Fellow conservatives,
In keeping with my commitment to getting out the word on all of the races for June 3rd, I wanted to talk a little about a friend of mine running for Superior Judge. Even better, I'll let her talk to you herself. She sent out a posting for me to use, and I've included most of it below.
Of note, Kathleen Blanchard has joined with superior judge candidates of multiple parties to create a true crime-fighting team of conservative judiciary candidates. Kathleen received the endorsement of the Lincoln Clubs of Los Angeles County, which is a true sign of a conservative candidate. Here is most of her message below, including the team of candidates I am endorsing for June 3rd. (The list includes both judiciary candidates endorsed by the Republican Party of Los Angeles County - Michael O'Gara & Michael Jesic.)
"Hi everyone! As you know, I am running for judge in the June 3rd election (seat 123). I am writing to solicit your help in getting the word out about the election. There are 11 superior court seats on the ballot, and not much else, so I fear that voter turn-out will be extremely low. What that means is that every vote counts A LOT.
I am asking that each of you send a mass e-mail to everyone you know in Los Angeles County, asking them to VOTE on June 3rd, and to vote for the best caandidate in each of the judicial races.
...(T)ell them about me (a career prosecutor, working in the Hardcore Gang Division, prosecuting gang-related homicides, endorsed by virtually every police officer organization in LA County, the LA Times, Antonovich, Knabe, Cooley, Baca, & more than 30 Superior Court Judges) and/or about my opponents (both of whom were rated "not qualified" by the Los Angeles County Bar Association), or you can simply refer them to my website at www.blanchard4judge.com where they can learn everything they need to know about my race.
In addition to my own race, I have some suggestions about whom to vote for in the other seats. These aren't just friends of mine; they are great prosecutors who have dedicated their careers to public service. Each of them would make an excellent judge. But, again, you don't have to believe me. Each has a campaign website where you can go to see their qualifications for yourself:
seat 69 Serena Murrillo www.murilloforjudge.com
seat 72 Hilleri Merritt www.merrittforjudge.com
seat 82 Thomas Rubinson www.tomrubinson4judge.com/
seat 94 Michael O'Gara ogara4judge.com
seat 95 Lance Winters www.wintersforjudge.com
seat 119 Jared Moses www.mosesforjudge.com
Seat 123 Kathleen Blanchard www.blanchard4judge.com
seat 154 Michael Jesic www.jesicforjudge.com
If you would please pass this information along to everyone you know, wherever they live in L.A. County, and ask them to do the same, I would really appreciate it. I'm trying to make it as easy as possible, so that people can just print out the list & take it with them to the polls. Thank you so much for all of your help! Please let me know if you have any questions."
I plan to compile all of my endorsements into one easy handout that I will send out, and will also try to set it up on this site to download it. This way, you'll have what you need for the polls.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Why the Central Committee elections matter...
Until I moved to San Pedro and got more involved with the County Party, I had never heard of County Central Committees. When I worked campaigns for gubernatorial candidate Dan Lungren, Bush 2000, and congressional candidate Tim Escobar in 2002 and 2004, I never once heard of the central committee structure or how they were "supposed" to be working to get out the Republican vote. I have some theories why, but I think more importantly than why past committees have been pretty much irrelevant in the campaigns I have worked over the past 10 years, I want to instill in everyone that reads this why we need stronger and more effective central committees.
I was introduced to the central committee organization in 2006 working for Michael A. Jackson's campaign. My first impression was that the central committee's purpose was to give seven people plus ex-officios a status as being the "Republican authority" of their respective district. They were supposed to meet once a month and discuss opportunities to recruit more Republicans for office. What I saw throughout Los Angeles County were a few members in each district trying to do just that; but I also noticed those that ran for central committee strictly for their own agendas. They assumed that a position on the committee meant coffers of money would open up, and that they were "entitled" to support from every Republican in their district, if not through donations at least every Republican vote in the district. What they failed to do was reach out and ask voters and locally-elected leaders HOW they could earn their support.
