Mayoral Candidate Ben Cantu Attacks Councilwoman Debby Moorhead

It's no secret!  The political attacks are now a reality in the race for Mayor of Manteca.  Here's the clincher I found out about the Manteca Bulletin having mentioned that Samuel Anderson is the one that takes it to the floor like an ultimate fighter.  But first, here's a little something from Dennis Wyatt in his first sentence of this article: "Get ready for one of the most polite - and possibly closest - races for mayor Manteca has ever seen."

Dennis Wyatt continues to say, "Regardless of how the race is handicapped at this stage, one thing is for sure: This will be a race involving manners and not throat cutting although Anderson has a reputation for being more than strident."  You can read it all right here. 

"Weatherford, Cantu, and Moorhead are all sincere when they say they respect each other. In fact, they are all members of the same service club - the Manteca Noon Kiwanis. They have disagreed in the past without wielding an ax to bury in the other guy’s back. In other words, they are cordial and don’t throw a fit when they don’t get their way nor do they resort to personal attacks."

Is that so, Dennis?  Really?  Are you SURE???

Huh, well...let's see what we have here.  Could it be, oh, yes, yes, that's who he is...Ben Cantu!  What?  A political ad in the Big Bopper Shopper?  Yes, you can view it here.  Better yet, let me show you the ad.

Wow!  This is really amazing!  What was it that Dennis Wyatt said about 'Weatherford, Cantu, and Moorhead'?  Oh, yes...they "respect each other."  And let's not forget they are all members of the Kiwanis.  Oh, and they don't wield an ax in each others back.  Really?  "Nor do they result to personal attacks."

What does this ad say?  Well, it says "Ms. Moorhead" two times in the same paragraph.  She has "fallen in line", and is lacking...in safety, leadership, focus, response, being fiscal and has NO CULTURE.  Could it be he's pissed off about her running for mayor?  Who cares!  Debby is running because it's going to give Willie the advantage of splitting the votes.

So, Dennis Wyatt says that Samuel Anderson needs to tone it down, keep it straight and ethical and "Regardless of how the race is handicapped at this stage, one thing is for sure: This will be a race involving manners and not throat cutting."  Dennis goes on to say, "Cantu has been shaping up as a formidable candidate as he has been running a low-key campaign."  LMAO!!!

"There is one thing that can totally upset the apple cart of anyone’s version of conventional wisdom and that’s Samuel Anderson."  I agree!  Either way, his running in the race to be on the council is a good decision this year.  I think he'll get it.  He has my vote.  

KEEP RUNNING THOSE ADS BEN...AND DEBBY, YOU NEED TO FIGHT BACK...COME ON, SHOW YOUR LOVE, CUT HIS THROAT!

Council Woman Debby Moorhead A Liberal?

The election is over and now Councilwoman Moorhead is in her seat. However, is she truly a republican? Is she even a conservative?

Why do I ask this?

Because she is also the executive director of the Manteca Chamber of Commerce. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a liberal entity, is a full supporter of President Obama! They have endorsed President Obama, his phony stimulus plan, his out of control spending and taxing of the American citizen and this includes the cancellation of the E-verify system that prevents illegals from obtaining jobs in the country that rightfully belong to its citizens.

The question is, is Councilwoman Moorhead a liberal? She needs to come out and publicly state her position on this. I'm going to email her and I'll post it on the site. I wrote this first because I wanted to see if she will give me a straight answer the first time around.

Manteca Chooses To Continue Business As Usual

Even though my candidates did not win with the exception of Debby Moorhead pulling ahead over Jack Snyder in a final count, I don't expect it to happen.

Manteca! You have chosen your poison. Most of you are idiots who voted for others with NO experience whatsoever, what morons you are. It's too bad that people can't think anymore. They refuse to give something so important a few minutes of their life to consider who would be the best for our city. I'll say it again...YOU ALL WHO VOTED FOR THE NEWCOMERS AND THOSE WHO JUST WANTED TO SEE THEIR NAMES ON THE BALLOT, ARE ALL DUMB-ASS IDIOTS. It's amazing how many stupid and idiotic people there are in this country.

Samuel Anderson was clearly one of the best and this ballot was full of bull and it affected the vote. I hope he will continue in the future. However, big money and the developers have won the day. It just goes to show you Manteca, you are worth $2.16 a piece. That is how much it cost the incumbents to win your vote.

