Political Stories
Top stories
Education fight over ‘shades of Democrat’ — A group that lobbies to change public education is pouring money into a handful of Northern California legislative races ahead of the June 7 election, aiming to influence the kind of Democrats who hold power in the state Capitol. CALmatters article
Democrats rally behind gun control bills on eve of vote – On the eve of the California Senate acting on 10 gun control bills, state lawmakers on Wednesday said mass shootings, such as the one in San Bernardino last December, require legislative action to close loopholes in California’s already strict laws. LA Times article; Sacramento Bee article
Valley politics
Fresno mayor candidate Perea claims he has Mims’ backing – but doesn’t have it – A political advertisement from a Los Angeles-area organization landed Tuesday in Fresno mailboxes, and among the candidates it touts is Fresno mayor hopeful Henry R. Perea – who it says has the endorsement of Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims. Oops. As it turns out, Mims hasn’t endorsed Perea. Fresno Bee article
AD 26: Assemblyman Mathis responds to direct mailer – A direct mail political advertisement of undetermined origin has further inflamed an election battle between two Republican candidates and threatened to spread to Republican Congressman Devin Nunes. Visalia Times-Delta article
Stockton Record: Blame game – Crime, politics collide in advance of Stokton mayoral election – Crime is one of many issues, and arguably the most important one. We urge Stockton voters to look past last-minute posturing and truly vote their conscience on who will be best for the city moving forward. Stockton Record editorial
No politics allowed at ‘State of the City’ – Mayor Anthony Silva said this week that when he steps to the microphone Thursday to deliver his fourth “State of the City” address, he will speak primarily about Stockton’s ongoing work to recover from bankruptcy. What he will not speak about, he said, is his campaign for a second term, a race that will reach a critical juncture with the primary election 19 days from now. Stockton Record article
Bakersfield mayoral candidate profile: Valiant Robinson — Valiant Robinson, communication technician at AT&T. Bakersfield Californian article
Fresno Count Clerk Orth offers public service announcements ahead of June 7 election — For those voters who want to show their love – or, possibly, their hatred – of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Fresno County Clerk Brandi Orth has a message: You must be registered as a Republican to participate in the June 7 Republican primary election. If you’re not and you want to be, you have until Monday to change party registration. Fresno Bee article
Grand jury urges tracking system for vote-by-mail ballots — An allegation from the San Joaquin County civil grand jury that election officials waited nearly a year to acknowledge vote-by-mail ballots that were received after a 2014 election are simply not true, according to the San Joaquin County registrar of voters. Stockton Record article
Statewide politics/Ballot Measures
George Skelton: Safe bet or spontaneity? Governor’s race could be a referendum on presidential politics – The theory is that after this raucous presidential election runs its depressing course, voters will be sick of polarizing politicians. Disgusted Californians will then embrace a refreshingly mild-mannered policy wonk as they select a replacement for termed-out Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018. Skelton column in LA Times
Jerry Brown pitches criminal justice initiative to business leaders — With time running out to qualify his initiative for the November ballot, Gov. Jerry Brown pitched the prison and criminal justice overhaul to a crowd of 1,200 business professionals and Capitol insiders Wednesday at the Sacramento Host Committee Breakfast. Sacramento Bee article
Joel Fox: Chiang entry into governor’s race and the business community — State Treasurer John Chiang’s entry into the 2018 governor’s race scrambles strategies of other candidates considering a run as well as the business community’s view of potential candidates for the top job. Fox in Fox & Hounds
How death penalty initiatives seek to solve a broken system — California voters will likely decide in November whether to abolish the death penalty or to streamline the process. Proponents for two competing ballot initiatives met for a hearing at the Capitol Tuesday. They argued whether the death penalty is moral, necessary, or just, but also if the state’s current broken system can be fixed. Capital Public Radio report
Bernie Sanders endorses California marijuana initiative — Bernie Sanders, who said last week that he had not yet studied a California measure to legalize marijuana for recreational use, on Wednesday endorsed the initiative. Sacramento Bee article
Fiona Ma announces she’s running for state treasurer — Fiona Ma, chairwoman of the state Board of Equalization, wasted little time jumping into the suddenly open race for state treasurer. Less than a day after state Treasurer John Chiang announced Tuesday that he would forgo re-election and instead run for governor in 2018, Ma, a former San Francisco supervisor and assemblywoman, opened her campaign for his job. San Francisco Chronicle article
