Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Editorials

Is 'Good Government' what name implies?

Los Gatos Good Government could be an honest-to-goodness group of citizens dedicated to disseminating information--presumably about the qualities that make local government good.

If it is, though, we're having a hard time understanding why Bob Hamilton, its only known member, is so reluctant to avail himself of the opportunity to spread the word through a story in the local newspaper.

When Hamilton filed the necessary papers with the town clerk Oct. 11, the existence of Los Gatos Good Government became a matter of public record. But most of what we know about the organization, we've had to learn in a roundabout way.

Why the secrecy? And if, as seems likely, the organization is simply in business to support specific candidates, why not give themselves a name that doesn't hide what they're all about?

The name "Los Gatos Good Government" smacks of impartiality. Good government is right up there with motherhood and apple pie. Who could oppose it?

But, because the group has pointedly avoided contacting the incumbent, it would seem that it is, in fact, a partisan organization committed to a specific agenda.

The group's filing less than a month before the election suggests, further, that it has put itself in business to strike its foe or foes too late for a counterattack.

In the era of dirty politics, these 11th-hour attacks are known as hit pieces. They're legal, but they're nasty. They don't give the opposition a chance to answer charges that can be--and often are--totally trumped up.

Following the last council race two years ago, the Los Gatos Weekly-Times editorialized that Los Gatans could be proud that in the local race, at least, candidates had not stooped to mud-slinging and last-minute hit pieces.

Let's hope Los Gatos Good Government will give some serious thought to what "good government" really means before resorting to tactics that can only drag the town into the same muck that characterizes so much of today's political scene.

A and B are needed

In California, general-fund taxes need only 50 percent to pass while tax measures that let voters know exactly where their money is going must have an overwhelming two-thirds majority. That's why voters are being asked to support both Measures A and B to raise funds for needed transportation improvements in the county.

Measure A is advisory and lists specific improvements. Measure B authorizes a half-cent sales tax for nine years to fund the improvements; it requires a simple majority to pass.

These measures empower local citizens, as did Measure A in 1984, to solve local transportation problems, including pothole repair, freeway interchange improvements and continuation of work on the light-rail system.

These days, people who wait on federal and state funding for transportation are in for a very long wait.

Safeguards and accountability are built into Measure A and, although supervisors are not bound to adhere to the advisory vote, the broad range of support, including tax foes, business leaders and the League of Women Voters, is a strong message to supervisors not to mess around with the wishes of the citizens.