GILL’S CANDIDACY GIVES HOPE

Thank you, Louis Gill, for stepping up to challenge Kevin McCarthy for Congress. The people of the 23rd district need a leader who will put the needs of community and country before party and personal ambition.

I don’t know Gill personally, but anyone who reads this paper or listens to local news knows that Gill has been a servant-leader in our community for many years. While I have appreciated the sacrifices other challengers to McCarthy have made in previous elections, most lacked the name recognition, community accomplishments, and money to give McCarthy a run.

But Gill is different, and his candidacy gives me hope.

This time around, McCarthy may be more vulnerable than ever among independent voters after surrendering his spine and honor in pursuit of Trump’s favor. McCarthy has been complicit in whitewashing the capitol insurrection and promoting Trump’s Big Lie.

This early in the race, I know little about Gill’s specific policy positions. I don’t have to. Gill has helped thousands in our community and tackled two of our most complicated problems — homelessness and domestic violence. With head as well as heart, he has been a successful CEO, creating jobs and growing his nonprofit corporation.

Compare this record of service to McCarthy, an ambitious career politician who has done little for the folks back home and who has stood for nothing. There may have been a time when McCarthy was an affable local hero, but all of that was before his Faustian bargain with Trump.

Godspeed, Louis Gill.

— Steve Bacon, Bakersfield