California Aggie Endorses Sue Greenwald, Cecilia Escamilla-Greenwald, Stephen Souza

For some inexplicable reason the California Aggie decided to have their endorsement interviews on Sunday and announce their endorsement the day of the election. To put this into perspective, students at UC Davis had early voting last week. Talk about diluting their influence.

Nevertheless the student newspaper makes their three endorsements which oddly enough includes neither twentysomething candidate.

For Sue Greenwald they write:

“Davis is one of the last true college towns remaining in California, and its uniqueness and charm are treasured by virtually everyone who lives here. No other candidate has demonstrated such a resolute commitment to preserving that character.

This does not mean she is anti-growth. She understands there is a severe lack of housing in Davis for many segments of the community, especially students. She is the only candidate who has actively sought to pressure the university to provide more on-campus housing for students, which is a fundamental part of the solution.”

For Cecilia Escamilla-Greenwald:

“A labor organizer, UC Davis graduate and community activist, Escamilla-Greenwald will bring a fresh voice and a unique blend of qualifications to the council.

Of all the candidates, she is the most qualified to act as a voice for students. Escamilla-Greenwald and her husband rent an apartment in Davis, so she is well aware of the need for a renters’ bill of rights. She has made strides to connect with students, coming to campus to meet with a range of student groups.

She is not just the students’ candidate, however. Her experience as the chair of the Human Relations Commission demonstrated her commitment to hearing from underrepresented groups. Her training in mediation and conflict resolution will enable her to bring together the many constituent groups in Davis.”

Finally for Stephen Souza:

“Souza is a bona fide environmentalist and has a passion for incorporating green practices into public policy. His proposal to expand a solar production site outside of Davis to meet or exceed the electricity needs of the city is particularly intriguing. This would not be a simple undertaking, but he clearly has the drive to make it happen in his next term.

Perhaps Souza’s most appealing characteristic is his enthusiasm. He clearly enjoys his job as a councilmember and is probably the friendliest and most approachable. This personality draws people in and engages them in the political process, something of which a town like Davis can never have too much.”

Each of the newspapers that cover the Davis area have made their endorsements now.

  • The Davis Enterprise went with the straight developer ticket: Stephen Souza, Don Saylor, and Sydney Vergis
  • The Sacramento Bee surprisingly went away from a developer ticket for the most part endorsing only one developer candidate (Saylor): Sue Greenwald, Cecilia Escamilla-Greenwald, and Don Saylor.
  • Now the Aggie has made their selection: Sue Greenwald, Cecilia Escamilla-Greenwald, and Stephen Souza.

It is time for everyone to vote. Win or lose, the Vanguard will be back as usual tomorrow.

—Doug Paul Davis reporting

Author

  • David Greenwald

    Greenwald is the founder, editor, and executive director of the Davis Vanguard. He founded the Vanguard in 2006. David Greenwald moved to Davis in 1996 to attend Graduate School at UC Davis in Political Science. He lives in South Davis with his wife Cecilia Escamilla Greenwald and three children.

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Elections

88 comments

  1. Rob’s a good guy and good on the issues. It could have simply been the interviews.

    I’m still including him along with Cecilia and Sue in my votes today.

  2. Rob’s a good guy and good on the issues. It could have simply been the interviews.

    I’m still including him along with Cecilia and Sue in my votes today.

  3. Rob’s a good guy and good on the issues. It could have simply been the interviews.

    I’m still including him along with Cecilia and Sue in my votes today.

  4. Rob’s a good guy and good on the issues. It could have simply been the interviews.

    I’m still including him along with Cecilia and Sue in my votes today.

  5. Souza’s public record in office is loaded with enthusiastic public expressions and posturing. His voting record in office has been lock-step with Asmundson and Saylor. The saying,”talk is cheap” aptly describes Souza’s public record in office.

  6. Souza’s public record in office is loaded with enthusiastic public expressions and posturing. His voting record in office has been lock-step with Asmundson and Saylor. The saying,”talk is cheap” aptly describes Souza’s public record in office.

  7. Souza’s public record in office is loaded with enthusiastic public expressions and posturing. His voting record in office has been lock-step with Asmundson and Saylor. The saying,”talk is cheap” aptly describes Souza’s public record in office.

  8. Souza’s public record in office is loaded with enthusiastic public expressions and posturing. His voting record in office has been lock-step with Asmundson and Saylor. The saying,”talk is cheap” aptly describes Souza’s public record in office.

  9. Souza has a lot of support in the Greek/sports community, so it was probably a compromise, and Rob got squeezed out.

    Rob has the student vote sewed up anyway.