My biggest priority for my first term was to learn HOW to earn the support of the local leaders and learn from them how to win elections in their parts of the district. The biggest lesson I have learned is that voters do NOT want activists as legislators, so much as they want leaders that have shown action in their activism. They also want intelligent legislators who work their way up through their local councils, school boards and community organizations. If you look at the Democratic leaders who have been successful, they all came from local elections; so have most of the Republican elected legislators. So it makes sense that we need to get more active in electing more Republicans to our local offices in the district.
So long as we play the Democrats game of "non-partisan" elections, they will continue to win majorities on our city councils. No where is this more evident than in our three primary parts of the 54th Assembly District. In Long Beach, the Democratic Party has engaged in a 12-year effort to maintain an ultra-high majority. They have done this through the unions & special interest organizations, and I have to commend one of my counterparts, Sergio Carrillo, for keeping the "non-partisan" message resonating well. Not only have local Democratic candidates been able to hide behind this, they've even been able to convince Republican voters that local elections are somehow non-partisan. So let me ask a few questions about "local issues" to see if we could afford a little partisanship:
1) Do you like paying MORE property taxes or LESS property taxes?
2) Do you prefer MORE social welfare programs or LESS programs?
3) Do you prefer MORE local government regulations on small businesses, or LESS?
4) Do you prefer MORE crime (through ignoring increasing crime trends), or LESS crime by getting tougher on criminals and gangs (think City of Los Angeles vs. City of Torrance)
5) Do you prefer MORE local government spending or LESS government spending?
I hope now you can see why promoting Republican principles and values in local races is essential. But who should be taking on the responsibility to promote these by finding and supporting local Republicans throughout each district? THIS is the official mission of your local Republican Central Committee, and one that I take very seriously.
So long as I am chairman of the 54th AD Republican Central Committee, local Republicans who seek to make a difference in their city, be it Long Beach, Signal Hill, Avalon, Los Angeles, Rolling Hills Estates or Rancho Palos Verdes, will have a group of Republican leaders behind them. This is why I am running for another term on the committee; because we have work to do in 2009 & 2010.
To close, I have learned of an effort by a few candidates to divide Long Beach (& Avalon) Republicans from those in Palos Verdes & San Pedro by marginalizing the importance of a cross-district level of support. These "Greater Long Beach" candidates are missing a key component in their campaign: Support from ANY Long Beach elected Republican. Meanwhile, I am pleased to state that two of our best Long Beach Republican leaders, Long Beach Councilman Gary DeLong and LBUSD Board member Jon Meyer, have endorsed me, as well as my friend Davina Keiser, for election on June 3rd. I have received numerous other endorsements from across the district, and I have posted them at the top of the left column. Many of these leaders have expressed a desire for our central committee members to work together across the district and help each other when each local race comes up. Those I have endorsed understand this purpose, and voting for these seven will increase the strength of our committee to seek out good Republican candidates and give them the necessary volunteer and operational support to win local election.
I hope you will make sure to vote on June 3rd for myself and my six friends, and spread the word to all of your Republican friends in Long Beach, Avalon, Signal Hill, San Pedro and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. We have a lot of work to do, and a divided committee will have the same problems in 2 years that past committees did. A united committee will be able to effectively take on the unions and special interests battling to take over our local governments and our local schools.
Your vote matters on June 3rd!
I was introduced to the central committee organization in 2006 working for Michael A. Jackson's campaign. My first impression was that the central committee's purpose was to give seven people plus ex-officios a status as being the "Republican authority" of their respective district. They were supposed to meet once a month and discuss opportunities to recruit more Republicans for office. What I saw throughout Los Angeles County were a few members in each district trying to do just that; but I also noticed those that ran for central committee strictly for their own agendas. They assumed that a position on the committee meant coffers of money would open up, and that they were "entitled" to support from every Republican in their district, if not through donations at least every Republican vote in the district. What they failed to do was reach out and ask voters and locally-elected leaders HOW they could earn their support.
My biggest priority for my first term was to learn HOW to earn the support of the local leaders and learn from them how to win elections in their parts of the district. The biggest lesson I have learned is that voters do NOT want activists as legislators, so much as they want leaders that have shown action in their activism. They also want intelligent legislators who work their way up through their local councils, school boards and community organizations. If you look at the Democratic leaders who have been successful, they all came from local elections; so have most of the Republican elected legislators. So it makes sense that we need to get more active in electing more Republicans to our local offices in the district.