I read the Manteca Bulletins Dennis W(hy)(is he there)yatt article on why Debby has a commanding lead because she did not go negative. Dennis! Bullshit! She was first on the ballot and that speaks volumes in any election and we all know the statistics on ballots full of candidates and the first two get a lot of votes. Regardless, I did choose her and if she gets it, then she gets it.

Our biggest worry folks is this. A President Obama. Hide your guns, hide your ammo, hide your money and gold. This guy is going to go socialistic on us like no other. We need to get the conservatism back in the GOP and take out all the RINO's and take back the house in 2010.

Sun Post Prints Massive Article Of Council Candidate

I could not help myself when I read the entire article authored by Ben Cantu of Ben Cantu in the Sun Post on Friday. It took up an entire page. I personally think this was a waste of money because most citizens have voted already. Those that have not typically do not read papers, they are too busy and most have made up their minds already. This is not me, it's a known fact from political consultants. Short and simple cards would have worked best, not a CV (Resume). The article did not mention it was a 'paid ad from candidate'. We have to assume this came directly from the Sun Post. Did the Sun Post pay for this out of their own pockets? It appears so, space on any newspaper costs a lot of money. I consider this a donation to Ben Cantu's campaign.

After reading the article I have to clear up some of the inaccuracies of it. I'm going to compare Ben Cantu with Samuel Anderson using Ben's statements.

Let's compare:

Qualifications to be your next councilman: Ben Cantu says in his ad that he is the ONLY candidate that brings actual working experience in municipal government operations and planning, budgeting, financing, management, infrastructure systems and design, working relationships with other agencies, knowledge of the communities adopted goals and policies and so on.

I have news for the readers! This is a lie! Ben, you've been caught! I'm calling you on this.

Response: Samuel Anderson is a Police Commander and consistently deals with municipal government operations on a daily basis. Not only this, but his company, Tekbrokers VENTURES, LLC has several clients, over 100 of them, that are all municipal clients. On top of it, some are county and state including international. Samuel Anderson has the experience as both employee and executive and both levels as THE executive itself.

Public Safety: Ben Cantu believes that Manteca has only 'occasional crime'. He has determined that Manteca is safe and free from serious crime and has supported Measure M and for that fact, Manteca being the highest taxed city in San Joaquin County. He has NO experience in law enforcement. Maybe he forgot to read the police blotter recently of all the shootings and personal attacks and robberies of personal holdups on persons. The list is long including stolen cars.

Response: Samuel Anderson has served and worked in the law enforcement community for over 20 years. From the military to all levels of service his current position has him working from local/municipal to leaders in 43 different nations and he happens to be a Commander. His current group has over 900 individuals from all over the world including the United States working with him. Samuel Anderson is not only educated and experienced in public safety, he is PUBLIC SAFETY. When shit hits the fan, who would you want in front of you? Samuel Anderson will bring executive level experience to the city council of Manteca. He will also bring down taxes. Ben Cantu has NOT mentioned anything about bringing down taxes.

Community Growth: Ben Cantu will press for the returning to the original purpose of the growth management program-managed growth and take back control of Manteca's future growth policies. Ben Cantu was responsible for this to begin with. How can you just say this when for the past 30 years you were part of this? If you didn't like it, then you should have quit and ran for city council, but hey, I guess a good paying job and now retirement is better for you. I mean, we are paying your retirement salary Ben.

Response: Samuel Anderson has stated all along the importance of balancing the budget and the need for a plan with set goals. His executive experience in achieving such items is known throughout municipal, state and FORTUNE companies. He is also mentioning as he stated in 2006 that we need to have a rainy day fund and put a lock on it.

New Jobs/Retail: I'm sorry, I could not understand what he was saying in this one. All I know is he was trying to mention something about jobs and the community. What is "maintaining a fiscally balanced community"? It just appears as if he took that right out of some book and turned it around. I'm sorry, folks, but his jobs and retail does not make sense. I just can't interpret it.

Response: Samuel Anderson has the experience of his own business, FORTUNE 500 companies, Successful Start-ups, Government accounts and positions. Samuel Anderson has been responsible for budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars. He has personally managed several companies at the same time under one roof. He has personally hired and fired employees, what is called in the business as being a hatchet man and a headhunter. This is a trained position and calls for a very experienced person to carry out such endeavors. This is why he was one of the top recruiters in the nation at one time. And, one of the highest paid I might ad. Ben Cantu does not have a feathers experience in this area which calls for executive management and constant contact on a daily basis with such persons and investors.