  10. Souza has a lot of support in the Greek/sports community, so it was probably a compromise, and Rob got squeezed out.

    Rob has the student vote sewed up anyway.

  11. Souza has a lot of support in the Greek/sports community, so it was probably a compromise, and Rob got squeezed out.

    Rob has the student vote sewed up anyway.

  12. Souza has a lot of support in the Greek/sports community, so it was probably a compromise, and Rob got squeezed out.

    Rob has the student vote sewed up anyway.

  13. In the last few weeks, I’ve noticed a flowering of Rob Roy signs around town. I wonder if that is indicative of growing support for Rob’s candidacy or just a better campaign effort?

    ….

    A month or so ago, I predicted that all three incumbents would probably be re-elected. That is still my guess. (Not just for name recognition, which is a huge help, but for the fact that each of the incumbents started the campaign with a large dedicated constituency already on board.)

    If that happens, obviously, nothing will change on the council, in terms of voting blocs.

    However, it will be a meaningful change if either Stephen or Don loses and say Cecilia takes his place. That would form a new Lamar-Sue-Cecilia majority on many votes. (Of course, we still have this stupid system where the council majority does not elect the mayor. So Ruth would be in a similar position to where Sue is now — a minority mayor.)

    Alternatively, if Don and Stephen are re-elected and Sydney Vergis wins with them, life for Lamar will be quite lonely. On a lot of issues, he will be on the short end of 4-1 votes.

  14. In the last few weeks, I’ve noticed a flowering of Rob Roy signs around town. I wonder if that is indicative of growing support for Rob’s candidacy or just a better campaign effort?

    ….

    A month or so ago, I predicted that all three incumbents would probably be re-elected. That is still my guess. (Not just for name recognition, which is a huge help, but for the fact that each of the incumbents started the campaign with a large dedicated constituency already on board.)

    If that happens, obviously, nothing will change on the council, in terms of voting blocs.

    However, it will be a meaningful change if either Stephen or Don loses and say Cecilia takes his place. That would form a new Lamar-Sue-Cecilia majority on many votes. (Of course, we still have this stupid system where the council majority does not elect the mayor. So Ruth would be in a similar position to where Sue is now — a minority mayor.)

    Alternatively, if Don and Stephen are re-elected and Sydney Vergis wins with them, life for Lamar will be quite lonely. On a lot of issues, he will be on the short end of 4-1 votes.

  15. In the last few weeks, I’ve noticed a flowering of Rob Roy signs around town. I wonder if that is indicative of growing support for Rob’s candidacy or just a better campaign effort?

    ….

    A month or so ago, I predicted that all three incumbents would probably be re-elected. That is still my guess. (Not just for name recognition, which is a huge help, but for the fact that each of the incumbents started the campaign with a large dedicated constituency already on board.)

    If that happens, obviously, nothing will change on the council, in terms of voting blocs.

    However, it will be a meaningful change if either Stephen or Don loses and say Cecilia takes his place. That would form a new Lamar-Sue-Cecilia majority on many votes. (Of course, we still have this stupid system where the council majority does not elect the mayor. So Ruth would be in a similar position to where Sue is now — a minority mayor.)

    Alternatively, if Don and Stephen are re-elected and Sydney Vergis wins with them, life for Lamar will be quite lonely. On a lot of issues, he will be on the short end of 4-1 votes.

  16. In the last few weeks, I’ve noticed a flowering of Rob Roy signs around town. I wonder if that is indicative of growing support for Rob’s candidacy or just a better campaign effort?

    ….

    A month or so ago, I predicted that all three incumbents would probably be re-elected. That is still my guess. (Not just for name recognition, which is a huge help, but for the fact that each of the incumbents started the campaign with a large dedicated constituency already on board.)

    If that happens, obviously, nothing will change on the council, in terms of voting blocs.

    However, it will be a meaningful change if either Stephen or Don loses and say Cecilia takes his place. That would form a new Lamar-Sue-Cecilia majority on many votes. (Of course, we still have this stupid system where the council majority does not elect the mayor. So Ruth would be in a similar position to where Sue is now — a minority mayor.)

    Alternatively, if Don and Stephen are re-elected and Sydney Vergis wins with them, life for Lamar will be quite lonely. On a lot of issues, he will be on the short end of 4-1 votes.

  17. The Aggie editorial board is kidding itself if they think Cecilia will bring people together. Her tenure on the Human Relations Commission clearly shows that she is a very divisive personality.

  18. The Aggie editorial board is kidding itself if they think Cecilia will bring people together. Her tenure on the Human Relations Commission clearly shows that she is a very divisive personality.