So long as we play the Democrats game of "non-partisan" elections, they will continue to win majorities on our city councils. No where is this more evident than in our three primary parts of the 54th Assembly District. In Long Beach, the Democratic Party has engaged in a 12-year effort to maintain an ultra-high majority. They have done this through the unions & special interest organizations, and I have to commend one of my counterparts, Sergio Carrillo, for keeping the "non-partisan" message resonating well. Not only have local Democratic candidates been able to hide behind this, they've even been able to convince Republican voters that local elections are somehow non-partisan. So let me ask a few questions about "local issues" to see if we could afford a little partisanship:
1) Do you like paying MORE property taxes or LESS property taxes?
2) Do you prefer MORE social welfare programs or LESS programs?
3) Do you prefer MORE local government regulations on small businesses, or LESS?
4) Do you prefer MORE crime (through ignoring increasing crime trends), or LESS crime by getting tougher on criminals and gangs (think City of Los Angeles vs. City of Torrance)
5) Do you prefer MORE local government spending or LESS government spending?
I hope now you can see why promoting Republican principles and values in local races is essential. But who should be taking on the responsibility to promote these by finding and supporting local Republicans throughout each district? THIS is the official mission of your local Republican Central Committee, and one that I take very seriously.
So long as I am chairman of the 54th AD Republican Central Committee, local Republicans who seek to make a difference in their city, be it Long Beach, Signal Hill, Avalon, Los Angeles, Rolling Hills Estates or Rancho Palos Verdes, will have a group of Republican leaders behind them. This is why I am running for another term on the committee; because we have work to do in 2009 & 2010.
To close, I have learned of an effort by a few candidates to divide Long Beach (& Avalon) Republicans from those in Palos Verdes & San Pedro by marginalizing the importance of a cross-district level of support. These "Greater Long Beach" candidates are missing a key component in their campaign: Support from ANY Long Beach elected Republican. Meanwhile, I am pleased to state that two of our best Long Beach Republican leaders, Long Beach Councilman Gary DeLong and LBUSD Board member Jon Meyer, have endorsed me, as well as my friend Davina Keiser, for election on June 3rd. I have received numerous other endorsements from across the district, and I have posted them at the top of the left column. Many of these leaders have expressed a desire for our central committee members to work together across the district and help each other when each local race comes up. Those I have endorsed understand this purpose, and voting for these seven will increase the strength of our committee to seek out good Republican candidates and give them the necessary volunteer and operational support to win local election.
I hope you will make sure to vote on June 3rd for myself and my six friends, and spread the word to all of your Republican friends in Long Beach, Avalon, Signal Hill, San Pedro and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. We have a lot of work to do, and a divided committee will have the same problems in 2 years that past committees did. A united committee will be able to effectively take on the unions and special interests battling to take over our local governments and our local schools.
Your vote matters on June 3rd!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
When Democrats run the RPV City Council...
Many of you have been reading about the issues within the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council, ranging from the increase in personal crime to the lack of fiscal accountability of its budget process. You've also read about the petty attacks by Council member Tom Long, including those of you among the more than 4,000 residents e-mailed from Long accusing fellow Council member Peter Gardiner of cronyism and acting on personal vendettas. Gardiner has been a voice of accountability, and has been a thorn in Long's side as Long tries to impress enough Democratic leaders for higher office, including a possible judgeship if the Democrats win the governor's race in 2010.
For those who worked with me on the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council elections in 2007, you'll recall former Mayor Tom Long trying to tell us that the Republican Party being involved in a local, non-partisan race, in his words, "violated the state constitution". He was, and still is, a political bully who tries to intimidate anyone who disagrees with his motives and plans. The verbal attacks on Council member Gardiner have been what I would expect from Long, who STILL has not given any accountability to the residents of Rancho Palos Verdes regarding the frivolous IT budget spending or the improper and unethical use of the "PV on the Net" resources that the Daily Breeze confirmed is not permitted for campaign purposes, even if, as Long puts it, it's available to everyone.
