Dominic Caserta is running for Santa Clara County Supervisor to replace Ken Yeager, who is retiring.
To most of us, this is not news or a big surprise. Perhaps the biggest surprise is really two items.
One: that so many candidates jumped into the Supervisor’s race.
Two: with all that competition Dominic Caserta is still polling very strong.
Surprise because, Santa Clara hasn’t had a recognized leader in the Supervisor’s seat since Rod Diridon Sr. 40 years ago.
What’s not surprising is why.
This election process is a bit screwy…and expensive. Look at it this way. If you are a candidate for Supervisor and you really want to be a Supervisor, you must run all out, spend a ton of money and win either first or second place in the June Primary. If you are fortunate enough to win the top or second spot, you then have the privilege of spending the next four months busting your tail campaigning for the victor’s chair in November.
Add to that another quarter million dollars in campaign expenses and by the time you finish campaigning, you are ready for a month in Tahiti rather than being immediately sworn into office.
Frankly, there are very few people who really have the stamina, drive, ability to raise funds and have the competitive desire to go for the gold. Caserta is one of those few.
Most of you have been around politics all your life and you have seen people win because of personality, money, popularity, union support or well organized backing. Frankly, it takes all these components to win a competitive election.
Like all races, preparation and training is critical. You need to develop thick skin, keep the ego under control, pick your battles and wars…while still trying to maintain peace among your peers.
Who has been through more political fire, brimstone and criticism than Caserta over the past two years? Being in the minority on Santa Clara City Council is the proving ground for toughness.
That’s why we are betting on Caserta.
Ideally, all of us want the perfect politician that always sees things from our point of view. Don’t count on that with Caserta. Dominic is always open to discussion and can be persuaded to a point. However, when it comes to core values important to him personally, Caserta isn’t going to budge.
That is better than having a wimpy waffler or tone-deaf bureaucrat as our Supervisor.
When June ballots arrive in your mailbox in a couple of weeks, look at all the wannabe’s running for Supervisor. Find Dominic Caserta and give him your total Santa Clara support.
It is past time and overdue for Santa Clara to have representation at the County level. Caserta has the moxy, toughness, empathy and persistence to represent our City, our District and Santa Clara residents.