BY PEARL JOHNSON – 2012 may be the year we can elect a city council which will rescue us from the rail project. After each Census every 10 years, voting districts are redrawn and elected officials must run for office this year.
Three council members have consistently voted against funding rail: Ann Kobayashi, Romy Cachola and Tom Berg. Cachola cannot run again because of term limits. It seems unlikely that Berg will be re-elected. Kobayashi will probably be re-elected. So we need to find at least 4 anti-rail candidates who will run for city council and win.
Do you know of people in your district who fit the bill? We have many indications that opposition to this environmentally-destructive, overpriced rail project is growing. But it tends to be a matter of special interests pushing the rail while the poorly-organized public viewpoint struggles to be heard. You get the picture: we voters will have to ask the right questions, and we must organize if we are to elect the right city council.
Pearl Johnson is with the League of Women Voters