Election Day, held on Nov. 8, 2022, resulted in victories for Governor Gavin Newsom, state Senator Aisha Wahab, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, and Milpitas Mayor Carmen Montano. Following the finalization of the election results, MHS students shared their thoughts and opinions regarding the winning candidates.
“Our state of California always has major changes and pushes to be better every single year, and I think that won’t change with the new selection of people,” senior Derek Phan said.
Newsom, who was elected as California Governor in 2018, won his second term in this year’s election with 59.3% of votes, while his challenger Brian Dahle received 40.7% of votes, according to the Associated Press.
“I felt that it was expected that Newsom would win because the state of California is vastly blue,” junior Terence Moncada said. “Newsom is doing a great job with helping environmental issues already. For example, he’s done protection programs to help forest fires.”
There were setbacks during Newsom’s first four-year term, but he has yet to meet failure, Phan said.
“He changed laws in the criminal justice system, having people that are ill or incapacitated in prison be released,” Phan said. “I think that’s a humane thing to do because, at the end of the day, they’re still human too.”
However, Newsom tends to have “band-aid solutions” to many deep-rooted problems, and could be more progressive in his actions and policies, junior Nidhi Bhat said.
“There was a rally for ethnic studies to be mandated in public schools, and Newsom vetoed that bill,” Bhat said. “That was what turned me away from him because there are a lot of willfully ignorant people at our school, so mandating a class like that would open people’s eyes to the oppressive systems that exist in our society.”
Before Newsom signed Assembly Bill 101 which requires high school students to complete a one-semester course of ethnic studies to graduate, he initially vetoed it, according to EdSource.
Wahab was elected state Senator of District 10 for both Alameda and Santa Clara counties this election, making her the first Afghan-American and Muslim woman to be elected to public office in the U.S., according to ABC7.
“Diversity in politics brings attention to a lot of problems that not everyone sees and that’s a good thing,” Phan said. “You see the problems that may be minor for other people, but are major for marginalized groups.”
Wahab’s advocacy for housing control, expansion, and improvement is admirable and seems to reflect her experiences with being an immigrant and a foster child, Bhat said.
“Her campaign wasn’t funded by big corporations and big money, so it was all funded by the people, which is respectable,” Bhat added. “She focuses on climate change, which shouldn’t be rare, but it’s rare among politicians nowadays.”
Additionally, Padilla, the first Latino U.S. Senator from California, was reelected for a second term. He pushes for progress on important issues like voting rights and job opportunities, Phan said.
“When supporting a politician, I look for leadership and strong communication in a candidate,” Moncada said. “Many senators don’t have a strong connection with the people of their state,” he added.
Padilla’s election will positively impact immigrants, people of color, and others that are disadvantaged in society, Bhat said. She strongly aligns with his progressivism, she added.
However, Montano, the winner of the Milpitas mayoral election, wasn’t who Bhat had hoped to win, as she supported candidate Karina Dominguez, Bhat said.
“Mayor Montano wants to expand Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and have a better bus system, which is great. I think it’s one of the biggest things Democrats need to focus on, especially because having walkable cities and good public transport can improve the quality of life,” Bhat said. “But I disagree with her recent accusation of accepting travel money and not disclosing her finances, which is contradictory to the character that she presents.”
Resident Chris Martin accused Montano of violating the limit in accepting a travel gift and trying to conceal the truth, according to “Complaints made to the District Attorney and FPPC against Vice Mayor Montano” by Maria Denise Cuenca and Rhoda Shapiro.
Generally, people have different standards for an ideal candidate. What makes an excellent candidate is to have a great deal of experience with the people of their community and to fully understand the struggles and problems that are present, Phan said.