California Counts: What it takes to bring people to the polls — It’s no secret that California has low voter turnout. What will it take to bring people to the polls? KPCC and KQED came together in San Francisco Tuesday night to chat with community members and political analysts about what’s holding Californians back in the weeks leading up to the state primary on June 7. KQED report
Immigration
Feds give scathing review of California border town’s police — The U.S. Justice Department issued a scathing review Wednesday of a small town’s police practices in a big drug and immigrant smuggling corridor on California’s border with Mexico, finding a lack of basic controls and oversight of criminal investigations, unstable leadership and other red flags. AP article
Santa Ana ending ICE contract means looking for money elsewhere — Santa Ana wants to get out of the business of housing immigration detainees for the federal government but the city will need to find another way to pay off its multi-million dollar downtown jail facility. KPCC report
Other areas
Lawmakers consider a last-minute effort to make child death files secret – Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration has quietly drafted a bill that would gut key portions of the state’s landmark law requiring child protective services agencies to release records when a youth dies of abuse or neglect. A vote is expected within the next week. LA Times article
Politico sets sights on Sacramento – Politico, a Washington, D.C.-based news outlet, plans to expand its California presence by adding 34 full-time employees by the end of next year and an additional seven by 2020, according to state business officials. Capitol Weekly article
Former President Bill Clinton to speak in Fresno for Hillary – Former President Bill Clinton will speak in Fresno on Monday at a location yet to be announced while campaigning for his wife, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Bill Clinton’s speech will be open to the public and is expected to last about an hour before he heads to another engagement in Sacramento that evening, said Doug Kessler, the California Democratic Party Region 8 chair and co-chair for Southern Central Valley for Hillary. Fresno Bee article
Stars urge Sanders supporters to turn passion into votes – Actors Josh Hutcherson and Nicholas Gonzalez urged Bernie Sanders fans to take their passion for social change out of the digital realm and into reality at a small rally at Jastro Park Wednesday afternoon. Bakersfield Californian article
Cathleen Decker: Passion of Bernie Sanders and his supporters turns against Democrats – Unlike most runners-up, Sanders, a lifelong independent, has little desire to preserve his standing in the Democratic Party for future presidential bids. That reduces the ability of party leaders to pressure him to tone down his antagonism as the Democratic contest closes. It makes him more apt to paint Clinton and the party as his targets. And as the boos of thousands underscored Tuesday night in Carson, many of his followers are loyal to Sanders alone, not the Democratic Party. Decker in LA Times
Trump: Oakland among ‘most dangerous places in the world’ — Asked by The New York Times about the most dangerous place he ever visited, Trump first jokingly replied “Brooklyn” before turning his attention westward: “There are places in America that are among the most dangerous in the world. You go to places like Oakland. Or Ferguson. The crime numbers are worse. Seriously.” Informed of Trump’s statement early Wednesday, Mayor Libby Schaaf let loose: “The most dangerous place in America is Donald Trump’s mouth,” she said in an email. East Bay Times article; San Francisco Chronicle article
Sheriff’s bias judgment could impact department, congress bid – The $3.6 million judgment against Sacramento County and its sheriff’s department could have implications not only within the department but also for Sheriff Scott Jones’ political aspirations. Sacramento Bee article
Report predicts Trans- Pacific pact will boost economy, but passage still uncertain in U.S. — The Obama administration, laboring to win congressional support for its politically unpopular Pacific trade deal, got unexpectedly little help from an independent federal report that showed the 12-nation trade pact would have a relatively modest positive effect on the U.S. economy and jobs. LA Times article
California Government Today:
News Stories
Top Stories
Water conservation rules will ease in some parts of California, get stronger in others — A strong series of storms have left parts of Northern California rehydrated, with reservoirs brimming with water and once brown and dry hillsides radiating green again. But to the south, residents are enduring another record-dry year. To deal with the dichotomy, state regulators on Wednesday finalized new water conservation rules that for some parts of the state will loosen the strict savings requirements that Gov. Jerry Brown imposed a year ago. LA Times article; Sacramento Bee article; AP article; KQED report; New York Times article
