This community opinion was contributed by Heather Hickerson. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent BenitoLink or other affiliated contributors. BenitoLink invites all community members to share their ideas and opinions. By registering as a BenitoLink user in the top right corner of our home page and agreeing to follow our Terms of Use, you can write counter opinions or share your insights on current issues. Lea este artículo en español aquí.
Hollister has seen its share of nasty politics, but I’ve never witnessed such a huge smear campaign against a new politician who is genuinely doing good things for the community. I’m talking about Mayor Mia Casey. She has demonstrated what it means to stay calm and graceful under pressure. Despite being repeatedly attacked, she continues to focus on positivity and hasn’t engaged in the mudslinging.
I got to know her a few years ago when we worked together on her nonprofit. She is smart. And dedicated. Determined to make a difference. She has a little granddaughter, and one of the things that touched me is her reason for running for mayor was to ensure a bright future for our kids and grandkids.
Most of the smear campaigns in Hollister’s recent history can be traced to one really wealthy guy, Ignacio Velazquez, our former mayor. He has targeted so many people over the years, accusing them of corruption and working for developers, just spreading negativity.
Recently, he set his sights on Supervisor Bea Gonzales, running against her for a district seat he doesn’t even live in*, just to regain power after losing the mayoral election. He sent out a huge number of mailers making all kinds of accusations against her. Unfortunately, many people bought the lies, and now he’s set to return as a Supervisor in January. It’s concerning someone so negative could bulldoze his way back into power.
His latest target is Mayor Casey. Mr. Velazquez never recovered from his stunning loss to this newcomer to the political world. She got close to 60% of the vote. We voted him out because people want positive change! His ego couldn’t handle it, and he’s been seeking revenge ever since. He didn’t even congratulate her after her win. Soon after, he began trying to discredit her and now is trying to get her out of office. It’s pretty vindictive! He even started a private Facebook group to attack her.
Do you remember the protests at city hall by a supposed grassroots group? It turns out Velazquez and his ally on the council, Rolan Resendiz worked to organize it. They even held a dinner at Velazquez’ Vault restaurant to plan.**
What reveals that the “Hollister Guardians” wasn’t truly grassroots? They suddenly had a lot of money to send out several expensive political mailers, each costing thousands of dollars. Where did that money come from? Perhaps from a very wealthy former mayor.
Councilman Resendiz also did his part–he began to create drama and conflict at council meetings, publicly accusing Mayor Casey of being in developers’ pockets and attacking her. The so-called proof offered? Two campaign donations from developers that Casey had returned right when she took office December 2022. A reporter exposed this as a lie, but Resendiz has kept repeating it.
As the election has gotten closer, the smears have intensified, suddenly another close friend of Velazquez, Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki, has begun to launch attacks against the Mayor. They’ve been very active on social media. Whenever Mayor Casey makes a post, even just thanking groups for endorsements or sharing information, Velazquez, Resendiz, and Kosmicki are quick to team up and attack her.
I hope people see through the negativity and understand what’s happening. They’re twisting council actions and labeling Mayor Casey as pro-housing, claiming she wants to build 30,000 homes. If that were true, why has she been working hard with state leaders to get Hollister’s mandated housing numbers (over 4,000 homes!) reduced? Velazquez, Resendiz, and Kosmicki have been in office for years, and they never fought for us to slow housing like Mayor Casey is doing.
I’m not saying Mayor Casey is perfect; she has made mistakes. But she just took office and deserves a chance to work on the issues before people blast her for what has been wrong in Hollister for decades. Look at all the roads being fixed and the sewer repairs happening. More grant money coming in for infrastructure projects. She even sorted out the Ladd Lane mess left by the former mayor! All of this has happened under her leadership.
If we vote her out, we’re giving the former mayor the revenge he wants. He backed Roxanne Stephens to run against Casey, she’s his former planning commissioner. Honestly, I hadn’t even heard of her before she became a candidate. She hasn’t been active in the community or involved in local issues like Mia Casey. All she has done is parrot the former mayors lies and claim she will slow the growth. But when people ask her how, she can’t tell us what her plan is.
I hope you all see through this nasty smear campaign. Even Benitolink began fact-checking and exposing the false claims in all these Hollister Guardian and Hollister Enchilada mailers. Expect to see more mailers from Velazquez in the coming weeks, just put that garbage in the recycle bin where it belongs!
Don’t fall for the lies. Don’t let him shape your opinion about our amazing mayor, who came out of retirement just to help our city make a fresh start!
I’m so frustrated that I think we need a recall of Velazquez, Resendiz, and Kosmicki. We can’t have elected officials using their positions to spread negativity, twist facts and create a hostile environment. It is why Velazquez was voted out, all that toxic behavior. How can we encourage good people to run for office when they’re met with smears and attacks? They’ve even started targeting the mayor’s husband and anyone who tries to defend her on social media.
Just say no to this massive smear propaganda machine!
Mayor Casey has my vote. She has done more for Hollister in 18 months than the former mayor did in 10 years. Go Mayor Mia!
Editors’ notes: *BenitoLink has confirmed former Mayor Velazquez owns or rents property in the district he ran for and won. **BenitoLink has not confirmed this.
The post COMMUNITY OPINION: Anatomy of a Hollister Smear Campaign appeared first on BenitoLink.