Housing: Ben Cantu wants workforce housing. He wants to keep Manteca the center of low-paying wages. Manteca has already completed several studies and the people have accepted the fact that we want to attract people from the outside who are looking for larger homes to raise their children. Even though they work outside the city, this is a fact and while noble a position on workforce housing, studies have shown that keeping a city within these ranks causes more crime and blight and gangs. Hey, prove me wrong, this is a fact from the DOJ and studies of cities and their growing populations. It's a fact.

Response: Samuel Anderson has told us back in 2006 when he ran for city council that we need to slow it down and stop the massive growth because it's going to hurt our community later on down the road. He was right on target. Guess what? Forget about your socialistic dream of workforce housing and work on the budget as Samuel Anderson has stated since 2006. I call this fantastic vision.

$8 Million Budget Deficit: Although Ben Cantu has his ideas on the budget and some of them make sense, he's not saying anything that all the others are and have been saying all along. He also does not have experience in budget deficits.

Response: Samuel Anderson has experience in budgets and in this case, he was hired as the hatchet man and headhunter to take HEAD-ON budgets that were going into deficit mode. He knows what to look for and where to cut back without sacrificing quality and service. This isn't inherited experience, it's trained leadership.

Council Leadership: Ben Cantu says nothing about why he should be the one on the city council in his ad. Nothing. He does say that he intends to keep office hours during the week so he can be accessible to citizens and businesses throughout the week. Uh, really? That is a task to behold. And, it would cost money to have you there daily. And, the municipal code also mentions that the city council members can NOT have interaction with the city employees as to such conduct business with them. You must do it with the City Manager and he will then instruct his department heads to carry out any orders. If I recall, Ben Cantu also has a business of his own consulting on planning projects that he happens to be a client of the City of Manteca. Is he planning on shutting down his business? It would be impossible to sit at city hall every single day of the week and run a business. Even if he uses his own mobile phone to take calls and make calls, he is still using city amenities such as the office, the grounds, etc...to carry out personal business. Pick one, Ben.

Response: Samuel Anderson is all about leadership. Over 20 years experience as a U.S. Marine involved in intelligence and communications. Law enforcement experience and is a Commander. Fortune 500 experience on all levels of executive management. Visionary and partner in several successful start-ups and venture capital firms. Owns his own personal businesses, more than one. Has been an executive leader in all these areas and is currently serving as the President of the Safe Surrender Baby Safe Haven that was integral in establishing laws in all 50 States for newborns. This is experience in dealing with all 50 States legislatures.

There you have it. I personally spent time with Samuel Anderson on his path to the Manteca City Council. He went door to door and NO OTHER candidate has done this. The Sun Post should be ashamed of themselves because they purposefully over-looked this person because they know he means business and he is a threat to the establishment including others. He's all about business and he's the people's man for the job. I think he will get the position on the council because he took it where it matters most, to the people. His map of the city is impressive and if he does not get it, well, Manteca, you will have lost a golden opportunity to have someone of this high-caliber to serve you and bring back justice to our city.

Samuel Anderson is the candidate and people's choice for Manteca City Council.

Steve DeBrum And Jack Snyder Spend BIG On Last Minute Campaign Marketing

It didn't take long for both city council candidates to spend their war chest on a last minute blitz on Manteca voters in an all out attempt to make it APPEAR they are the best candidate to vote for.

I disagree! Here's why.

First, there are two very large color voter marketing guides that were sent out by the following:

The San Joaquin Republican Assembly - CRA - It states: This election we have the opportunity to re-elect Republicans Steve DeBrum and Jack Snyder to the Manteca City Council. I am proud to endorse these two dedicated "tax-fighters".

Let me put it simple for everyone reading this. The CRA members are well connected to the two incumbents and rely on their network of who is in power in order to keep their personal network. It's a bunch of fluff, no matter what party, Democrat or Republican.

When I had interviewed Samuel Anderson and his experience with the CRA he really was disappointed about this organization. Here is what he said. "When I arrived at their meeting and spoke I knew I was the most conservative candidate of all the candidates and these mailings prove their hypocrisy. They were more concerned about how I would use my position based on THEIR Biblical beliefs and considered EVERYONE else of belonging to a 'cult' because they were not 'Christians', at least in their own terms of that definition." "I have decided that they were too radical and nuts for me to even allow them to endorse me."

OK, so now you have heard what our leading candidate had to say about the CRA. From our investigation we also know that many of their members are members of other groups that also endorse the same candidates. Talk about keeping it in the family. But, where on earth are they coming up with the sentence, "tax-fighters"? Manteca is the HIGHEST taxed city in San Joaquin County because of Steve DeBrum and Jack Snyder.