Key construction deadline for California bullet train pushed back four years — The Obama administration threw the California bullet train project another lifeline Wednesday, extending the schedule by four years for construction of 118 miles of rail through the Central Valley, according to congressional officials. LA Times article; San Francisco Chronicle article; Politico article
David Brooks: The Resnicks are transforming Kern County’s Lost Hills — Lost Hills is the home of a promising experiment. The experiment is being led by Lynda Resnick, who, with her husband, Stewart, owns the Wonderful Company, which includes FIJI Water, POM juice and most of the pistachios and almonds you eat. You should know that I’m friends with Lynda and Stewart and am biased in their direction. But what they are doing is still worth learning from. Brooks column in New York Times
Jobs and the Economy
Bakersfield’s gamble: Bigger acts and bigger ticket prices at amphitheater – With the bigger acts comes risk, at least for AEG, the promoter of the amphitheatre shows. In the concert business, the promoter pays the artist’s guaranteed fee, recouping the investment through ticket sales. The local AEG staff typically works with outside promoters but will book the talent, and assume the risk, until the amphitheatre becomes established as a destination for touring acts. The real gamble is in the ticket prices. Bakersfield Californian article
Bakersfield loses a lot on venues but looks to lose a lot less – The company that runs the City of Bakersfield’s entertainment and conference venues is looking to break a leg during the coming fiscal year — in the show-biz sense, of course. After three years of deficits as high as $1.17 million, AEG Management Bakersfield LLC this month told the City Council it expects the operation to lose no more than $381,994 in fiscal 2016-17, less than half the current year’s red ink. Bakersfield Californian article
Oil producers pleased with $50 oil but still not hiring – The higher oil prices go, the sooner Kern County oil workers are likely to return to their jobs. But exactly how high, and how soon? For now, the answer may be that it’s simply too early to tell. Bakersfield Californian article
Kings County housing construction is ‘booming’ – Kings County home building activity has reached its highest level in four years, according to reports by the city of Hanford and Metro Study, a national housing research firm. Hanford Sentinel article
Google Fiber releases San Jose construction plan – a major milestone for project — In a major milestone to bringing Google Fiber to Silicon Valley, city leaders next week will sign off on the tech giant’s construction plan to install fiber across San Jose — a final step in launching the lightning-fast Internet service here. East Bay Times article
Fresno businesses unhappy with city limits on alcohol, liquor ads – EZ Mart manager Marco Serna is trying hard to follow Fresno city rules, but he says new restrictions on the amount of advertising that can be placed in storefront windows have made it harder for him to run his business. Fresno Bee article
Jeff Jardine: Will Modesto Fire Department join others by charging for EMT/paramedic services? – Earlier this week, Modesto Fire Chief Sean Slamon proposed billing insurance companies for the emergency medical calls handled by city fire paramedics and EMTs. By emergency medical calls, we’re talking about responses to strokes, heart attacks, heat prostration, broken bones from falls or anything else that might require stabilization before an ambulance crew arrives to transport. Jardine column in Modesto Bee
Hustler Hollywood opening sexy shop in former Silver Dollar Hofbrau — You probably never guessed what is taking over the former Silver Dollar Hofbrau on Shaw Avenue: a Hustler Hollywood store. It’s a store selling lingerie, sex toys and T-shirts run by the company behind Larry Flynt’s adult magazine Hustler. Fresno Bee article
Some mid-level managers in for a big raise – As California’s minimum wage rises over the next seven years toward $15, the pay ceiling will grow even more. By 2023, employers will have to pay more than $62,400 to keep managers from getting OT. LA Times article
Fed’s surprise message: June hike likely if economy improves – Catching many investors off guard, the Federal Reserve made clear Wednesday that an interest rate hike in June is likely if the economy keeps improving. AP article
Sacramento County home sales hold steady in April – Sacramento County’s recently improving housing market held steady in April and fared better on a percentage basis than other metro regions of California. Sacramento Bee article
McClatchy shareholders OK reverse stock split — The McClatchy Co.’s shareholders approved a reverse stock split Wednesday designed to raise the Sacramento newspaper chain’s sluggish share price. Sacramento Bee article
Lodi-based Eagle Credit Union seeks merger with large partner – Eagle Credit Union, a small Lodi-based institution with about $20 million in assets, is seeking its members’ approval to merge with Unify Financial Credit Union, a Manhattan Beach-based multistate cooperative with $2.2 billion in assets. Stockton Record article
