Serving as the mayor of the City of Turlock is an honor and privilege that comes with the great responsibility of leading a community to a better future. Unfortunately for the last four years, Amy Bublak has chosen to be a mayor in name only. Bublak has continued her routine of letting others do the heavy lifting, taking the credit for herself, and then repeating the cycle. The list of examples of her lack of leadership is exhaustingly long. Bublak actively worked against the road measure to bring $1 billion to our county and city roads, but is there to take credit for the new pavement in one’s neighborhood. Bublak did not support improvements to our outdated city library, but was there to cut a ribbon when the renovations were completed. Bublak didn’t support a commonsense public safety investment for better city services, but was there to dole out pay raises to the police department’s union that politically supported her, while moving Turlock's fire service administration to Modesto because the union didn’t.
Bublak ran a fear-mongering campaign of water rate increases during her 2018 campaign against me that proved to be demonstrably false. She has and will take credit for the hard work her political peers expended on the project, with many (including me) paying a huge political cost due to her lies about massive rate increases that she knew were not true. Turlock needs to have a leader that will take on the heavy weight of leading our municipality into a better direction, not to be an obstructionist that hinders progress, one that lies to residents, and one that plays political games.
Rest assured, Bublak will be there to cut any ribbon put in front of her. Most recently, she was there to welcome over 1,000 jobs to Amazon even though she voted against the funds to improve the Fulkerth Road-Highway 99 interchange required to accommodate the delivery truck traffic from this massive employer. It was staff's hard work that secured Amazon’s location in Turlock, but not one of them was out front to celebrate; instead, these highly professional staff have been pressured out under Bublak’s tumultuous and unstable tenure. It’s just one more example of her hypocrisy and lack of leadership.
It's been proven that Turlock is not better off under Bublak’s leadership: homelessness is rampant, crime rates are not decreasing, and the budget is artificially propped up by financial measures that she did not support. I fear it will only get worse with her goals of ignoring the General Plan, developing on prime farmland, and undoing decades of compact and sustainable growth that mayors before her have accomplished for Turlock.
It’s no coincidence that not a single former Turlock mayor is supporting Bublak for a second term. I join my predecessors in endorsing former Councilmember Gil Esquer to lead City Hall. Gil is a man of integrity and character, with a work ethic that is second-to-none. I had the opportunity to work side-by-side with both individuals and I'm writing to make sure it is known that Gil is a man that rolls up his sleeves to find solutions to our city’s problems; he is a consensus builder and will bring together all factions of the City to move us forward. Please stand with your past leaders and elect real leadership in City Hall, vote for former Councilmember Gil Esquer.
— Gary Soiseth
