A neophyte’s impact
By John Horgan
Thursday, November 8th, 2007 at 7:21 am in Uncategorized.
Miguel Araujo is an amateur politician. In fact, running for public office was not on his personal agenda at all. Araujo is a San Bruno businessman.
But two things occurred in that town earlier this year that got him activated. First, only two people, both incumbents, announced plans to seek seats on the San Bruno City Council in the November election. They had no opposition and were poised to waltz back into office sans any discussion whatsoever. Second, those same councilpersons were among a gaggle of key city officials who pushed for approval of Measure F, a half-cent San Bruno-only sales tax hike, in the same election. Well, Araujo’s attempt to knock off one of the incumbents failed as expected. But Measure F, despite the backing of the town’s authority figures and the Chamber of Commerce, may go down in flames. As the week came to a close, the results were still much too close to call. It was a dead heat. A recount was anticipated. And Araujo was really the only guy who put himself on the line in firm opposition to the tax increase. He got a lot of resistance from the establishment for that. He may yet prove to be successful. Amazing what one individual can do.
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November 10th, 2007 at 7:11 am
Considering that the League of Woman’s Voters censored him, cast him as a heretic, and removed his listing from the smartvoter.org website, sans his name; he did exceptionally well as a neophyte - about 26% What was very glaring this election was the fact that he was unfairly treated by both the media and so-called nonpartisan election establishment. This was undemocratic and unconstitutional!!! Moreover, I was shocked to read Christine Morente’s article in the SM Times that Measure F had WON, then discovered that all the votes had not yet been tallied. This was very unprofessional journalism.
November 11th, 2007 at 11:11 am
I don’t believe that The Times ever stated that Measure F had won. The first report indicated that it was a dead heat. After that, Measure F was failing consistently. You may have mis-read a story. But that’s OK. None of us is perfect. Certainly not me. Far from it. As for Araujo, he never had a real shot at a seat on the City Council. He knew that. But he most certainly did have an impact on the debate.
November 12th, 2007 at 9:48 am
A clarification: The first report from the County Elections Office showed that Measure F was winning, but barely. After that, it was said to be a dead heat. After that, it was losing consistently.
November 12th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
If my understanding of English isn’t up to par, please excuse me. But let other readers be the judge. The actual article pertaining to San Bruno is below:
Nov 07, 2007
Most Money Measures Passing
Burlingame schools, San Bruno and South City coffers get big boost
By Christine Morente, STAFF WRITER
Burlingame….
San Bruno
Measure F, a half-cent sales tax that needed only a majority vote to pass, garnered 53 percent. It will bring in an annual $2.7 million into the general fund. The new revenue will maintain police and fire services, a new public library and improvements to streets and recreational facilities, such as the swimming pool. The tax takes effect April 1, 2008. Now, the half-cent tax will be added to the 8.25 percent state sales tax on such items as household goods and clothes. Exempt are services, such as haircuts or car repairs, and car sales. “I think the voters in San Bruno understood the measure, the need for it and elected to support it,” said Mayor Larry Franzella.
Colma….
November 14th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
The headline was incorrect. But I can see your point.