But this type of hypocrisy is not something that Council member Long holds an exclusive claim to; this is the same types we hear all of the time from Democratic leaders throughout the state. So it's no wonder that the majority of the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council has issues presenting its residents with honest accountability and fiscal responsibility; the majority of the RPV City Council is Democrat.
Now while I agree that not all Democrats have issues like this, I believe that Council member Tom Long has serious issues with accountability to the residents he has been charged to serve; worse, Long also has issues with humility when confronted with situations that conflict with his motives and plans, and will verbally attack anyone who challenges him.
I look forward to challenging him and anyone who aligns themselves with him. Bullies have always been my primary peeve, and I take a personal stake in finding those that bully others, especially politically, and will always seek opportunities to remove them from office, regardless of their political registration. We have a few in our party, including a couple I've mentioned in earlier posts. Council member Long is an exceptional one, using his knowledge of the law to twist it and take advantage of those that he thinks know less than him.
When the next RPV election approaches in 2009, I plan to be there to help swing the RPV City Council back to the Republican majority, and in the process return fiscal responsibility & resident accountability to my former hometown.
For those who worked with me on the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council elections in 2007, you'll recall former Mayor Tom Long trying to tell us that the Republican Party being involved in a local, non-partisan race, in his words, "violated the state constitution". He was, and still is, a political bully who tries to intimidate anyone who disagrees with his motives and plans. The verbal attacks on Council member Gardiner have been what I would expect from Long, who STILL has not given any accountability to the residents of Rancho Palos Verdes regarding the frivolous IT budget spending or the improper and unethical use of the "PV on the Net" resources that the Daily Breeze confirmed is not permitted for campaign purposes, even if, as Long puts it, it's available to everyone.
But this type of hypocrisy is not something that Council member Long holds an exclusive claim to; this is the same types we hear all of the time from Democratic leaders throughout the state. So it's no wonder that the majority of the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council has issues presenting its residents with honest accountability and fiscal responsibility; the majority of the RPV City Council is Democrat.
Now while I agree that not all Democrats have issues like this, I believe that Council member Tom Long has serious issues with accountability to the residents he has been charged to serve; worse, Long also has issues with humility when confronted with situations that conflict with his motives and plans, and will verbally attack anyone who challenges him.
I look forward to challenging him and anyone who aligns themselves with him. Bullies have always been my primary peeve, and I take a personal stake in finding those that bully others, especially politically, and will always seek opportunities to remove them from office, regardless of their political registration. We have a few in our party, including a couple I've mentioned in earlier posts. Council member Long is an exceptional one, using his knowledge of the law to twist it and take advantage of those that he thinks know less than him.
When the next RPV election approaches in 2009, I plan to be there to help swing the RPV City Council back to the Republican majority, and in the process return fiscal responsibility & resident accountability to my former hometown.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Another young, promising life gunned down by gangs,...another podium speech!
Last week, I was moved significantly by the story of Jamiel Shaw, Jr. and angered at the lack of caring and support from the Los Angeles City Council to address illegal alien gang members preying on our inner-city youth. One of the initial supporters actually had to request ALL of the council members to quit their side-bar discussions to pay attention. Residents throughout Los Angeles are connecting through the Shaw family, including myself, to say enough is enough. When Cheryl Green was killed by gang members, out came the podium with all of our elected leaders, including the Mayor and our councilmember, stating that something must be done. When Christopher Ash was targeted and killed by the same gang members last December, out came the podium again. Something must be done! Less than a month later, Demetrius Perry, a 23-yr-old black man working with middle school youth, was gunned down by three Latino gang members identified later as Mexican Mafia in the school gymnasium. Out came the podium!
Now we have Jamiel Shaw, Jr.: a role-model student who stayed away from gangs, worked hard in school, two-time high-school football MVP, and being recruited by Stanford & Rutgers. His parents are also role-model citizens; his mother serving our country overseas as an Army soldier in Iraq. Imagine being in the middle of Baghdad, where you’d expect the risk of danger to be very high, and getting the call. “Your son was shot and killed three doors down home, by a gang member that authorities had released less than 24 hours prior.”
