One of the Election Night’s big surprises was the shellacking County Assessor deputy David Ginsborg took in his aggressive bid to win a board seat on the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Barbara Keegan finished almost 25 points ahead of his paltry 32 percent of the vote, while Drew Spitzer finished a distant third.
The seat was seen by many as a stepping-stone to Ginsborg’s future run for County Assessor. His supporters blamed it on gender bias toward female candidates in a race few people cared about.
“Voters believe women can clean up a mess more than men,” said Larry Stone, county Tax Assessor and Ginsborg’s boss. The Water District’s parcel tax, Measure B, received voters’ approval with almost 73 percent of the vote, but questions about the financial stewardship of the organization, nicknamed The Golden Spigot, persist.
Keegan was endorsed by her District 2 predecessor, Joe Judge, who spent 26 years on the water board.
In an email to supporters Wednesday, Ginsborg wrote that he is “confident that my entry into this race, and the outpouring of support, triggered a cascade of events that led to the 26 year incumbent deciding to not to seek re-election creating room for a much needed, fresh new perspective.”
I though that even though Ginsborg was the chair of the oversight committee, he really didn’t seem to know that much about the water district. I don’t believe it was gender bias.
I did not know nor did I as a voter care that Joe Judge endorsed Barbara Keegan. And to me the endorsement of Larry Stone is an automatic ‘vote against’ a candidate. Many candidates trumpet endorsements because they don’t have the education, qualifications, or accomplishments needed to be effective in the office they are seeking.
I cared that she is a civil engineer with the training and experience to understand what the water district actually does with water and water facilities. Too many of the water district elected officials have no background in and no understanding of water. They just want to be elected officials. I voted for Barbara Keegan because she can truly understand what goes on at the district. Her gender had nothing to do with it.