Letter: Addressing Poor Sportsmanship – SanBenito.com

Shortly after Hollister mayoral candidate Roxanne Stephens placed a campaign sign at the intersection of Union Road and Airline Highway (California State Route 25), the sign was torn off and found on the ground, a blatant display of disrespect.

Such poor sportsmanship cannot be tolerated any longer. It must be publicly condemned.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t complain. I would have considered it another case of vandalism that usually accompanies campaigns. It happens occasionally, especially when it comes to divisive issues in local politics. But this mayoral campaign doesn’t fall into that category.

It therefore surprises me that someone would illegally remove such a large sign from a place that is so clearly visible.

Such a senseless act of destruction against a relatively unknown challenger suggests an attempt at political intimidation, discourages participation, and only ensures that the fight will turn in Roxanne’s favor.

Based on what I have heard, learned, and experienced during my nine months of political activism, I am increasingly concerned that there is a kind of “developer mafia” out there that is hell-bent on discouraging newcomers from participating in politics. Most of these attacks seem to only happen to slow-growing people, and this attack only reinforces this “mafia” atmosphere.

I hope I’m wrong. I hope this was a one-time attack. Public condemnation would go a long way to alleviate these concerns.

The issue of growth has divided us and I think we can all agree that we do not want to see any further escalation beyond the typical random acts of destruction or intimidation. As a resident of Hollister, I now call on my mayor to publicly condemn this politically motivated act of destruction against her opponent.

I also humbly request my local councillor, Tim Burns, to join her in this. Good sportsmanship is needed, as is public condemnation of bad sportsmanship.

And it would really mean a lot to the people who have suffered from such politically motivated attacks.

Joseph Howard

Hollister