San Francisco legacy business program has yet to launch, six months after OK – Six months after San Francisco voters approved an initiative to help preserve longtime businesses through financial incentives, the program is still not up and running. And businesses that have applied for the legacy designation and funds are stuck in limbo. San Francisco Chronicle article
Cities on Tour of California route win with global exposure – While the eight-day stage race (along with a separate four-day race for women) has become the biggest pro cycling event in the country, it’s helpful to think of it as much more than a race. Organizers consider it a moving billboard broadcast to much of the world, with a subtle sales pitch that inspires tourism and rings the cash register throughout the year. Sacramento Bee article
Groundbreaking scheduled for Fresno Aquarium’s first structure — The board of directors of the nonprofit Aquarius Aquarium Institute announced the organization will hold an official groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction of the Fresno Aquarium’s first structure — the Aquaculture Building. The Business Journal article
Federal regulators call on tech companies to improve diversity – Diversity advocates called for greater government intervention in the tech industry Wednesday in an effort to close a looming worker gap and address the lack of women and non-Asian minorities. San Francisco Chronicle article
Shawn Hubler: Tax breaks for Malibu mobile home mansions don’t heal the Bern — We don’t need Bernie Sanders to tell us that if the poor can’t win even in trailer parks, something is wrong here. Close the loophole, people. Heal the Bern. Hubler column in Sacramento Bee
In troubled, tiny Mayfield, mileage stipends add to council salaries – At just over a square mile, Maywood is the second-smallest city in Los Angeles County. To traverse from one end to the other of the working-class town takes but a few minutes. But that didn’t stop municipal leaders from granting themselves, the city treasurer and the city clerk $250 monthly mileage stipends. LA Times article
Agriculture/Water/Drought
‘Deeply disappointed’ with Garamendi bill – Long considered an ally of Delta advocates, U.S. Rep. John Garamendi introduced legislation this week that appears likely to test that reputation. Stockton Record article
Produce industry giants team up to promote responsible labor practices — Faced with growing questions from consumers about where their food comes from, the nation’s largest produce industry groups say they are joining forces to promote responsible farm labor practices — the latest and possibly most significant attempt by the industry to rid its supply chains of abusive treatment of workers. LA Times article
Kings farmers enhance water efficiency — Some Kings County growers are taking advantage of a state water efficiency program to improve their operations. Seventeen grants to local growers totaling $1.34 million were handed out to local farmers in 2014 and 2015 to make a variety of water efficiency improvements, according to a press release. Hanford Sentinel article
UC Davis wins early ruling in strawberry lawsuit — UC Davis and its lucrative strawberry-breeding program have won an important early victory in a lawsuit filed by two former campus scientists who have formed their own strawberry-breeding company. Sacramento Bee article
David Mas Masumoto: What I learned growing up on a peach farm — It takes loving hands, I believe, to grow food—hands that connect us to the soil and weather. Those who worked the land before me left their fingerprints. Organic Life Magazine article
Criminal Justice/Prisons
Modesto mayor has plan to hire more cops – Modesto Mayor Ted Brandvold wants to add as many as 21 police officers, which would give the Police Department its biggest number of officers in six years. This comes as the city’s crime rate remains stubbornly high. Modesto Bee article
Proposed Fresno gang ordinance raises worries about profiling – The Fresno City Council will discuss a proposed ordinance Thursday aimed at curbing streetside harassment of passersby from gang members, but some critics believe the proposed law’s language is so broad that it could lead to profiling people of color. Fresno Bee article
Stanislaus County will need to hire 100-plus deputies for jail expansion – Stanislaus County is nearing completion of a 552-bed expansion of the Public Safety Center on Hackett Road and finally has a plan for staffing the facility when it opens in March 2017. When fully occupied, in 2019 or later, the jail facility will require 112 new positions and cost $18.1 million in annual expenses, staff members said. Modesto Bee article
More than a third of state prisons still giving poor care – A scathing inspector general’s report released Wednesday finds medical care remains “markedly inadequate” at a Northern California state prison, as more than a third of the prisons inspected since last year still are deemed to be providing poor care. AP article
Sacramento Bee: Stop the body-cam blackout, for the sake of police – State lawmakers need to muster the backbone to say no to law enforcement lobbyists, to stand up for the public and to help police get over their fear of the 21st century. Police do important and dangerous work. But they don’t need carte blanche and an information blackout to keep California’s streets safe. Sacramento Bee editorial
