☆ EX-SCC Dem on Gilroy council mtgs: Residents “sick and tired” of politically correct theater
Swanee Edwards recently left the local Dem Party after the controversy surrounding her endorsement of nonpartisan County Supe candidate Johnny Khamis. Here, Edwards unpacks the Gilroy City Council’s “dysfunctional” ways of operating, and how oversensitive political correctness is destroying local politics. An Opp Now exclusive.
Opportunity Now: Talk to us about what happened at a recent Gilroy City Council meeting during the public speaking portion, in which members of the public can address any issues they feel are relevant. Longtime moderate activist Ron Kirkish was told his comment was “out of order” when he addressed his worries about the Dems ousting Tovar for being an “independent thinker.”
[Editor’s note: Watch the whole thing here, beginning 1:11.]
Unpack this event for us. Is this normative for a city council to act this way when community members bring up their concerns?
Swanee Edwards: Gilroy is about as different from how we run our city in Morgan Hill as you can imagine; it’s always been that way. Not only do they have lots of unique crime and gang issues, but they also run city council very differently there. It’s always been a bit dysfunctional.
But now people seem to be taking sides, focusing on things that have nothing to do with running the city, and getting overly political in ways that make it almost impossible to keep decorum.
ON: While some on the council have condemned Kirkish’s urgent, even aggressive, words in this meeting, others such as Mayor Blankley have acknowledged that it is within his right to speak this way.
What are your thoughts on the way he made his voice heard during this meeting?
SE: I wonder if people like Ron Kirkish are just sick and tired of all this talk without anything getting done. Councilmembers are wearing diversity hearts on their sleeve to the point that they’re constantly treading on topics so that they won’t hurt someone’s or a group’s feelings. And everyone’s waiting for others to say something “wrong” and then jump in with a correction. So the Gilroy council meetings easily and regularly dissolve into chaos: people shouting over each other, and you walk away frustrated, disappointed, and wondering what the hell is going on — why things aren’t the way they used to be in city politics.
I diagnose this as a problem of oversensitivity. People (over)react emotionally when you try to talk with them about these important issues. Many politicians are acting like hypocrites in this way. Now the Gilroy City Council is imploding because a city councilwoman cited for ten city violations a year ago will not resign. This woman has the support of the local South County Democratic Club and the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee. Then Fred Tovar and I were thrown out of the Dem Party for supporting a Decline to State candidate in a nonpartisan race!
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This article is part of an exclusive Opp Now series on the SCC Democrat Party oustings:
Recently un-endorsed Gilroy councilmember Fred Tovar speaks with Opp Now about troubling mission drift in the local Dem Party.
Ex-Democrat Swanee Edwards unpacks the SCC Dem Party’s recent hypocritical actions.
Swanee Edwards breaks down how Dems’ codependent relationship with unions breeds anti-Khamis apprehension.
Swanee Edwards explains how financial inequalities have shifted the focus of local election campaigns.
Swanee Edwards analyzes the Gilroy City Council’s “dysfunctional” ways of operating, and how oversensitive political correctness is destroying local politics.