Coastsider endorses Ketcham, Stein, and Haggerty for MCC

Coastsider endorses Lisa Ketcham, Laura Stein (write-in), and Dan Haggerty for the Midcoast Community Council.

I had an opportunity to interview each of the candidates for the Midcoast Community Council over the weekend. In addition to providing Coastsider readers with an opportunity to hear the candidates for themselves, I was able to draw a few conclusions of my own.

Lisa Ketcham is on the board of the Pillar Ridge Homeowners’ Association. She has been a leader in her neighborhood for a decade. She worked successfully to keep the mobile home community affordable to low-income families. She’s the kind of community leader we should have on the MCC.

Laura Stein is a former member of the MCC, and is well-versed in the issues. But you’re going to have to work a little if you want to support her. Stein is a write-in candidate, and if you vote in person, you will have to request a paper ballot. It’s possible to vote for a write-in candidate using the county’s voting machine, but it’s difficult enough that you’re going to wish you’d asked for a paper ballot.

For the third seat, I recommend Dan Haggerty. He doesn’t have a long history of community involvement, but he is a volunteer with the Coastside Democrats. And he’s a better choice than either of his remaining opponents.

I enjoyed my conversation with Leonard Stone and could debate politics with him for hours. But he’s the Director of the San Mateo County Tea Party, and organization whose website speaks for itself. We discussed that in his recorded interview, and I recommend you listen to it, and check out his organization’s website. Leonard says he has an open mind about local issues and wants only to channel the desires of his neighbors. But he’s a local leader in an organization that has shown itself incapable of compromise and is involved in suppressing the right to vote nationwide.

John Oehlert has been involved in Half Moon Bay politics in years past, and is now a resident of Montara. I liked John. He’s smart and analytical. And I agree with many of the positions he took when he was in Half Moon Bay.

But he’s also a cipher. He’s the only candidate who has not listed his positions and endorsements on Smartvoter. He is running on a slate with Leonard Stone. I don’t know what it means to say you want to protect the Coastside environment for future generations while running with a leader in an organization that would dismantle the state and federal laws that protect the Coastside from exploitation.

Coastsider recommends you vote for Lisa Ketcham, Laura Stein (write-in), and Dan Haggerty.