By Chris Finnie
This month, I had the opportunity to interview all the candidates who appeared at the Valley Women’s Club Candidates Forum. For those who didn’t have the chance to see them in person, here are excerpts of those interviews.
I was impressed with their passion, their plans, and their willingness to run for office—many for the first time. Campaigning is hard work, and I have a lot of respect for people who put their lives on hold to do it. We couldn’t have a functioning government without them. So, with my thanks for their willingness to take time out of their already-busy schedules, here’s some of what they told me.
Judge, Superior Court 1
Annarae Angel
A criminal defense attorney for 27 years, Ms. Angel says she understands the courtroom.
She hopes to treat everybody with dignity and respect, and would like to work for changes in the programs for young offenders. Ms. Angel says she doesn’t want people back in criminal court and feels that getting services closer to people can help them succeed.
She admits that institutional change is hard. But she stresses that, “Courts belong to the people. It takes creativity to bring new things into the court. And it’s our job to protect people—victims, families, and even people who are charged.”
For more information, go to: Angel4judge2020 on Facebook or www.Angel4judge2020.com
Jack Gordon
Mr. Gordon moved to Santa Cruz County from San Jose and worked as a county sheriff for 15 years. After that, he worked for 26 years in San Jose as a lawyer. He believes this gives him a unique perspective on the justice system and a good balance of experience. This is important, he says, because this varied law experience in different counties would help him bring a wider vision to bench.
If elected, he’d like to try more cases in Watsonville to allow more people to be able to use the courts. He says it would also save time for officers who have to testify, and save money for the city. He also points out that it’s hard for low-income people to travel and take time away from jobs to attend court in distant cities.
For more information, go to www.Jackgordonforjudge.com
Nancy de la Pena
Ms. de la Pena says, “Over 33 years, my whole practice has been on behalf of residents and agencies in Santa Cruz County.” That includes work as a public defender and with child protective services. Her objective is to take her relationships with these agencies, plus her knowledge and understanding to sentence appropriately and affect cases to reduce recidivism.
Some of the things Ms. de la Pena would like to enact as a judge include easier supervised visits, recognition of local resources for their programs, the use of community service instead of fines for misdemeanors—all of which she believes would re-weave healthy communications between offenders and their communities.
For more information, visit www.nancy4judge.com
State Senate, district 17
Maria Cadenas
While she feels California is doing a lot of good work, it’s not at the scale or with the urgency she feels is needed to leave a livable planet to our children.
Ms. Cadenas feels strongly that many of the issues we face are connected, and it’s not effective to address them individually. Or to legislate just for the legislative term instead for the long term.
She believes we’re at a unique moment in time, and that, if we want to address our future, we need to see that the economic crisis and housing is related to climate crisis. To look at them with a fresh perspective. To be bold and fresh.
For more information, visit www.Maria2020.com
John Laird
Mr. Laird notes that the climate crisis has accelerated, and we have just years to turn things around. He says, “California has been way ahead and I was part of team that organized internationally on this issue. And we’re still not doing enough. So many other issues come back to that. What are we going to do to step up our game on that, and do it in a way that does not exclude disadvantaged communities?”
Other issues he’s focused on are:
- The housing crisis
- Student funding
- Fire insurance
- A viable recycling program
Mr. Laird said “I have the knowledge, and relationships across the state to work with people on all these issues. And I’m ready to hit the ground running to really get things done.”
To learn more, go to www.lairdforcasenate.com
John Nevill
As a respiratory therapist, with a background in healthcare administration, Mr. Nevill worked in the county developing programs. He says he, “Learned we could do better.”
Mr. Nevill also owns a ranch and says, “You have to preserve the land. Everybody needs food and water.” He suggested that a tunnel might be a way to deal with water distribution.
Vocational education is the third issue he talked about. He plans to develop opportunities through community colleges, and proposes the possibility of funding it through developing apprentice programs and internships.
For more information, look up his page on Facebook: Nevill4Senate
State Assembly, district 29
Shomir Banerjee
Dr. Banerjee believes his background as an energy engineer and a physician will give him a unique perspective, and that we need more viewpoints for a more balanced perspective in Sacramento. He characterized himself as a “fair, balanced, well-thought-out, moderate Republican.”
Some of the issues where he felt his perspective would be valuable included homelessness, where he calls the current approach “superficial” and says it needs to change. As a doctor, he knows that the cause of a third of homelessness is medical.
He believes we don’t have the health outcomes such a wealthy country should have, and that California should provide highest quality healthcare to the most people, for the least cost, so the rest of the country could follow our example. Dr. Banerjee says we have to streamline administration to achieve this.
For more information, go to www.sb4assembly.org
Mark Stone
Assemblymember Stone points to his seniority and place in the caucus as reasons to re-elect him. He says he chairs significant committees, and is well positioned to complete many of the things he’s started in his earlier terms.
Some of the things he wants to work on are in the areas of:
- Child welfare
- Prison reform
- Environment
The assemblymember says he wants to make sure utility liabilities don’t get passed on to ratepayers. He also wants to work for more public control of the system of distribution and transmission so that ratepayers—especially rural ones—can benefit from economies of scale.
Though assemblymember Stone says he believes the district “knows who I am and what I work on,” you can still learn more at www.friendsofmarkstone.org
