Here’s a fun question for ya: how many Republican elected officials do we have in the South Bay, anyway? From our count… not many, and from our knowledge there are no Republicans who sit on the San Ysidro School Board. Perhaps that needs to be rectified in 2012. We digress.
One of the non-reported stories that came out of the previous election cycle was that of a sleepy, little election in the San Ysidro School Board campaign. Yolanda Hernandez, a 16-year incumbent, ran for re-election and claimed — according to her own campaign website — that she had been endorsed by both the AFL-CIO… AND the Republican Party of San Diego County.
Kind of interesting, wouldn’t you think? It’s also more interesting that when you access the 2010 Voter Guide for the Republican Party of San Diego County and notice that NO endorsements were made in the San Ysidro School District.
Why then, if anyone can answer this, would Yolanda Hernandez claim the party endorsement when the party never endorsed? The only notable Republicans who DID endorse her for re-election, however, were County Supervisor Greg Cox, Chula Vista Chief of Police David Bejarano, and Sweetwater Union High School District Board Member Jim Cartmill.
It was brought to our attention that legal counsel from the SDGOP did in fact send Mrs. Hernandez a cease and desist letter asking her to stop claiming the party endorsement. Apparently, she didn’t pay any attention. Her campaign website is still up-and-running, and the “endorsement” from the local GOP is still listed on the site.
The reason we bring all of this up, the scuttlebutt in South County is that she is planning on running for the Sweetwater Union High School District against Bertha Lopez (a fellow Democrat, by the way). Why does that matter? Simple. She’s a Democrat looking to move up the chain of command and could potentially be a threat later on down the road to a Republican candidate for supervisor, assembly, state senate, city council, etc. Judging by her fundraising skills, most of her money would probably come from out-of-state. The largest check she received for her re-election was for $2,500 from a company in San Antonio, TX — that represented 40% of her total contributions for the campaign.
The last thing we need in the South Bay is another disingenuous Democrat.
Comments 2
I would like to comment on this situation. The site in question is Yolanda Hernandez’s 2006 Election website that was left up for 4 years when she was a Republican, had been for her whole life including the 4 previous elections she had run and won with the Party endorsement.
Look at the list of endorsers and these 3 in particular.
Juan Vargas listed as Assemblyman – who termed out in 2006
Dr. Christine Aranda – who lost her race in 2006
Jaime Merchado (sp) – who lost his seat in 2008 – to Bertha Lopez.
Democrats in San Ysidro were up in arms in 2006 that the AFL-CIO endorsed a Republican, against the local teacher and classified staff endorsement. That was a feather in our cap as she proved that her strong business background (owning one of the largest transportation companies in San Diego) and her fairness to employees was the reason cited for this. As a Devout Catholic Business owner, she was the poster lady for being Republican in a Democratic stronghold.
My understanding is that she changed her party affiliation because as you can see from her list of endorsements, although she was a member of the Republican party, her real grassroots help came almost exclusively from Elected Democrats. Why would you want to be a Republican if the party doesn’t help the only elected officials in the South Bay.
That check for $2,500 came from the parent office of UETA – one of the largest businesses in San Ysidro, who have a history of being one of the most involved community businesses I have had the pleasure of dealing with. They support candidates of both sides, education and is one of the largest supporters of the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce, as is Yolanda’s bus company.
Yolanda has lived in the community for as long as I can remember. She is one of the most influential members of the community, including being on the boards of Casa Familiar and I think is still on the board of one of the local Catholic private schools in addition to being a School Board Trustee.
She should have reviewed her endorsement list, especially after a cease and desist letter. I understand that she got the Democratic Party endorsement after a bit of a fight, but didn’t bother to put this on her website, I would guess in large part because she didn’t bother updating her website other than changing the election date on the front page and adding a UT article. How does this reflect on our party, that we let one of our only electeds in South Bay swing in the wind enough that she switches sides. Maybe the party needs to actually have communication with lonely candidates in outposts outside of sending them legal communications.
South Bay Republican,
Thank you for the additional information. Ya know you write these things hoping to have all the dots connected, and then someone comes in and provides additional points and arguments, so I do appreciate that.
Although, I do think Mrs. Hernandez should have updated her site accordingly to avoid confusion. Hopefully, we’ve all learned our lesson.
I’ll be providing more interesting insight and commentary of South Bay politics as the weeks and months go by, so please feel free to chime in with anything I may have missed. Thanks!