Our advice to the public: Do not believe the CRA (California Republican Assembly).

Let us visit the other made up marketing post card. This one is huge. It has a picture of both candidates Steve Debrum and Jack Snyder with a picture of Rex Osborn and VanClei DeFreitas. This paid advertisement states that the two councilmen are dedicated to our community and have the endorsement of the Manteca Police Officers Association and Employee's Association.

We have found out through direct contact of employees that they were pretty much forced into this and did not want to get involved, but through the arm twisting of probably some of the fellows whose picture are on the post card they went ahead regardless. This is a guess, but I'm sure quite accurate.

Allow me to put this simple for everyone. All this smells of a well-spent campaign on trying to keep in power the good'ole boys club. Why on earth would you even vote for these two men? Why on earth would you not be able to see of their acceptance of Pacific Gas and Electric money that citizens of Manteca consider their rate-payer money. And, Pacific Gas and Electric has spent over $250,000 on the anti-family homosexual activist group 'No on Proposition 8'.

Now, Steve DeBrum is a Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus that supports Proposition 8 and here he has taken money from Pacific Gas and Electric. I'm not saying too much about Jack Snyder here because he is old news. He's out! Mantecans want new blood and he's spent too much time on the council already, he will not win and don't waste your vote.

Manteca, just look at the associations of everyone and who they belong to. Let me give you this for breakfast. One of the two men in the photo together happens to have a girlfriend who is the executive director of the Manteca Visitors Bureau that was started by Steve DeBrum and his wife. Do you see what I mean? You do the math. Everyone in the know knows this and in case you didn't, now you do.

The Manteca Bulletin today posted Shasta School student voting results on the election of the city council in this order:

Tony Smith
Debby Moorhead
Jack Snyder
Samuel Anderson
Steve DeBrum
Mike Hall
Ben Cantu
John Diaz

Let me break it down for you here. I think this is correct, EXCEPT for the following. Tony Smith does not stand a chance. Take him out of this picture. Now, bring up the following - Debby Moorhead and Jack Snyder. We know that Jack Snyder is not going to be re-elected. Now, bring it up again. What does this leave us with? It leaves us with what we have endorsed all along - Samuel Anderson and Debby Moorhead. People have already made up their minds in this election and because of the failure of our National government, all incumbents are and should be scared. They want the slate to be clean and the council to be filled with "NEW BLOOD". The Manteca Response agrees.

Manteca, do not be fooled with the mailers of Steve DeBrum and Jack Snyder. They have NOT earned your vote, they are paying for it with Pacific Gas and Electric anti-family homosexual 'No on Proposition 8' money. They knew that they were going to accept this tainted money and take their chances. Call it guilt by association.

On Election Day, Vote for Samuel Anderson and Debby Moorhead for Manteca City Council.

Sun Post Uses Half It's Brain On Candidates Forum

The Sun Post website has been down for quite some time and even when it was up and running, it was terrible to look at. You call this a newspaper?

Regardless, I just finished reading their article about the candidates forum and I even watched the forum yesterday on Comcast Cable Access 97.

After carefully watching the forum and trying to see if there was a match with the article, there appears to be a bias in there because it was just boring. I'll get to the point here. Things were put together in such a way that it appeared that one candidate looked better on print instead of the forum. I smell a set-up!

I've seen this before. It happens all the time. The newspaper will set themselves up first so they are protected and appear non-biased so that when it comes time for this so called traditional "endorsement" from the editors, they will go with who THEY want, not what the public wants.

In my opinion I know who the public wants, but then again, what it comes down to is on election day. When the voter decides. The trick for the candidates is: get as many votes for you prior to the election so you can stand a chance at winning.

There are several ways of doing this and those with money do what I call, 'Armchair Politics'.

This is when you can trick your voter into believing you have been endorsed by several voter guides that cleverly have your name along side everyone else in a political party and they send it out ahead of time so that you can see this marketing image AND they say, "Send it in NOW so that your vote will count and NOT get lost in the mail." This is designed so that you won't and can't change your mind later on.

By the way. Carlon Perry of the Sun Post has used this method and so had Steve DeBrum and Jack Snyder. I call this chickenshit! They can't get their fat asses out the door campaigning and wish to deceive you of your vote. This is exactly what it is. Carlon is the same as the others when it comes time for voting and I'm going to bet that he does NOT endorse Samuel Anderson. Why? Because Samuel is a true guy. He's been listening and he's been going out there and getting the vote, meaning, he's been listening to what the people want and he can come up with any idea to solve the problems we face in our city. No other candidates have done this.

