Two seats on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors were on the ballot. Susan Anderson (left) held onto her seat in District 2 with just more than 53% of the vote, defeating termed-out Councilmember Brian Calhoun and certified public accountant Paul Dictos.
The more closely watched race was for the District 5 seat, between political newcomer Debbie Poochigian (right) and Clovis Councilmember Nathan Magsig. Poochigian won that seat, capturing 54.19% of the vote.
Poochigian will take office in January after outgoing Supervisor Bob Waterston finishes his term. The major issue facing the Supervisors in the next few months will be the county's massive budget problems.
There is not much to be said. Except that neither of the two mudslingers, Magsig as well as Poochigian, should have a seat on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. Candidates like them are the reason that the citizens are increasingly
staying away from voting.
Enough said!
I voted for Debbie Poochigian after speaking briefly with her at my doorstep one day. Her communication with me was positive. Hardly an outsider, she had the endorsements from community leaders whom I trust. I did a little campaigning for her on my own and I am pleased with the outcome.
As a contented resident of Clovis, I have supported Mr. Magsig in previous races for office. I'm sure he appreciated my vote then and may well earn it in the future.
Campaigns are an adult activity, they are not inherently consensus building exercises.
"Campaigns being an adult activity, they are not inherently consensus building exercises" (whatever that means) is but expounding generalities. But the factual occurence of expending a million dollars
for two candidates, viciously impugning each other's character and integrity is an exercise in obscenity. It tends to turn off serious partricipants (voters) in local politics. It being a given that neither Magsig nor Poochigin would conduct themselves in such outrageous fashion in their everyday lives, cannot be construed as mitigating. Politics is not a dirty word, but those two have made it so, and it tends to turn off serious voters.