People and Congregations Together (PACT) held a 90-minute candidates forum last night at Central United Methodist Church. At least 200 people were on hand to watch SUSD, mayoral and city council candidates answer questions.
Three of the six SUSD candidates participated: incumbents Gloria Allen and Angel Jimenez, and challenger Kathy Garcia. Allen is seeking reelection in south Stockton against Monica Hernandez. Jimenez is competing in central Stockton against Colleen Keenan. Garcia is trying to unseat Jose Morales in east Stockton.
And now, about the headline on this post.
Morales, who is 35, was not on hand. He told me he has been recovering from complications from the ever-enjoyable process of having three wisdom teeth extracted recently. Garcia, his opponent, is 72.
Age matters here, because Garcia brought it up last night. Not sure what if any context there was, but at one point during the discussion, Garcia told the audience, “I heard (Morales) said, ‘I don’t have to worry about her because she’s old.’ You know what? I’ve kicked young butt before.”
Just now, I spoke to Morales, asking whether he had ever brought up Garcia’s age as an issue.
“I don’t know where she heard that,” Morales said. “It’s not true. But it’s amazing she would say that. I don’t question her age, not one bit.”
