Read campaign materials with care
To the Editor:
As we approach another election and the chaos accompanying it, I encourage my fellow voters to be very careful about how we interpret the flyers that will be circulated over the next several weeks. This also applies to social media posts.
The first thing to check is the name of the person or organization that funded or posted the message and whether it includes a statement that it has been approved or certified by the candidate as being truthful and accurate. This is important, as many of such messages are funded and circulated by special interest groups that have quid pro quo relationships with their candidates. This is especially important in the case of backers who contract with the city.
Backers who aren’t able or willing to document their candidate’s approval of the message being circulated are free to make whatever claims they believe will enhance their candidate’s chances of prevailing in the election. One such flyer now in circulation exaggerates the candidate’s accomplishments and ignores criticisms from regulatory entities. It also skips over the candidate’s employment history, a history that many would find troubling or even eliminate the candidate from consideration.
I am not challenging any candidate’s qualifications for the office being sought. I am just using a flyer I recently found on my front door as an example of things to look for and am encouraging voters to read campaign literature with a good dose of skepticism regarding its accuracy and truthfulness. Who financed it and does it include a statement of approval from the candidate?
Jay Garfinkle,
Alameda
Alameda needs a rider’s voice on the AC transit board – Adriana Valencia
To the Editor:
As President of the Alameda Unified School District Board of Education, I know firsthand how important AC Transit is to our schools. Thousands of our students rely on AC Transit to get to school, get home, participate in activities and jobs, and move around our community.
That is why I am voting for Adriana Valencia for AC Transit Board.
I want an AC Transit director who understands what it is like to depend on the bus and who understands that being a director means being accessible and responsive to the communities they represent.
Unfortunately, I have not experienced that with the at-large-director Joel Young, who is now redistricted out of his seat and vying for our new Ward 3 position representing Alameda, Piedmont, and parts of Central Oakland.
During my time on the AUSD Board, I have reached out to Director Young about issues affecting our students and our schools, like reductions in the Bay Farm lines and the needs of Otis families during construction. Despite my attempts to reach him about issues affecting our students and schools, I did not receive a response or an opportunity to meet with him. That is a problem. If an elected AC Transit director won’t make time to engage with a local school district serving thousands of transit-dependent students, who exactly is he representing? Every answer he gave in the City of Alameda Democratic Club forum was about his national goals, ambitions and trips; nothing felt like it was focused on the real needs of public transit in Alameda.
Adriana Valencia offers a very different approach.
She is a frequent transit rider and OUSD parent who has spent 25 years living in the East Bay and understands the system from the passenger’s perspective. She has navigated our region without a driver’s license and knows firsthand the difference between a transit system that works and one that leaves people, quite literally, waiting.
She also brings a deep understanding of housing, transportation, and how our communities actually function. But what impresses me most is that Adriana listens. She asks questions, engages with people, and wants to understand the problems riders are experiencing before deciding how to solve them.
AC Transit certainly needs to think about the future. But Ward 3 also needs a director focused on the people riding the buses today. Transit is not an abstract policy discussion. It is whether a bus arrives on time. Whether a student can get home safely. Whether a family can get to work. Whether a connection actually works.
Our community needs someone who will answer the email, return the call, show up for the meeting, and listen to riders. Our community deserves representation.
That is why I am voting and volunteering for Adriana Valencia. Join me in supporting her at www.valenciaforactransit.com
Ryan LaLonde,
Alameda
Editorials and Letters to the Editor
All opinions expressed on this page are the author's alone and do not reflect those of the Alameda Post, nor does our organization endorse any views the author may present. Our objective as an independent news source is to fully reflect our community's varied opinions without giving preference to a particular viewpoint.
If you disagree with an opinion that we have published, please submit a rebuttal or differing opinion in a letter to the Editor for publication. Review our policies page for more information.