Authorities move to stop California highway killings – A California city has moved to install surveillance cameras along a stretch of highway as authorities investigate a spate of freeway shootings that have taken the lives of six people, including a young mother of four, in the suburbs east of San Francisco. The decision on Monday by Pittsburg is the latest action aimed at solving and stopping the attacks that also injured 11 people in the past year. AP article
Los Banos police officer accused of sex crimes during his time as teacher — A Los Banos police officer was arrested Wednesday morning on allegations of sex offenses involving students he knew in the mid-2000s when he was a teacher in the Los Banos Unified School District, authorities confirmed to the Sun-Star. Merced Sun-Star article
Education
CORE districts turn spotlight on struggling student groups – To shine a brighter light on academic disparities, the six California districts known as the CORE districts (including Fresno Unified) have tracked test results for much smaller student subgroups than the state requires, giving a more complete picture of how some groups – African-American children and students with disabilities, in particular – performed. EdSource article
Kern High School District cheers black student graduation gains – Black students in the Kern High School District are graduating in greater numbers than the state and county average, but they’re on the bottom rung for college preparedness, new data shows. Bakersfield Californian article
Joe Mathews: Why California keeps failing to grade its schools – If state officials want to show they’re serious about building a useful accountability system, they should take on a makeup assignment: Produce an index of all California schools for each of the past two years – the academic year now ending and for 2014-15. The state has testing and the other data to do it. And we parents sure could use the information, even belatedly. But I bet they won’t. They’re too busy coming up with excuses for keeping Californians in the dark. Mathews in Fresno Bee
Turlock High pioneers university class at continuation high – Eight students will graduate from Roselawn High in Turlock with three college credits already on their transcripts, thanks to what organizers believe is a first for the state: a university course taught at a continuation high school. Modesto Bee article
California aims to reflect diversity in classroom studies — How do you teach the history of the world in California schools, where nearly two-thirds of students are Latino or Asian, many from newly immigrated families? That’s the challenge facing a California panel charged with establishing a new history and social studies framework for the state’s 6.2 million public school students. AP article
The Grade: Local teacher pens book decrying instructional fads — Jeremy Adams, a Bakersfield teacher best known for his annual star-studded constitutional quiz show for high school students, released this month his second book about teaching, which rails against modern-day attempts to fix the educational system. Bakersfield Californian article
Merced City Schools votes to keep YEP child care – The Merced City School District governing board voted to continue a before and afterschool child care program at Peterson Elementary after parents complained when the district previously said it was going to cut the program. Merced Sun-Star article
Meet Kadie Calic, Central Valley Christian’s new ag director — The hunt for Central Valley Christian High School’s first Future Farmers of America director is finally over. High school officials recently announced that Kadie Calac will fill the position this fall. Visalia Times-Delta article
Donated bus will take Gregori seniors who missed trip to Disneyland — Seniors who missed the Gregori High senior trip to Disneyland will get a trip of their own Friday, plus get to keep their refund from the bus company that “flaked,” to use their word, on the scheduled outing May 13. Modesto Bee article
Agricultural salesman appointed to school board — After nine people applied for an open trustee position at the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District, including one seasoned former trustee and several educators, board members appointed Greg White, an agricultural sales representative. Bakersfield Californian article
Sunnyside High teacher uses passion for meditation to help students grow – Jocelyn Pacheco enters a classroom at Sunnyside High School, grabs a large pillow and a special Tibetan bell and sits on the ground. She folds her legs and closes her eyes. Her teacher, Everardo Pedraza, typically teaches English, but he’s also started a Mindfulness Club at the school that promotes meditation, peace and personal development. Fresno Bee article
Former Delano counselor charged with more sex crimes — The Kern County District Attorney’s office filed three new charges Wednesday against Bobby Scott Campos Perigo, a former Delano High School counselor accused of sexual misconduct with minors. Bakersfield Californian article
