After Deadline: Expect big changes from whomever wins District 2

Voters are going to get a big dose of change no matter who wins District 2 on the Modesto City Council. Al Nava, who seems to be part of the change bloc this election, prioritizes fighting gangs and curbing urban sprawl. He’s a Navy veteran who returned home to the valley a year ago and wanted to get involved in local politics. He started by signing up for a bunch of generally left-leaning civic organizations, like the Sierra Club and the Central Valley Democratic Central Committee. So that’s one degree of change, but don’t pigeonhole his opponent, Dave Geer, as somehow status quo. He has a reputation as a Stanislaus Taxpayers Association-style budget hawk. In the early 1990s, he volunteered for United We Stand America, a civic organization that backed presidential candidate Ross Perot. For some reason, the civic groups Nava sidled up to aren’t returning the love. His campaign finance reports showed he’s pretty much operating on his own. The Latino Community Roundtable, a county organization that usually tries to get behind Latino candidates, is abstaining from endorsing anyone in his race. Maybe he can bring them over in this last month until the election. Geer also isn’t getting much help from anyone other than county Supervisor Jim DeMartini, a leader in the county’s Republican Central Committee. Geer’s priorities – law enforcement and budgets – coupled with his background tell me that he could be an even bigger agent of change on the council than some of the candidates who say they’re running to bring different perspectives to local government. - AA