Special Order 40 prevents the LAPD from stopping or detaining a person solely based on their legal status. This order had the intention of relieving the issue of an illegal resident coming forward to report a crime by protecting them from being asked their legal status and possibly being deported. But the practice of this order has been to prohibit law enforcement from EVER inquiring about the legal status of a detainee, and gangs throughout Los Angeles have been allowed to thrive and grow. Many of our surrounding jurisdictions, including the L.A. County Sheriffs, have informally adopted Special Order 40 due to the pressure to align with the LAPD as the largest police department in the county. This is not solely helping Latino gangs, but Asian gangs and Black gangs have also been able to use this interpretation to not only prey upon our inner city youth like Cheryl Green and Jamiel Shaw, Jr., but it also gave them access to Pedro Espinoza, the 19-yr-old gang member who killed Jamiel Shaw, Jr.
Mayor Villariagosa said "He was gunned down by someone who was close in age but who took a different path," In my opinion, the reason that “different path” exists is due to how our previous police chiefs, Mayors and City Council members have required Special Order 40 be applied. Because we have not given our law enforcement both the support and the incentive to go after gang members here illegally, they were able to recruit Pedro Espinoza.
Pedro Espinoza was brought to this country illegally at the age of 4. His parents came seeking a better life, and worked very hard like most parents do. Because these gangs rely upon illegal immigrants and recruit them regularly, our immigrant youth population see these illegal alien gang members coming back and forth across a porous border, and they see the police “walking on eggshells” when questioning these thugs because of political correctness. They see the gangs as strong and the police as weak!
Special Order 40 creates that environment because of how it is applied; this approach has been supported by both Chief Bratton and Mayor Villariagosa. Jamiel's Law will modify Special Order 40 to direct the LAPD to use the gang intervention database already available to the LAPD to look up gang members and determine their legal status, and turn over any that are either in this country illegally or cannot confirm their citizenship to Immigration & Customs Enforcement for further disposition, including possible deportation.
Councilmember Hahn wants us to consider a $30M anti-gang initiative measure this November - if she does not support this immediate NO-COST action to get rid of illegal alien gang members coming to our city to prey on our children by recruiting them or killing them, how can she ask us to be taxed on "anti-gang" programs that do much less? It's not our responsibility to give these gang members a place to play basketball or congregate so they can plan their next crime! It's our job to weaken these gangs as much as possible by deporting as many of those that want to harm our families and our children as we can! Regardless of how you feel about immigration in general, I hope we can ALL agree that gang members who come to this country are not doing so to become law-abiding citizens! Please keep the Shaw family in your thoughts and prayers, especially Jamiel Jr's mother, Anita, who returned to Iraq last week to complete her Army tour of duty. Despite this heavy burden that she now has to bear. Anita Shaw values her service to our country so high that she believes that Jamiel Jr. wanted her to return. I sincerely hope she does not give up hope in the good people of this city, this state and this country who benefit every day because she puts her life on the line. But...Anita is RIGHT when she said last Tuesday to our City Council “This does not make sense!” Jamiel Jr. should have been safe, and we failed in our duty to protect and to serve. There is no excuse, and we must now do everything we can to make sure his tragic sacrifice is not fruitless. We must take our L.A. communities back from these illegal gang members and give them back to the good residents & neighbors like the Shaws who so courageously stood up to the semi-attentive and later politically-correct city council last Tuesday!I cannot think of a more deserving young man, God-loving family, and especially one that has already given so much to this country and to their community. It is our job, now, to give them the support they deserve. It’s time to put away the podiums and start taking action!
Now we have Jamiel Shaw, Jr.: a role-model student who stayed away from gangs, worked hard in school, two-time high-school football MVP, and being recruited by Stanford & Rutgers. His parents are also role-model citizens; his mother serving our country overseas as an Army soldier in Iraq. Imagine being in the middle of Baghdad, where you’d expect the risk of danger to be very high, and getting the call. “Your son was shot and killed three doors down home, by a gang member that authorities had released less than 24 hours prior.”