Oh, they have looked pretty on the forum, but the new challengers did not have a platform. NONE! Ben Cantu only complained and he even mentioned he designed and built the current animal shelter which he is not proud of. All Ben could do is use his time to get out all this built up anger inside of him after all these years of working for our city and getting dumped on by the city council.

I have news for everyone in Manteca. Ben Cantu is still part of THE CLUB where everyone on the board except Vince belongs to. He happens to be the President of the Kiwanis, too. He also has a very nice retirement from our city right now AND he also is hired by the current board to work on various projects as a consultant. He was seen at a recent board meeting where he praised the current council for their decision on the work they hired him to do. Do we really want to vote someone on the board that is a whiner? He has potential, but he whines too much and has a grudge. We don't need that kind of behavior on our city council.

Debby Moorhead did pretty good. She did not seem too afraid this time around speaking. However, she's a good manager, but she's 'old school'. Even though she did have some good moments, she appear better in the article than the forum.

Jack Snyder and Steve DeBrum were on the defensive most of the time and tried to make it look easy, but they did struggle a bit trying to get their point across and seeming as if they did not do anything wrong. Their biggest mistake was "we're not responsible for the foreclosures in Manteca, it's a national problem." I don't think anyone bought that one. They over-built and that's a fact. They got greedy. Also, Jack Snyder has seen his last days, I don't think he has a prayer of winning, but he certainly can divide the votes. Hopefully enough to elect Samuel Anderson.

John Diaz tried as best he could, but he could not relate to anyone.

Here is my conclusion. The Sun Post will not choose the right candidates for endorsement and you've heard it here first. At least one of them should be Samuel Anderson. He worked hard for this and I have personally followed him twice going door to door. Both times I met him on the street without a previous meeting date set. This means he was out there no matter what time I chose. Second, he understands and hears what we need straight from the citizens mouths. He knows our concerns and he knows how to fix them. No other candidate has worked like this. Some have passed out flyer's using others, but Samuel has used his time and efforts to win this fairly.

Here is what I think will happen. Carlon Perry will choose Steve and Debby. Why? Because he is beholden to them. It's still a good'ole boys club. He'll tend to lean with who has been endorsed as they have stuck together on this. Might I remind you that the GOP has also endorsed Colin Powell and Arnold Schwarzenegger some time before several times. We now know who they belong to, they are the RINO's and Colin Powell has endorsed Obama. I'll talk about him sometime later on. However, it's a club and clubs stick together. They don't want outsiders involved with them. Samuel Anderson is our BEST choice for city council of Manteca.

Manteca City Council Debate Forum On Cable Access 97

Please be sure to watch the Manteca City Council debate forum with the city council candidates. Please ensure you pass it on to your friends and neighbors.

Please be advised the candidates forum will be rebroadcast on Channel 97 as follows;

October 24, 2008 at 3:00 P.M.; and
October 27, 2008 at 6:00 P.M.

Manteca: Build it and they will come

The current city council had made the decision years ago to ride the economic wave that was sweeping our country and ride they did. Vince Hernandez was quoted in September 2007 after winning re-election that "we must ride this wave to the fullest and then some". Samuel Anderson had a different tune, "We need to save and if we don't, we'll be in a huge deficit and we're going to get hit by a housing burst, it's just a matter of time and it's going to be soon."

The current council is still trying to promote the growth and they want to continue to build and build and build more store fronts and business parks. However, there aren't any tenants to occupy the buildings.

Industrial Way is still the biggest failure and worst eyesore there is in Manteca, but hey, as the good ole' boys keep saying with the Manteca Bulletin, "Build it and they will come."

Here are some pictures of our many business centers that are completely unoccupied.
Do you see any cars parked there waiting to get in? I think we need new blood on our council. This year, Vote Samuel Anderson and Debby Moorhead.

Manteca City Council Candidates Show Their Platform

Thursday night at the City Chambers showed what the candidates were made of. In a home style fashion the debate was between four challengers and two incumbents.

Tony Smith and Mike Hall were no shows. They missed the boat and they have more than showed that their campaigns were not serious to begin with and failed from the start. Say goodbye to the two.

Ben Cantu had the golden moment to show what he was about and although he had some valid and confident responses, he basically was a cry-baby and complained the entire time. When it came time for the animal shelter answer he pretty much sunk his campaign right then and there when he said that he was the one responsible for building that shelter. Oops! Not a good answer, Ben! Hence what others have been saying about Ben 'Can't-do'. He did not fight!

