Three choices, two winners, one seat — and now it’s up to us

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Could you have ever imagined that in a quiet primary race for a Congressional seat, with tens of thousands of people voting, two men could each receive exactly 30,249 cotes? Statistically, it’s almost impossible.

But it happened — each man — Evan Low and Joe Simitian — received 16.6 percent of the votes. Winner Sam Liccardo got 21.1 percent. Guess that tie will make it into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Assembly member Evan Low and Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors member Joe Simitian, were tied in a primary that, in closing days, see-sawed back and forth. Low’s ahead by two, Simitian’s ahead by one, etc. Sam Liccardo, former mayor of San Jose, won the first-place with 38,489 votes. A total of 182,135 votes were cast.

Voting rules dictate that with a tie, both individuals are on the November ballot, along with the winner so we will have a three-person race for retiring Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s seat. All three are Democrats.

Now what happens? It will be a fierce, perhaps fiery race, here in the midst of Silicon Valley, filled with high-tech companies who have a keen interest in what happens in D.C. It will be up to us, the voters of the 16^th District, which man gets this seat, representing many of the powerful CEOs of the high-tech world.

I have supported Joe in the past. I think he is an honest, decent, creative man who votes the way he believes, not what his party dictates. He is politically experienced — mayor, assemblyman, state senator, and now a second-term county supervisor. But I will continue to objectively evaluate all the candidates in this race during the next six months.

One factor in this upcoming November election is that given all the publicity of the race between Low and Simitian, is that voters have become more familiar with their names and will pay more attention. Maybe.

I have a few suggestions on what we, the people, might consider doing from now until November contest. Our homework is to decide individually which one of the three candidates would best be able to do the most in Congress if elected.

I say that because the House has become a house of confusion this past year, an embarrassment, especially in its sloppy selection of speakers. The Senate is no example of harmony, nor is it any model of accomplishments.

Congress has also been beset by divisions, constant clashes and few compromises. Conservative Republican are not willing to do much to pass anything Biden wants. There are internal party divisions between Democrats and among Republicans. I don’t know when this will end, but it has to. year.

I hope soon, because the person we select to serve as our representative will med to be prepared to be an effective and important voice for California. He could also be a very critical voice for the country. He must play his part well, because a person can make a difference. Mitch McConnell has certainly done so in the Senate, Nancy Pelosi had been a great speaker in the House, Chuck Schumer isa good Senate spokesman, and GOP House member, Liz Cheney, served a splendid role in the House hearings on the January 6 uprising.

We need a person with enough political acumen to understand how the House operates. We need someone who is willing to listen to both sides, and not just his party alone. We need someone to listen to what the people want –not only to what his party leaders want. We must decide who can do this best — Simitian, Liccardo or Low.

One man can make a difference. One person can do great things. This is a critical time in this country. We have a chance to choose a person who has the ability to do great things — so needed in our troubled times.