This opinion was contributed by Hollister resident, Heather Hickerson. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent BenitoLink or other affiliated contributors. Lea este artículo en español aqui.
I don’t care where you stand on the recall. Support it, oppose it–that’s your right. That’s how this is supposed to work. Each side makes a case, voters decide and we all live with the outcome.
But what we are seeing right now is NOT normal.
Instead of letting the public decide, Supervisors Ignacio Velazquez, Kollin Kosmicki, and Dom Zanger are using the power of their offices to fight the recall and attack the residents who brought it. And honestly, it is embarrassing to watch.
These are elected officials. They are supposed to represent the public fairly, not use county meetings, official titles, social media pages and public platforms to influence an election and shame residents. But that is exactly what they are doing. They seem to feel the rules and laws don’t apply to them.
They keep claiming the recall is a “scam,” and pushed the same tired claim it’s all driven by developers, with no evidence. Messaging like this carries weight when it comes from an elected official and they know it.
Look, this is a small town, I know the committee members and have also volunteered in support of the recall. They are just normal people, raising children, playing with grandkids and now, taking a stand on something important to them–public safety. Yet three out of control Supervisors are labeling all of them as ‘developer’s friends’ or claiming they are pro-growth.
Think I am kidding? Take a look at how they crossed the line:
• They used official meetings to campaign against the recall and single out people involved and attacking them. Those meetings are for county business not campaigning!
• Supervisor Velazquez called out a local businessman during a meeting because he had donated to the recall, even though that man was there on unrelated county business. Again, abusing authority and intimidating an individual during a public during a meeting? Not ok.
• Supervisor Kosmicki is all over social media, using his Facebook Supervisor page to rail against the recall and when anybody disagrees with his comments, he calls them names. He has even told a few of the women they need to “get a hobby.” His manner is unbefitting an elected official.
• Supervisor Kosmicki goes on TV news, claiming recall Notices were invalid and illegal, even questioning the Elections Office claiming they should be investigated and weren’t doing their jobs. Turns out he was dead wrong, the court said so but the damage was done. He isn’t just being political; he is undermining our election system.
• Supervisor Zanger abused his Facebook Supervisor page releasing a video to highlight a couple larger donors, using names, photos and labels, trying to paint all these supporters as “developers.” It included union members, business owners, even regular residents who are apparently now ‘pro-development.’ What he was doing was not transparency. He neglected to mention all of the hundreds of small donations from residents all over. This is what grassroots looks like. Yet he was attempting to shame people. Again, outrageously unprofessional.
At some point, you have to call this out for what it is.
It isn’t just disagreement or politics as usual. They are using their power to create a false narrative, discredit individuals and undermine the process, to tilt an election.
Anyone who followed the fire contract meetings knows where this recall came from. Residents showed up in large numbers and were ignored; they were angry at the backroom meetings and frustrated that firefighters were being disrespected and public safety wasn’t being funded properly.
The committee was clear from the beginning–this recall is about a lack of leadership, not listening to the public and failing to support fire services, law enforcement, and basic safety. It’s not some hidden agenda. The community is pushing back and saying if you won’t prioritize this, we will find a leader who does. It is that simple.
Trying to reduce that to “developers are behind it” isn’t just misleading it is insulting to every single person on the committee. It dismisses the very real concerns of the community over underfunding fire services and cutting sheriff resources.
Elected officials should support the election process; instead, they are behaving in self-serving manners, circling the wagons and using their office to attack the grassroots people who organized the recall. And they are going after anyone who speaks up or supports them.
You don’t have to agree with the recall. But you should respect the right of people to bring it. And residents should not be afraid to participate. Because that’s what this is starting to look like—an attempt to shut the public down.
When residents are called out in meetings, labeled online, put on display in videos, it sends a message: speak up, and you’ll pay for it. And when people in power target this way, it crosses into something else. It starts to look a lot like intimidation.
No matter how you plan to vote, this should really concern you. Leaders are supposed to represent the public, not try to silence or control the community.
At this point, I am beginning to wish all three of them were on the recall vote in June. I don’t know about you but I am tired of leaders who behave so badly. I just want it to stop.
BenitoLink invites all community members to share their ideas and opinions. By registering as a BenitoLink user in the top right corner of our home page and agreeing to follow our Terms of Use, you can write counter opinions or share your insights on current issues.