Debby Moorhead appeared more confident than other engagements and gave a good performance, she was able to answer some good questions but lacked any punch. She was able to get rid of her cry-baby attitude that she is known for. She must have given it to Ben. Good job, Debby. Debby did get a little aggressive, but lacked punch.

John Diaz shook like a lamb. He tried and gave it his best, but he lacked any experience whatsoever in the public forum. He did have his entire family and support present. If John wishes to be in politics, he's going to have to get good at it and stick with it for quite a while before anyone in Manteca will deliver on the votes for him. Nice try John, but no cigar.

Samuel Anderson came out being pure business. All the way professional and he was aggressive and delivered two hard striking punches to the incumbents. He was the only challenger who had it together and put up a fight. It was clear that Steve DeBrum's consultants were in the audience and maybe one of Jack's, but they were writing down just about everything Samuel had to say.

Maybe this is good or maybe it could be a set-up for later. Samuel had issues with Steve DeBrum and Vince Hernandez in his prior election when they tried to get Samuel into trouble with the San Joaquin Republican Committee. It did not work and Samuel fought back and almost cost a current chief his last job. I have a word of advice for Steve DeBrum. Don't even try it this time around with Samuel. There are laws that protect people like him and personally, I think it would be absolutely crazy for you to try anything negative against him. It would be very stupid. There you go, that's my word for you today and you can take it or leave it. Oh, and the two boys, too. Be careful.

Samuel continued to answers the questions with high-impact answers and hitting the target each and every time. He was good and he was VERY good. It put everyone on notice. Great job, Samuel!

Jack Snyder was his old self. He gave some answers and he was still the old Jack we all know. It was clear that his time has come and I almost feel for him. But, he is old enough to realize that he is in this to possibly loose. We all think he will loose and the word is, Jack is now retired. He doesn't stand a chance and it's a shame that he did not walk out of politics on top, instead he listened to the boys and is going out a looser. Good bye, Jack!

Steve DeBrum appeared almost presidential, but he was more on the defense of his past accomplishments rather than the future. It appeared that Samuel was able to put him on the defensive end and it took away from his presentation. However, he did give some good answers and he just might make it through the election. He is still popular but with everything going on in this country right now, all incumbents are extremely vulnerable this year.

The main two that stood out were, Samuel Anderson and Steve DeBrum in that order. Maybe the council will have some new blood this year and hopefully it will be Samuel Anderson.

The Manteca Response Endorses New Blood For Manteca City Council

The Manteca Response has officially endorsed two candidates for Manteca City Council.


Samuel Anderson and Debby Moorhead.

Samuel Anderson has run a campaign that has taken him to the streets of Manteca door to door. He has communicated with the people. He has heard their concerns. He is the only candidate that has run a campaign in 2006 coming in third place with 25% of the vote.

Samuel Anderson's business experience is the perfect fit for cleaning house and ridding the current city staff of those who are not capable of their position. He is also well qualified to staff any position because of being a top recruiter in the nation at one time. Aside from having worked with major FORTUNE 500 companies, Samuel Anderson is also a Police Commander. His job is putting together an agency that fights crime on the Internet including gangs. His expert knowledge and experience in technology combined with law enforcement gives him an upper hand on being able to deal with gangs in our city. Other incumbents and candidates speak about crime and what they will do, Anderson understands what needs to be done.

Samuel is a Managing Partner of a well-known software company that provides software and systems for both law enforcement and cities to help them run more efficiently including community policing systems used world-wide. Anderson understands what technology can do and how it can help our city tremendously. He also understands where our city is currently and how we need to bring it up to standards where we all can live comfortably. Water and sewer are just the tip of the iceberg and establishing a rainy day fund with a lock on the cookie jar is something Manteca needs. Samuel Anderson is a true manager and facilitator and this is what Manteca deserves.

* * * * * * *

Debby Moorhead brings her experience of having lived her in the city and being a part of the Manteca Chamber of Commerce and its culture. She has management skills that could be used to ensure our city is on the right path for future generations including being a great fit for LAFCO. A grandmother and skilled manager, Manteca deserves to have this new blood on the city council.

Good luck to both these candidates.

Fast Forward Manteca City Council Race

We are only 23 days away from election day and many Manteca voters are voting with absentee ballots. I have been following the candidates very closely and they are now starting to get it into high gear. For the most part.

