Opinion: Cooley should be elected to state Senate
Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Dec. 20, 2010, Sacramento Bee.
Voters in the Senate district that stretches from Fair Oaks and Roseville to Lake Tahoe and Susanville have unfinished business, selecting a replacement for the late Sen. Dave Cox of Fair Oaks.
The choice on Jan. 4 is between Assemblyman Ted Gaines, the Roseville Republican, and Rancho Cordova Mayor Ken Cooley, the Democrat.
Gaines is the clear front-runner in the heavily Republican district. But Cooley would be a worthy and appropriate replacement for Cox, a politician who had served his district well by understanding the wisdom of compromise.
Gaines is a decent man, but has few accomplishments as an assemblyman. As a backbench senator, he would have little clout.
Because he says he would not vote for a budget that earmarks money for family planning clinics that provide abortion services for poor women, Gaines never would vote for a California state budget. That alone guarantees he will never be a significant player on behalf of the residents of Senate District 1.