Scott Kuykendall best qualified to be Stanislaus Superintendent of Schools | Modesto Bee

Kuykendall has super attributes

Scott Kuykendall is admired not only by our family but our entire community due to his faith, love for his family and dedication to the community. His gentleness, humbleness and faithful service is reflected in his work as assistant to the superintendent and past experiences as a teacher and principal. He is honest and consistent. It is an honor to call him and his family our friends. Join our family in voting for Scott Kuykendall for Superintendent of Stanislaus County Schools.

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Common sense from the Valley

Tom Hallinan has a plan, and it’s a good one. The state legislature and governor took away 90 percent of the Board of Equalization’s duties and transferred them to the Department of Revenue and Tax Administration. There’s no reason not to transfer the remaining 10 percent. All it will do is eliminate four $150,000-a-year jobs for term-limited politicians who don’t have another trough to feed from. That’s Central Valley common sense which crosses party lines and should be supported by all of us – Republicans, Democrats and independents.

Let auditor do job she was hired to do

As a taxpaying citizen of Modesto, I was pleased by the hiring of Monica Houston as the city’s Internal Auditor, a charter position. Through the diligent work of Mayor Ted Brandvold and his committee, she was hired to staff a long overdue position that was urgently needed. Part of her mandate is to help cure fiscal deficiencies and secure transparency of city staff and elected officials so as to avoid disbursement mishaps such as the misspent HUD money and $16 million in unauthorized expenditures of general fund monies. Her highest calling is to protect our interests and to ensure accountability of those we have elected and hired to serve our interests.

To learn on social media of closed-door council sessions to discuss her tenure after less than six months speaks volumes. She has been commissioned to shine light on the corruption, abuse and ignorance of our city’s spending habits. It’s no small matter to think of abridging her mandate. Frankly this speaks more to the integrity of the inquisitors than of the subject being debated.

Local farmers can’t compete with fund

Re “If we’re smart, we can find enough water for all of us” (Page 1B, Aug. 19): The recent opinion piece from a member of the Tuolumne River Trust and the full-page ad from the League of Conservation Voters regarding defunding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund does not address what this fund can do to local communities when used to buy private property to secure riparian water rights.

The Malheur standoff in Oregon is a prime example. A hot-headed group led by the Bundy family came to Malheur to make political points out of the local situation after the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service used money from this fund to buy farms and ranches to enlarge the wildlife preserve. The local farming community cannot compete with the U.S government land and water conservation funds, so local ranchers are denied the ability to buy ranches for the younger generation.

The government just keeps buying land with the goal of destroying the local ag base with no regard for the local community. Too bad the individuals and groups that support this fund don’t have any compassion for the local people who rely on buying private land to live.

More to Withrow than just a title

About a year ago Alzheimer’s killed my wife of 41 years. Not long after, a knock came on my door. Opening it, much more was revealed than merely the two people standing there. Supervisor Terry Withrow and his wife Kristen came to give me support, bringing with them outstanding character and compassion.

I knew of Terry’s work ethic and commitment to constituents, yet this was over-the-top for me. We have worked together for smarter land-use choices. He is a top-rated CPA and one of the nicest guys you will meet. He has taken heat for leading the effort to mitigate the problems of homelessness, yet understands the cost/benefit of leadership. And he agrees that in order to have well managed land use we need to constantly upgrade transportation.

Get to know your supervisor, and please vote for Terry Withrow. He is the tall guy, always in a long-sleeve white shirt. And he is one hell of a human being!

MJC faculty deserve better deal

Only one of six Stanislaus County residents age 25 and older has a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to one of three across California. Modesto Junior College is the launching point for many future degree holders. Students and the community have a stake in whether Yosemite Faculty Association strikes this fall term.

The potential strike is not just about pay, but when our instructors are being paid 22 percent below the median wage of similarly sized community colleges, nothing will stop them from moving to other, higher paying schools. The brain drain will be real, the consequences devastating. MJC and Columbia College will never attract professors who have a passion for educating and are willing to devote years of their lives to students when they are paid cents on the dollar. This gap in pay is in direct conflict with the YCCD’s mission statement that the district is committed to excellence in serving its students.

I’m voting to curb King Trump

I’m normally a very staunch Republican. I would have voted for you without hesitation in this election except that our party has collectively done a miserable job controlling the man currently in the White House. Our party has nearly given him the power of a dictator. We need a party that has the courage and integrity to stand up to the emperor and tell him he has no clothes!

Jeff, this is not a vote against you as much as it is a vote against my party. Sadly, I’m going to give the other guys a chance to control the man in the White House. I’m not converting to the Democratic Party because I don’t believe in their basic ideals. However, King Trump is a far greater menace to our country than the Democrats. He needs to be counter-balanced by a strong opposition party not afraid to tell him “No!”

That’s the only reason you’re not getting my vote. If the Republican Party gains the courage to tame Trump and to work constructively with the Democrats, then the GOP will get my vote next time around.

Uniting to fight the evil of abortion

It is safe to say all of us lament the fact there is so much sad division in our community, families, and even within our churches. We wish we could forge greater unity. To do so, I propose the following thought experiment: What would happen if there were a political party which recognized the right to kill 4-year-old children at the local clinic? Or Jewish children? Or Mexican children? What would we say? What would we do? How would we vote? Of course we would unite against it.

Our country was never so united as against Hitler. What is it about unborn children that makes them different? Geneticists and pediatricians find no difference. I pray someday we will discover that we all have a common interest in the right to life. I dream of a more harmonious and humane society in which both political parties agree abortion equals one dead plus one wounded.

Putting your faith in Josh Harder

I understand why Josh Harder is taking heat from his opponent because he has not been involved in the political arena. We all have to start somewhere, and if you are observant, you will notice the younger generations are fighting for change. I applaud them for taking a stance and I wish them all success. We need the old guard to stand down and let the changes needed for universal health care, climate change, gun regulation and the environment happen. The wealthy 1 percent cannot keep getting richer while destroying not only the United States but our future.

Josh Harder’s campaign office is being run very efficiently. He has hired a competent staff and has volunteers from all over the region. His office is getting busier because people believe in him. He will be an excellent Congressperson.