Steve DeBrum has his website up and running finally. Steve DeBrum is more of the same and claims he is fiscally responsible. I'm not so sure about that. He helped place our city in debt over 8 million dollars. He did boast the highest fund raising to this date and he has been spending his money on signs and more likely marketing material in the mail to all voters disguised as voter guides. However, Steve has shown up at key meetings. He is also endorsed by his party. No door to door or direct grassroots campaigning.

Debby Moorhead has a simple website and a grandmother'ish platform. It's for the grand-kids! This is sweet but not enough substance for a councilwoman. Debby has not shown up for key meetings and if so, only for a few minutes in hopes that someone would say they have seen her there. We know this game, it's not going to work. She is also sponsored by her party. She has several signs around town. No door to door or direct grassroots campaigning.

I want to discuss something about political parties endorsing candidates. First, city council candidates are supposed to be non-partisan. Why then do we need the endorsement of party bosses? Why do we need the endorsements of others? This is something I like about Samuel Anderson, he knows what they are and does not always agree with them, he can think for himself. I questioned Samuel about this and he told me this. "I went to these groups and I told them, what things do you stand for that would allow me to give you the opportunity to endorse me"? "After they could not answer me with proper answers to my questions and many of them did not fall within my guidelines of what I know our citizens would require, I opted to NOT allow them to endorse me." "Let's just say they were stumped about how I concluded our meeting."

I love how he did this. He put the people first and not the party bosses. If you contact Samuel and follow his campaign, he is more conservative and fiscal than anyone. Besides, the California ProLife group endorsed John Diaz who is pro-choice in line with his democratic party. When they were called on this they responded that they could not find the time to research everyone. I see Samuel's point.

John Diaz has been running on a platform of more taxes and uses the race card to promote his agenda. He claims there are not enough minority venues for those who are not white and wishes to use it as his Trump card. At the same time he wants to promote ideas and items that should be in Congress, not city hall. Even so, this means more programs that would force us to use tax dollars on, specifically minorities, a specific group of people over another paid for by others. I would call this making a bad loan. Many Mantecans are upset at the mortgage industry at this time and John Diaz is one of them. His campaign has not been a true door to door. He uses others to place papers on doors without ringing the door bells. John has also made huge mistakes of trying to get all the other candidates together regarding missing signs. In typical democrat fashion he wanted to start a committee with the others as if he can do something about it and possibly get some spotlight out of it. In his own words:

"Dear all Candidates,

I have noticed that some of my Political signs has been stolen or been remove. Those signs are very expensive and been paid by my supporters. Maybe this is not only happening to me but also to you guys. I would like to set up a meeting among us to discuss this matter. If you are encountering the same problem maybe we could solve this by discussing what is the best thing to do.

My committee is now forming a watch dog group to drive around the city during night time, arm with camera and hope to catch who is behind this movement.

Please reply to this email

Thanks,

John Diaz"

He sent this to all the candidates and CC'd the press in the same email. This was not a good idea and this has made him look stupid. No one will take him seriously. Do you honestly think the other candidates care enough about his signs? Well, apparently Debby Moorhead responded and so did Tony Smith who advised them to show up at that nights city council meeting. He did and he basically stepped up when they were speaking on sewer and water and spoke out of line. He left in frustration and pretty much flushed his campaign down the toilet. Immature candidates for Manteca.

Jack Snyder has raised a lot of money, too. He has signs placed all over town, most of them in violation of city ordinance. He has so many large signs that this probably has cost him most of his money. He's now attempting to raise more money to purchase marketing voter guides in his favor just like Steve DeBrum. However, his age is playing a huge factor in getting votes. The Manteca Bulletin finally realized that at least 50% of the people do not want him anymore. They feel he should retire. I agree, he should. No door to door or grassroots campaigning. Jack is past his prime and many years ago he did not want retail, he only wanted homes and more homes in Manteca. He is not well liked by most of the Manteca employees. Jack, retire!

Tony Smith, the new city hall clown. Good luck!

Mike Hall, he has a website and his platform is weak and what he proposes we already have in our city. There is no substance and you can't force an adult to any curfew as a minor. Not a very well thought out campaign.

Ben Cantu, he keeps hounding on workforce housing. This is not a popular item of discussion and he keeps pressuring items that are not that well in touch with the citizens of Manteca. He does have some good ideas, but as a former city worker who is retired and is against all new residents coming from the "outside", he does not like them. This appears that Ben Cantu is inside his cocoon and does not want to come out. He needs to get used to the fact that Bay Area folks will continue to flock to Manteca in droves and thus change the landscape. Ben Cantu does not wish for the change of Manteca, he wants to keep it "All in the Family", not "The Family City." He does have large signs around town. No door to door or direct grassroots campaigning.

