By: Esha Bagora

Public Relations Manager

On Aug.24, posters attacking Los Gatos City Council Candidate Rob Moore and his platform were posted all over downtown Los Gatos. The flyers targeted Moore and denigrated his support for the LGBTQ+ and Black Lives Matter movement. Moore addressed the situation by saying, “It was very shocking to see a bunch of posters of me and my campaign downtown, and it was even more unsettling to see all of that with the words that were on there.” 

The posters specifically denounced Moore and his beliefs, and said that the poster creators want to “preserve our historical presence, wholesome traditions, family community, and continue to be a desirable place to live.” Moore countered that “what we need in town leadership right now is people that are there when there is an incident of hate. We need to have town council members who will stand up for those communities because we are a predominantly White and cis[gender] town and so I think it’s so important when those sorts of things happen for town council members to be allies for those groups and call out that unacceptable behavior.” 

Town manager Laurel Prevetti told Mercury News that the town staff found out about the posters, after they had been taken down. All six council candidates denounced the hateful posters. Prevetti added, “I think we have six people who are running because they really care about the Los Gatos community and they have respect for one another, so I think we’re in a really good place in terms of going into election season.” 

Bouncing back from the incident, Moore looks forward to continuing his campaign for Los Gatos Councilmember. On Nov. 8, the Town of Los Gatos will be holding a General Municipal Election to fill three council seats from six candidates. He plans on advocating for his platform to reduce traffic congestion, make Los Gatos more inclusive, and increase affordable housing. Moore promotes his campaign through his posters and yard signs. 

Moore’s parting advice to any high schooler wanting to break into local politics would be “to get involved,” and keep your foot in the conversation. Speaking from experience, Moore disclosed, “I did not have the easiest run of high school, and I think there’s this huge pressure for young people to figure out who they want to be. People always ask me ‘Should I do this? Should I do that?’ and if you like it, keep doing that. It doesn’t matter what it is, if you don’t like something, don’t do it because you can. Pursue what you enjoy and we can change our world.” As LGHS students, we have the power to make a difference. Some seniors will be able to make an impact politically, but the rest of us can begin to get involved even at an early age. As Moore suggests, start “to register to vote, or even pre-register to vote. It’s the easiest thing you’ll ever do.” 

(Source: Mercury News)