I was surprised to read the coverage of the first mayoral debate, I wondered if we were even in the same room. In their laudable attempt to provide balanced coverage, they didn’t report the most important story of the night – Mayor Soiseth’s level of competence being head and shoulders above that of the other candidates. No matter the question, Soiseth very successfully articulated the complexity of the issues, how they were interrelated and what he saw as a way through to a sustainable future.

Most of Soiseth’s opponents have more political experience than he, however, they showed a poor grasp of the issues and provided even weaker possible solutions. For example, one admitted not knowing what to do about water, the other recklessly called for no water rate increases, when all the evidence shows our rates will increase whether we do something or not!  These candidates could only take refuge in stating the obvious, that some of Soiseth’s solutions are not ideal – well, of course not! Leadership is about understanding where we are now and gauging what our options are before they literally dry up.

Soiseth demonstrated over and over how he has fought for our community and that he has clearly delivered results. He has the respect of leaders here and all over this state because they know he is smart, realistic and tenacious. Turlock, there is only one clear choice for mayor in November and we’ll be the losers in this race if he is not reelected. 

— Sarah Beekman