Samuel Anderson has achieved a great amount of responses. All this with spending very little again. He is the only challenger that ran a campaign previously in 2006 and came in third place spending only $103.87 of his own money. He got 23.04% of the vote, or 4253 votes. He has been campaigning door to door since last March. He had to build himself up to it because 'you just can't go out there your first day and do 100 homes' he says. It takes a lot out of you. He actually rings all the bells intending to get a response out of each home. He has made this personal and intends to win this election. I say he stands a damn good chance of winning this time around. He is well positioned and this is for sure. Jack is scared of him and Dennis Wyatt of the Manteca Bulletin is also. He sure writes a lot about him and Jacks age. Although, Samuel has never said Jacks age is a problem, he only spoke of what others have been saying and Samuel does question his ability at Jacks age to run the council and the Manteca Police SHARPS. This is a huge responsibility and task for anyone and at Jack's age, this would be impossible. I'm sorry, Jack, but who are you trying to kid? What political consultant advised you and the Police Chief to do this? I'd watch out if I were you, Chief Bricker, you are still on probation.

Samuel has personally visited thousands of homes in Manteca and he has attended all the meetings. He has signs all over town, but not enough due to his budget and he only relies on his color post cards with his message on them. They are great! He has done it right and has his message on there. He attends coffees at homes that have put together gatherings on weekends and nights so he can meet people in their neighborhoods. He is very good. I went to one of them today, Sunday, and I was impressed. He showed up with all women attending the coffee and cookies sponsored by a neighborhood resident who invited her whole neighborhood. By the way, she is a democrat and Samuel is a republican. In the end, all of them said they would vote for him and most even said they have already voted for him on their absentee ballot. It was a very positive exchange of vision and mission of Samuel Anderson.

With the end in site we now have to decide on our future in Manteca. Who is it going to be Manteca?

Manteca City Council Race Moving Forward

Manteca's city council candidates are starting to get their name out there and the papers are writing about them, but in few sentences.

Yesterday's Manteca Bulletin quoted Ben Cantu saying the current city council is doing the right thing and are in the right direction. Although it was meant to be on a project they hired him on as BC Consulting it still put a dent in his bid to unseat a councilman. I have news for Ben, good luck now!

This was a classic candidate first-timer new-comer mistake. Ben should have had someone else qualified to go before the board and make nice to them on their project. This way he could have stayed out of the line of fire of Dennis Wyatt. Oh, Ben...this one was free! Ben does not show up to key meetings for candidates, he does not make the time because he believes his schedule is more important. This is a very bad representation of his desire to become a city councilman. He does not try hard enough. This is a costly mistake. Don't expect to win this year, Ben!

Then there is Debby Moorhead. Dennis Wyatt basically slapped her silly calling her the crybaby she is known to be especially when she doesn't get her way. She whines all the time. She does not show up at key meetings when other candidates do. Debby has not gotten her website off the ground yet and members of her campaign committee are wondering when she is going to get it moving. With less than six weeks left, she thinks she can play it safe because she is the only female on the ticket. This is dangerous because many women do not like her already. Her campaign manager Tom Hood is proving himself to be a terrible leader which reflects his inability to lead the Chamber of Commerce as its president at one time. I guess you can say that birds of a feather flock together. No signs, no campaign appearances, no articles, no winning at the election box. Goodbye Debby! She is not aggressive enough for this position.

The only challenger left is Samuel Anderson. He is very aggressive and motivated. His campaign is pretty much stealth yet it is clear on its direction. He shows up at key meetings and greets many of the other candidates from other jurisdictions. He has a formidable website and clearly states his position and has continued to do so on a daily basis. Accurate and dead-on the issues, Samuel Anderson is a clear choice and alternative candidate for voters not wanting to vote for an incumbent this time.

He has gone door-to-door and continues to this very day. His political signs have been seen around town since April and even though many have been destroyed, probably by hired sign thugs, he's still going strong. The people like him. The people want change and he's not only promoting it, he has a plan for it. No mistakes here. I guess this is why he has a better outlook this time around running for council. He is not making any of the mistakes he did on his first time around. Samuel Anderson is aggressive and strong in this campaign season.

John Diaz, Michael Hall, and Tony Smith. NOTHING! They are on the ballot just to see their name on it. Don't even waste your vote for them. No appearances, no platform and no answers for the cities problems. They are just a waste of time. Good-bye boys.