☆ Election roundup (8/14): Elected officials do as *they* wish, ignore residents’ best interests
Princess Bride's (1987) hero Westley woos Buttercup with kindness and servitude, while Prince Humperdinck (pictured here) orders Buttercup to marry him—or die. We'll give you a hint on whom she chooses: it's not Humperdinck.
Former Palo Alto mayor Lydia Kou and Recovery Education Coalition founder Tom Wolf find it near-inconceivable that many local gov’ts endorsed Prop 5, while opposing Prop 36. Whether they're just out-of-touch, trying to line their pockets, or listening to the wrong stakeholders (all of the above?)—they've got to start prioritizing what Bay Area voters need. An Opp Now exclusive.
Biggest surprise of the election?
Lydia Kou, former Palo Alto mayor: It is disturbing that this state government is so very much in the mega tech corporations' influence. These state elected officials are not working for Californians. I understand from some constituents that Meta supported Prop 5 and donated into a PAC to do this.
Then, PG&E has also donated to many campaigns and has gotten legislation passed on their behalf, such as AB1054, which was nicely titled as The California Wildfire Fund.
Sadly, Californians do not know what oversight or accountability needs to be conducted prior to giving these "safety" certificates. Were these "safety" certificates created to shield the shareholders from liability, and how easy is it to procure? Are PG&E ratepayers paying these higher rates to help shield PG&E's shareholders and also to ensure they keep getting their dividends?
I'm also dismayed and very disappointed with the California Democratic Party. This party has polarized our state; and sadly, I hold them responsible for the state of our nation as well. Mega corporations are running the country, and the state of California and are quite blatant about it, too. Look at Elon Musk, Reed Hoffman, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, etc., etc.
Tom Wolf, Recovery Education Coalition founder: Our governor and the rank and file Democrats in state legislature were almost all unanimously opposed to Prop 36, but it passed with a 70% vote. That's the true definition of “landslide.”
It's astonishing to me. They might have been deliberately myopic so they didn't break from ideology, but I'm surprised they missed out on that signal from California voters: that they want accountability back for habitual reoffenders, they want open drug use and homelessness to stop.
Also, I think it involves a certain degree of out-of-touchness. Our politicians spend a lot of time in their nice Sacramento offices, but aren't often on the streets in their communities. And when they are on the streets, they tend to solely attribute problems to the housing crisis, while ignoring that it's a multitude of crises, including lack of law enforcement and the drug addiction crisis. There are many factors that come together to make what we're seeing in SF and SJ.
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