MIDTERM SPECIAL: Alice English: A Closer Look At Her Controversies And "The Faction"

 As we're approaching the 2022 midterms, voters will decide if we keep the current mayor or city council member, or who will replace them. If you've been keeping up with Tracy politics and the Tracy Press, you might have heard of the city council candidate Alice English. She's been very vocal and active in the Tracy community, created petitions, participated in contests throughout town, and was even working for the city at one point. As we're headed into the 2022 midterms, we will be looking at all city council candidates and their past and current controversies. We believe that their controversies need to be shown to the public along with their accomplishments so voters get a better understanding of who they're voting for.

This is Midterm Special #1, Alice English.

Alice English has been a member of the Tracy community for decades. She attends many events downtown, has been a vocal citizen at city council meetings, and frequently interacts with other citizens and holds events/fundraisers. From approximately 2018 to 2021, she was working for the city as the Transport Commissioner. She was responsible for addressing public transportation issues, and improving public transportation in the city of Tracy. As you might remember, in 2018, the Tri-Valley-San Joaquin County Regional Rail Authority was created, with the intent of connecting the ACE Train to BART in Livermore/Pleasanton. At one of their meetings, they considered appointing the late Michael Maciel, who was mayor of Tracy prior to Robert Rickman, to be their representative. Alice English, as well as Veronica Vargas and Randall Bradley, publically opposed the appointment, using public intimidation and bullying towards him and the commission, even though Tracy was not involved with the commission. Rhodesia Rhansom condemned the attacks, citing their past behavior and use of politics for personal gain. She also claimed they're part of a group called "The Faction", which we'll talk about shortly.

In August of 2018, Tracy's Police Chief Larry Esquivel was suddenly fired without explanation by Mayor Rickman. Many citizens came to protest the firing (EDITORS NOTE- I was there, the crowd was so large they had to move people upstairs, and time was heavily limited), and the meeting went on for hours. ALMOST everyone protested the move, except for one person. Who could that be, sucking up to Robert Rickman and attacking the citizens? It was no other than Alice English. According to the Meeting Minutes posted on the city's website, "Alice English suggested people review previous Council meeting tapes and stated it is political issue, and insinuated misconduct by Council Members Young and Ransom" (City of Tracy). The whole crowd starting groaning and booing her off the podium, with many citizens left appalled that she would once again use politics to attack opponents and even the citizens. Rhansom then clarified that she attacks her every single meeting. You can find Ms. English's statements on video here (Timestamp 1:40:22): https://tracy-ca.granicus.com/player/clip/589?view_id=2&redirect=true

Fast forward to 2022, she is still going to almost every meeting, attacking members of the city council, and bringing politics into this town. "The Faction's" current members are considered to be Alice English, Dan Evans, and Eleassia Davis. Will you be voting for Alice English for city council? Why or why not? 

Next Midterm Special: A look at Dan Evans

Citations:

https://www.ttownmedia.com/tracy_press/news/councilwoman-calls-for-inquiry-of-mayor-pro-tem-city-manager/article_8162a778-1db8-11e8-9ebc-c3e7721e38ce.html#comments

https://www.cityoftracy.org/home/showpublisheddocument/9000/637550641291330000

https://www.cityoftracy.org/home/showpublisheddocument/9112/637550647016270000