Special Order 40 prevents the LAPD from stopping or detaining a person solely based on their legal status. This order had the intention of relieving the issue of an illegal resident coming forward to report a crime by protecting them from being asked their legal status and possibly being deported. But the practice of this order has been to prohibit law enforcement from EVER inquiring about the legal status of a detainee, and gangs throughout Los Angeles have been allowed to thrive and grow. Many of our surrounding jurisdictions, including the L.A. County Sheriffs, have informally adopted Special Order 40 due to the pressure to align with the LAPD as the largest police department in the county. This is not solely helping Latino gangs, but Asian gangs and Black gangs have also been able to use this interpretation to not only prey upon our inner city youth like Cheryl Green and Jamiel Shaw, Jr., but it also gave them access to Pedro Espinoza, the 19-yr-old gang member who killed Jamiel Shaw, Jr.
Mayor Villariagosa said "He was gunned down by someone who was close in age but who took a different path," In my opinion, the reason that “different path” exists is due to how our previous police chiefs, Mayors and City Council members have required Special Order 40 be applied. Because we have not given our law enforcement both the support and the incentive to go after gang members here illegally, they were able to recruit Pedro Espinoza.
Pedro Espinoza was brought to this country illegally at the age of 4. His parents came seeking a better life, and worked very hard like most parents do. Because these gangs rely upon illegal immigrants and recruit them regularly, our immigrant youth population see these illegal alien gang members coming back and forth across a porous border, and they see the police “walking on eggshells” when questioning these thugs because of political correctness. They see the gangs as strong and the police as weak!
Special Order 40 creates that environment because of how it is applied; this approach has been supported by both Chief Bratton and Mayor Villariagosa. Jamiel's Law will modify Special Order 40 to direct the LAPD to use the gang intervention database already available to the LAPD to look up gang members and determine their legal status, and turn over any that are either in this country illegally or cannot confirm their citizenship to Immigration & Customs Enforcement for further disposition, including possible deportation.
Councilmember Hahn wants us to consider a $30M anti-gang initiative measure this November - if she does not support this immediate NO-COST action to get rid of illegal alien gang members coming to our city to prey on our children by recruiting them or killing them, how can she ask us to be taxed on "anti-gang" programs that do much less? It's not our responsibility to give these gang members a place to play basketball or congregate so they can plan their next crime! It's our job to weaken these gangs as much as possible by deporting as many of those that want to harm our families and our children as we can! Regardless of how you feel about immigration in general, I hope we can ALL agree that gang members who come to this country are not doing so to become law-abiding citizens! Please keep the Shaw family in your thoughts and prayers, especially Jamiel Jr's mother, Anita, who returned to Iraq last week to complete her Army tour of duty. Despite this heavy burden that she now has to bear. Anita Shaw values her service to our country so high that she believes that Jamiel Jr. wanted her to return. I sincerely hope she does not give up hope in the good people of this city, this state and this country who benefit every day because she puts her life on the line. But...Anita is RIGHT when she said last Tuesday to our City Council “This does not make sense!” Jamiel Jr. should have been safe, and we failed in our duty to protect and to serve. There is no excuse, and we must now do everything we can to make sure his tragic sacrifice is not fruitless. We must take our L.A. communities back from these illegal gang members and give them back to the good residents & neighbors like the Shaws who so courageously stood up to the semi-attentive and later politically-correct city council last Tuesday!I cannot think of a more deserving young man, God-loving family, and especially one that has already given so much to this country and to their community. It is our job, now, to give them the support they deserve. It’s time to put away the podiums and start taking action!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
San Pedro H.S. Seniors get it...why don't Democrats?
I had the opportunity to join 54th Assembly Republican candidate Gabriella Holt at San Pedro High School yesterday to talk to the senior class about the 54th AD campaign and opportunities to get involved. Also attending the day-long session were the two Democratic candidates, Long Beach Vice-Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal & Long Beach City Councilmember Tonia Reyes Uranga. All three candidates, and their campaign reps, were very cordial & we enjoyed a day of listening to each other speak to six separate government classes about the 54th Assembly seat race.
What impressed me the most about the sessions were the great questions that the seniors asked the candidates. My assessment of the three candidates' performance could be summarized as this: The Democrat candidates talked to the students like they were 8th graders; Gabriella & I talked to them like they were adults. Not that we talked over their heads; I think both Democrats did that at times, especially Ms. Lowenthal. Our focus when we talked to them were on issues that they could relate to & would affect them directly. I'll give an example.
