Ms. Irwin, you are an interesting study. While seemingly and genuinely educated on all aspects Sacramento, you ignore basic fundamentals of government. Let’s start with this: you and I disagree. Now, do you really believe that all political interests should contribute to the ills of society and not participate in the electoral process from the financial standpoint of actually electing people that would serve the interests of the of the voting populace making the contributions? And why so one sided? You ignore the hundreds of thousands of dollars that the incumbent, Mr. Tretheway has and continues to receive from the jack booted thug union representatives -- whom by the way are clearly showing their true colors with the vapid and degrading mailers that have recently trashed my mailbox with. My dear lady, be honest and fair and lay this at the door of all incumbents. But rest assured, nothing will change, notwithstanding your eloquent -- yet totally on sided article. Why, you ask? The same reason we will never have financial campaign reform, here or in the US. Here's the lesson from the Obama election: President Obama raised nearly $800 million dollars for his election. What would $800 million buy for needy Americans? What the Democratic Party learned was that so long as there is the potential to have a cash cow of that magnitude -- there is no reason in the world that you mess with that formula of being able to access campaign money. But back to Sacramento... Ms. Ashby is a grassroots candidate and is the voice of the people. I know her well and can assure you unequivocally that she is not going to just "go along" with whatever any mayor or any councilmember ever says. Mr. Tretheway on the other hand has burned his people on more than one occasion and that's why we are so eager to see him leave. Moreover, he seems to have surrounded himself with gross incompetence. Have 9 years of being cozy with labor clouded is judgment? The survey of this District is a resounding “yes.” Do you live in District 1? If not, please leave this to us – this is our district. We live here and we want Ray to move on and do something else – maybe something he has more passion for, since it is obvious his passion for doing what’s right for the Community he is supposed to represent has expired. I am voting for Ashby, not because the Mayor wants me too – but because I know she will represent the district.

bbbmer. your comment is nothing more than vapid dribble (by the time folks read this, your comment will have been pulled and tagged as offensive). lets be clear: leadership in district 1 is absent and that's why the current representative needs to be replaced. you say ashby has a pact with the cops and that's a negative?! for the sake of your argument, lets say she has a "...pact with the cops..." our current representative's pact is with developers. i'll vote for a pact with the folks who are protecting property every day vs. those who built junk and then abandon their mess for residents to deal with any day. i'm voting for leadership, i'm voting for ashby.