Editorial Editorial (October 29, 2004)

Local election endorsements

14th Congressional District

Democrat Anna Eshoo is seeking her seventh term in Congress, where she has earned a reputation as a hard-working representative for the last 12 years.

As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, she has criticized the Bush Administration for going to war in Iraq "without a shred of intelligence," diverting resources from the threat of global terrorism, and running the economy into debt.

Chris Haugen, Eshoo's Republican opponent, said her votes are "an exact contradiction to the values he finds important, adding that he takes issue with her on terrorism, taxes and teaching. Haugen is a civil engineer and teacher and ran unsuccessfully against Eshoo in 2000.

During her years in Congress, Eshoo has become a respected leader, with a special interest in the health of women and children. She is chair of the Medical Technology Caucus, and a bill she authored to promote safe formulation of drugs for children was signed by President Bush in 2002.

She also has authored numerous bills of interest to the high-tech industry, including legislation authorizing electronic signatures. And, she has worked to protect the stock options of rank-and-file employees and is a founding member of a bipartisan group dedicated to educating Congress and the public on Internet policy issues.

Anna Eshoo knows her constituents and how to represent them. She is accessible at home and effective in Washington, D.C. We urge voters to return Anna Eshoo to Congress.

13th State Senate District

Former Assembly member Elaine Alquist is a virtual shoo-in to win this state Senate seat after prevailing in a primary battle with state Assembly member Manny Diaz, of San Jose.

Shane Connolly, Alquist's Republican opponent, is not expected to give her any trouble in the heavily Democratic district, which runs from Gilroy to Mountain View and includes San Jose. Alquist is seeking to move up to the Senate after being termed out of the District 22 Assembly seat now held by Mountain View resident Sally Lieber.

A former teacher and school board member, Alquist is highly interested in education. In her Assembly terms, she co-authored a statewide bond issue that helped pay for upgrades on K-12 and higher education campuses. She also chaired the Assembly's information technology committee and was the first chair on the new committee on Aging and Long Term Care.

Alquist also has worked on housing issues, authoring a bill requiring health management organizations to pay for hospice care, and writing a law that helped crime victims and made it easier for the state to bring child molesters to justice.

Alquist's success in the Assembly, and her interest in education, high technology and health care issues make her the right choice for the state Senate. We urge voters to support Elaine Alquist for the 13th District Senate seat.

22nd State Assembly District

Democrat Sally Lieber shocked political observers, and herself, when she defeated Rod Diridon Jr. of Santa Clara to win the Democratic nomination for the 22nd Assembly seat two years ago. Lieber's intensity and outspoken support of issues regarding children and seniors attracted strong voter support in the district, and gave her the victory. She is not expected to be challenged by Republican Marie Dominguez-Gasson.

Lieber is the first Mountain View resident to be elected to the state Legislature in more than 40 years, after finishing just one term on the city council. And as a first-term Assembly member, she served as Assistant Speaker Pro Tem, the third-highest ranking position.

Lieber's rapid rise to a leadership role in the Assembly has not meant that she has forgotten her Mountain View constituents. In many cases, her work in Sacramento parallels her interests in Mountain View, such as environmental safety and toxic materials, mobile home owners, poverty, and health and aging.

Lieber is a dynamo in Sacramento, and she deserves another term. She is committed to working for all residents of her district, but she obviously is especially attentive to issues important to Mountain View. We urge voters to support Sally Lieber for a second term in the 22nd District Assembly seat.

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