candidates running for Davis City Council and the Yolo County Board of Supervisors (4th District).

    The purpose of these candidate forums is to allow the voters of Davis to learn more about the candidates running for various local offices in the November election. The forums will focus on issues of equity, inclusion, social justice, and race as they pertain to local issues.

    Both forums are free to the public, but attendees must pre-register using the links below. Questions about the forums can be directed to ycdiedavis@gmail.com.

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  • Virtual Townhall With Colin Walsh Sept 9

    Walsh-logoColin Walsh, a candidate for Davis City Council 2020 District 2, is hosting a Zoom Town Hall on Wednesday, September 9 at 7 p.m. Members of the community are invited to this opportunity to get to know Colin and share your thoughts on Davis. Details at Walsh4Davis.com.

  • Sierra Club Endorses No on Measure B – No on DISC in Davis, CA

    Sierra Club endorsedCiting grounds of “excessive traffic, greenhouse gas emissions, and poor land-use and planning”, the Sierra Club announces its opposition to Measure B in Davis CA on the November 2020 municipal ballot.

    Measure B is a vote to allow the annexation of approximately 200-acres of Prime farmland on the northeast periphery of the City and the development of a business park along with a 850-unit housing development. The project site is now farmed and serves as foraging habitat for numerous Special Status Species including Burrowing Owls, Swainson’s Hawks, and White-Tailed Kites.

    The endorsement of the opposition to this ballot measure follows an extensive evaluation process by the local Sierra Club Yolano Group, the Sierra Club Mother Lode Chapter Political and Executive Committees, and the Sierra Club California Local Measure Review Committee.

    The Sierra Club has long-standing official policies designed to minimize urban sprawl onto farmland and habitat and maximize intensive infill development. These include planning policies that further conservation of open space and preservation of natural areas and agricultural lands. The Sierra Club opposes sprawl as a pattern of increasingly inefficient and wasteful land use with devastating environmental and social outcomes.

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