Editor,
As a resident of Belmont for decades, I am troubled to learn that City Council candidate Ken Loo is running on the same ticket as Donald Trump. As a Hawaiian/Asian American who has seen an uptick in displays of racism since the 2016 election, I am absolutely appalled that candidate Ken Loo would allow himself to be on the San Mateo County Republican Party slate with Mr. Trump.
Complicating matters, Mr. Loo fails to note this endorsement or his apparent Trump support on his website. He also fails to mention that he has been a guest on Fox News or that he is the former San Francisco Republican Committee vice chair of Political Affairs.
Unlike Mr. Loo, Councilmembers Davina Hurt and Tom McCune have websites that list the interest groups and community members that support them. Even in this divisive time, I hope we can all agree that candidates should, at the very least, be transparent about their endorsements and affiliations. Why isn’t Mr. Loo?
Sue Lempert was not completely wrong in her recent column: local politics are about more than political affiliation. However, at this point, supporting Donald Trump is not about political affiliation; it’s about supporting racism, xenophobia, intolerance and violence. The Belmont I know rejects all those things. Belmont voters deserve to know Mr. Loo is comfortable running on the same ticket as Donald Trump so that they can reject him, as well, and join me in supporting Ms. Hurt and Mr. McCune.
Robin Pang-Maganaris
Belmont
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(4) comments
Blah, blah, blah. Racism this and racism that. It’s nice to know we have people who hate Trump so much that they’ll vote for anything and everyone not associated with Trump. It’s funny that you say, “… we can all agree that candidates should, at the very least, be transparent about their endorsements and affiliations.” yet you seem to be okay with brain-dead Biden who has been shown to have taken millions from China, Russia, and Ukraine and has been not transparent in the least about those deals. Maybe you should enjoy a Trump rally, along with millions of viewers. Trump is holding a few per day and you can easily find them online.
Terence,
When your orange idol releases his complete tax returns and discloses his foreign income and loans you can come back and join the conversation.
Blah, blah, blah. Tax return this and tax return that. That old news is a fat nothingburger that fell flat. Taffy, I’d suggest you ignore Johnnie Walker until you get your thoughts in order. You can then come back and join the real world.
Hi, Robin
How are you doing? It's been a while since we've chatted.
I have a little different take on local city council races. Sue Lempert's comment that local races are about more than just politics can be instructive.
In my experience, thirty years ago, city council candidates in Redwood City largely kept political affiliations out of their campaign rhetoric. That seemed to work OK because city councils make decisions that affect their constituents independently of those constituents' political associations. For example, should a city hire more public works employees or approve building a new fire station are not political issues... those types of issues are not Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, etc.
While things have changed over the past thirty years... the Redwood City Council does little to hide its left leaning slant... I think it's better to focus on a candidate's qualifications and experience. Davina Hurt and Tom McCune have some very impressive credentials. That's probably why the Daily Journal endorsed them. Their particular voter registration preferences are not part of that endorsement.
City council seats are nonpartisan, and it appears all three candidates for Belmont's council would accept support from Democrats and Republicans. In fact, Ken Loo emphasizes bipartisanship as one of his core values on his website. There is one more aspect to Mr. Loo's campaigning that may factor into this discussion. Not all Republicans are fans of Donald Trump. I cannot say one way or the other but it could be possible that he agrees with "Never Trumpers" and while he appreciates the endorsement of San Mateo County Republicans, he may not be a staunch MAGA guy. Maybe.
Coming full circle to Sue Lempert's observation, I am reminded of something I heard while taking some master's courses about thirty years ago at CND in beautiful Belmont... A municipality has two major responsibilities: make sure a first responder shows up quickly when someone calls 9-1-1, and make sure potable water comes out of the tap when someone turns on their faucet. Political affiliations will not tell us who can best accomplish those tasks.
Stay safe and healthy.
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