Hey Focus fans!
I wouldn’t normally plug an upcoming city meeting in a column like this devoted to politics. So this an exception, but I promise, they’re connected.
On Tuesday, the Riverbank City Council will probably cast an important vote deciding the fate of River Walk, a 1,000-acre expansion.
Some critics accuse the city of conspiring to ram through an approval before Riverbank voters get a chance to weigh in on Measure M on the Nov. 3 ballot. City leaders rebut that, saying the timing is just coincidence.
River Walk could bring stores and 2,400 homes between Riverbank and McHenry Avenue, south of the Stanislaus River. The proposal represents needed housing to some and dreaded urban sprawl to others.
The 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22 public hearing will be held in the Riverbank Community Center, 3600 Santa Fe Ave.
🗳️🗳️🗳️
A high-profile River Walk critic – former Modesto City Councilman Denny Jackman – envisions asking Modesto voters to enact an urban limit around Modesto in two years.
His controlled-growth group, Voters for Farmland, did the heavy lifting to qualify Measure M in Riverbank for the upcoming ballot. They’ll likewise collect signatures to force a citywide Modesto vote in November 2028, Jackman said in a notice to Modesto leaders.
If voters agree, Modesto would be prohibited from growing beyond an urban limit without permission from voters instead of city leaders. In this case, the limit would align with Modesto’s sphere of influence, an area a bit outside the current city limit.
Modesto leaders, eager to end near-stagnancy in recent decades, recently embraced an ambitious growth plan in their ongoing process to enlarge the Modesto General Plan, or official growth blueprint. That upset Voters for Farmland, leading to the 2028 initiative threat.
Look for the city’s environmental studies associated with the emerging General Plan sometime next summer.
🗳️🗳️🗳️
Last week I noted that data centers have wormed their way into campaigns, and promised that related questions will be asked in upcoming Modesto Focus candidate debates.
It’s already happening. Leftist publication Legal Planet recently noted that a campaign website for Kevin Lincoln, the Republican candidate in a hard-fought 13th Congressional District race with incumbent Rep. Adam Gray, “contains an enthusiastic endorsement of data centers, which might cause (Lincoln) problems.”
Although most people from all parties are uniting in opposition to local data centers, Lincoln’s website frames the issue as a need for the U.S. to stay ahead of China in a race for artificial intelligence domination.
“Kevin supports the President’s AI Action Plan because it prioritizes American innovation and national security, removes burdensome regulations, builds out our domestic AI infrastructure, and creates high-paying jobs for working families,” it reads.
We’d love to ask the former Stockton mayor about this and all other issues important to his potential constituents and beyond. So far, Lincoln has ignored invitations extended by The Modesto Focus.
That’s why you don’t see the 13th Congressional District – covering the west half of Stanislaus County – listed among others in the schedule of debates we’re hosting and moderating for local races on all levels.
Stay tuned to see the others, including candidates for Modesto City Council, Turlock mayor, Modesto City Schools, Modesto Irrigation District, Senate District 4, Assembly District 9 and 5th Congressional District.
Feel free to share notes, tips and insights for Stanislaus-centric campaign coverage at garth@themodestofocus.org.