Gene Goss, click to enlarge
Editorial posted 3/27/14 – As I let him know back in mid-February, SierraMadreNews.Net endorses Gene Goss for City Council, just as we did in 2012. As I said at that time, “Gene has studied politics for much of his adult life, he has a Masters Degree in Political Science. Heck, he teaches it at Long Beach City College. I think that knowledge might be helpful to the City. His experience as Technology Committee Chair at LBCC might also come in handy in assessing the City’s methods and policies regarding technology. As an academic, he will bring analytical skills to the table as well. He has a young son that he wants to continue to raise here in Sierra Madre, so he is fully invested in the future of our town, as well. I didn’t know Gene before this campaign, but we’ve sat down a few times and talked, and I have been comfortable with him right from the start, and we are on the same page with the issues we’ve discussed. That’s not a prerequisite for my endorsement, by the way. I don’t have to agree on everything with a candidate in order to endorse them. But in this case, we seem to be pretty much of like mind, and for me, that’s a definite plus.”
Everything I said then holds true today. But I know him better now than I did then, and he’s done nothing that would cause me to retract the News Net endorsement. And one thing in particular that holds a lot of weight, is that he’s been here 19 years, and has knowledge and awareness of our City, its government, and the people who run our town. I’m glad to support him, and I encourage you to vote for him.
That last line is important. Because this year, for the first time, I’m only endorsing one candidate, though there are three seats open. The reason being, that for me to offer the News Net’s endorsement to a candidate, I have to support them fully, and I have to feel strongly that I’m doing the right thing by giving them the News Net’s endorsement, thereby encouraging News Net readers to vote for that candidate. And in this campaign, while I will vote for two other people, and I will offer them limited support, I don’t feel it’s appropriate to encourage other people to vote for someone when I’m not even 100% convinced that I’m making the right choice. I have questions and concerns about the other candidates, and I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to recommend that you vote for someone while those concerns exist, and so I’m withholding the News Net endorsements for the other two seats.
So, as I said, SierraMadreNews.Net endorses Gene Goss for City Council.