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Okay… So I am all for using technology, but using it simply for the sake of using it and then being completely stupid in how you use it is another story all together. I’m not a political activist, nor do I enjoy political bantering. I try to stay as far away from the political arena as possible as it never turns out good. Now I understand California is a very progressive state and makes a lot of trends which are then later seen across the country. Furthermore, I know Santa Clara County is right in the heart of Silicon Valley where much of the tech industry thrives. That however does not mean that I want to get email with the subject “A personal note” from some candidates wife trying to elicit my vote for her husband.

So I’m going through my inbox to my personal email account and find this gem…

Hi, my name is Monica Calderon. I am writing you to personally ask you to vote for my husband, Richard Calderon, for Sheriff of Santa Clara County.

Richard will partner with public schools in addressing crime in your community, and enhancing public safety in a variety of ways. We need a Sheriff who has more to offer than 12 years of law enforcement bureaucracy. My husband has a successful career of working with educational, law enforcement community and business leaders. Through community work he has developed youth crime prevention programs with schools. Richard is well known for his work in structuring programs aimed at keeping children of the street and out of trouble.

As a police officer and sergeant, Richard worked closely with many community groups to prevent gangs from victimizing the community. He taught himself how to speak Vietnamese to be the most effective investigator of serious crime. Richard taught at multiple law enforcement academies throughout the state of California for 29 years. He trained law enforcement personnel on gangs and their subculture, cultural diversity, racial profiling and ethics. Richard worked 30 years for the San Jose Police Department and retired as a Captain in 2008. In 2009, Richard worked as the City of Gustine Chief of Police. As Chief, he was the chair of the Merced County Police Chief’s and Sheriff’s Association.

Richard touches the hearts of troubled youth by serving as their mentor. Many elected officials and organizations have endorsed Richard because they know he is a true leader and he works directly with community members and groups. This is what Mayor Chuck Reed said about Richard:

“I believe Richard has the experience and commitment to lead our County as we address regional law enforcement issues. He has worked hard in the past in his role with the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force and he has shown his desire to reach out in the community to engage with community members and groups county-wide. We need his leadership moving forward.”

Twelve years ago I voted for the incumbent because she was a woman. I, like many others, believed she would live up to the expectations of the voters and community. She has not. Her tenure has been one of missed opportunities and unfulfilled promises. It’s time to bring back accountability, principles and integrity to the Sheriff’s office. Our elected officials are entrusted to serve and protect the public they represent. We the people deserve a Sheriff who is worthy of that honor and privilege. I ask you now to join me and countless other women supporters to vote for Richard for Sheriff of Santa Clara County.

Monica Calderon

So let’s start out with the obvious… I live in Paulding County (Georgia) on the other side of the country and have been a registered voter since 2007 when I bought my house. I haven’t been a registered voter in Santa Clara County (California) since May 2004 when I moved into Contra Costa County (California) and the to Fulton County (Georgia) in July 2006. So where are they getting their information? If they’re getting it from the Santa Clara County voter registration then they’re being given data that’s half a decade old and making no attempts to verify it. If they’re searching the internet for people listed in Santa Clara County they fail equally hard in their data collection. Worse off is that this into the only Santa Clara County campaign spam (and use it falls under every definition of spam I know of) I’ve received this year and even last election round in ’08.

So, I’m encouraging anyone who is in Santa Clara County to vote against Richard Calderon for Sheriff and give the other guy who isn’t out spamming people your vote! Let’s educate them that spam isn’t the right way to reach their constituents and even then they need to verify the data the receive before sending it out.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 24th, 2010 at 4:48 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.