by Ann M. Evans
The November 8 General Municipal Election gives Davis voters in District 1 (mostly west of 113) and District 4 (mostly East Davis/Mace Ranch) the opportunity to fill two seats. As a former Mayor of Davis, and cofounder of the Davis Food Co-op and Davis Farmers Market, I’m excited to endorse newcomer Bapu Vaitla for District 1 and former Mayor, Gloria Partida, for District 4.
Bapu Vaitla has vision and energy, as well as a deep background on issues Davis cares about. I first met him in 2018 when we worked on the “Food and Economic Development (FED) in Davis Report” for the City of Davis. Sadly, the report remains largely unimplemented.
The report outlined both a big-picture and baby-step practical strategies for food-based tourism, small-scale food entrepreneurship, integration of climate change work with climate smart food planning, and food-based economic development together with food security efforts. It built on Davis’ legacy of community food systems.
Bapu will make the report a priority, along with programmatic improvements in climate control and affordable housing – with the goal for Davis to be a model in climate action and social equity. Bapu is a gifted and tireless leader.
Words about an incumbent also running in District 1 — I no longer support Dan Carson. As head of the campaign for Measure H and on behalf of the developers, he sued Davis citizen opponents of Measure H. The judge agreed there was little material content to be changed in their ballot argument as a result of the suit and fined Carson $42,200. Don’t reward that kind of unprecedented, egregious behavior in our local democracy. There are sure to be developments up for a citywide vote in the next four years – will Dan sue his next round of opponents if he is reelected?
Gloria Partida did an excellent job as Mayor (2020-22), a tough term which included the Covid pandemic. She has a long history of leadership and advocacy in the Davis community related to inclusion and civil rights. With her son, she has a food cart selling churros and knows first hand the hardships many small food businesses face in Davis. She’s supportive of many of the FED recommendations, as part of her interest in economic development, and will prioritize affordable housing, climate change and solutions for the unhoused.
I call on my fellow voters in District 1 and 4 to elect Bapu Vaitla and Gloria Partida.
Ann M. Evans is a Former Mayor, City of Davis
No way that I am voting for Gloria Partida since she was a staunch supporter of DISC to develop freeway property next to Mace Ranch. We had to spend the time and money to vote down two similar proposals in less than two years. She chose greedy developers over the families that live in her district. Candidate Adam Morill is a much better choice. Parida lost the DISC election almost 2 to 1 which shows how out of tune she was with the people of District 4.