Student arrested after social media threat claimed Columbine reference was a joke — An elementary school student learned the hard way that school shootings are no laughing matter. Lathrop Elementary School officials called the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office shortly before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday to report threatening comments made on the school’s social media site, authorities said. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the comment said: “If you’re reading this just between you and me. Don’t go to school tomorrow. You get one hint. Columbine School shooting.” Stockton Record article
Energy/Environment
Report: California will have enough power for summer months – California generally has enough electricity on tap to keep air conditioners humming this summer, but a heat wave could leave millions of Southern Californians without power in the aftermath of a huge natural gas well blowout, the state’s power-grid operator warned Wednesday. AP article
Southern California faces potential lack of summer power supply — The manager of the state’s electric grid expects current power supplies to meet summer needs for keeping the lights and air conditioning running, except in Southern California, where power plants might lack the needed natural gas. LA Times article
Salmon, facing trouble in streams, catch a ride to Pacific – They may not have been salivating, but fishers were definitely savoring the moment Wednesday when 160,000 pinkie-size baby salmon were poured from a tube out of a tanker truck into a net pen at Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay. San Francisco Chronicle article
Feds want to ensure coal companies can clean up land they damage – The federal agency that oversees surface coal mining said Wednesday that it would consider drafting new rules to ensure that coal companies can afford to clean up land they damage – though the announcement is not likely to lead to change soon. LA Times article
Fresno on path to become an ‘advanced energy’ community — As part of its Electric Program Investment Charge program, the California Energy Commission Wednesday awarded the Local Government Commission (LGC) and its project partners $1.5 million to create an integrated clean-energy market in the Fresno community. The Business Journal article
Health/Human Services
Fresno aims to boost health through walking, biking – Officials in Fresno are now aiming to boost public health and safety for bicyclists and pedestrians by creating more transportation options that do not involve driving. KQED report
Congress hears how parental heroin abuse affects children — A House of Representatives subcommittee on Wednesday heard testimony on a number of innovative programs that states are using to slow the number of youngsters entering the foster care system because of abuse or neglect by their drug-addicted parents. McClatchy Newspapers article
Land Use/Housing
Unanswered questions delay approval of 24th Street widening – After more than two hours of questions and debate Wednesday night, the Bakersfield City Council delayed its re-approval of widening 24th Street and the project’s environmental report so city staffers can answer questions from members. Bakersfield Californian article
Hanford council nixes cell tower — Hanford City Council chambers erupted in applause Tuesday night after council members voted to kill a proposal to put a cellphone tower in Hidden Valley Park. Hanford Sentinel article
Transportation
Los Banos-area farmers seek voice in high-speed rail project – During an informational meeting held this week in Los Banos, farmers pressed representatives of the California High-Speed Rail Authority to take their interests into consideration while planning the rail system that is expected to eventually stretch from Sacramento to San Diego. Los Banos Enterprise article
San Francisco makes pitch to be home of transit of future — Bay Area transportation leaders, academics and technology executives filled a City Hall conference room Wednesday to pitch U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on a plan to transform — and reform — San Francisco’s transportation system. San Francisco Chronicle article
Other areas
Joe Neves appointed to state tax post — Longtime Kings County Supervisor Joe Neves has been appointed to the Committee on County Tax Collecting Procedures, a division of the California State Controller’s office. Hanford Sentinel article
Meth involve in fatal NASL crash — An autopsy of the driver who crashed an SUV on March 31 into a parked F-18 fighter at Naval Air Station Lemoore, killing himself and a female passenger, revealed a heavy concentration of methamphetamine in his blood. Hanford Sentinel article
Valley Editorial Roundup
Fresno Bee – Bernie Sanders can’t afford to stay silent any longer, must condemn supporters’ actions.
Merced Sun-Star – We’re glad Gov. Jerry Brown is trying to hold the line on spending.
Modesto Bee – We’re glad Gov. Jerry Brown is trying to hold the line on spending.
Sacramento Bee – State lawmakers need to muster the backbone to say no to law enforcement lobbyists, to stand up for the public and to help police get over their fear of the 21st century.
Stockton Record – Crime is one of many issues, and arguably the most important one. We urge Stockton voters to look past last-minute posturing and truly vote their conscience on who will be best for the city moving forward.