We made sure that the primary topic of discussion was the state budget. We did not shy away from talking about the education portion of the budget, and we pointed out to the students that the Democrats have had the last 12 years in charge of both houses of the Legislature to spend wisely, and have chosen not to. We used two analogies to make our point: First, we talked about their own budgets. We asked them how many would be able to go ask their parents for more money simply because they had spent all of theirs. Knowing how San Pedrans raise their children to be accountable and independent, we knew the answer would be none. Second, we asked them how much businesses like Starbucks pay in taxes. (Any fan of Tom McClintock knows this answer...NONE.) When I asked them why businesses don't pay taxes, most of them knew the answer...that businesses flow their tax increases to consumers in the price of products, like that cup of coffee. We then drew the relationship to the jobs they will be looking for in the very near future, and it made sense.
When it was Mrs. Uranga's turn to speak, she focused on Air Quality issues and the education budget as well. For the Air Quality discussion, she talked about "little particles" in the air, using her fingers like she was plucking them out of the air. She made a few good points about the need to be cleaner, but then she talked about how those "mean Republicans" wanted to take money away from schools. She talked about the Governor cutting the budget, but had no answer for fixing the budget besides raising taxes. Gabriella was able to talk about how her school district had the same problem in 2002, and found wasteful spending that resulted in saving EVERY teacher's salary. Among these was over $60,000 a year for bottled water for the administration. This is a teacher's salary saved from just this one savings action. Democrats are not willing to cut their wasteful spending in order to save teacher salaries. But they're willing to tax you more instead!
Ms. Lowenthal's discussion points kept changing during each of the six sessions. She was extremely defensive each time, and seemed to be trying to anticipate what Tonia and especially Gabriella were going to say. She would often turn around to Gabriella and state to the current group one of the points she thought Gabriella wold make, and then try to refute it pro-actively. Of course, because Democrats are used to misrepresenting Republican positions even to each other, Ms. Lowenthal often got the point wrong. This opened the opportunity for Gabriella to quickly re-introduce the topic (correctly) and then use a different example to prove the same point. Bonnie grossly underestimated the scope of the event, originally showing up with only a handful of fliers by herself. When she noticed that the other two candidates had more material and support, she made a quick phone call and got her campaign manager over there. When she talked, she listed all of her endorsements (people and groups these students never heard of) and
then tried to convince them how "greedy luxury boat owners and recreational vehicle owners needed to pay their fair share." Easy enough, but more proof that Bonnie does not know much about San Pedro. Boating and Sport Fishing are big with San Pedrans, and many of these students own their own ATV's or Sea-Doos. So when we got a chance to talk about these, it was simple. When these get taxed higher, fewer get sold, which means fewer get built. This means fewer people employed to build them.
Overall, the students who paid attention were smart and analytical. Questions like "If you don't cut the Education part of the budget, what part DO you cut?" and "How do you plan to deal with the gang violence in L.A.?" showed me that they were thinking extremely logical. Another question I liked was " What are you going to do to ensure people get off of welfare?". I watched as each Democrat candidate fumbled around in their head, probably searching for which talking point was appropriate. Meanwhile, Gabriella and I stood back and smiled as we waited so Gabriella could complement the students asking the questions and give them the intelligent answers they deserved.
In the end, we signed up a huge number of volunteers who are excited to get their volunteer hours working for Gabriella Holt. Despite the presence of two Democrat candidates (meaning there was twice as much time for the Democratic platform to be pitched), these students were able to sort out the truth from the talking points. We even received interesting comments from the Democratic candidates; both confessed that they did not expect a Republican candidate to come to the school. Both have been underestimating the Republican chances because of our past history in the district. If there's one thing Gabriella Holt did on Wednesday, it was to put a little fear in both Democrat candidates that the election for this seat will not nearly be over after June 3rd.
If you want to learn more about the Republican candidate making her two Democrat challengers squirm nervously when they're together, go to http://www.gabriellaholt.com/.
What impressed me the most about the sessions were the great questions that the seniors asked the candidates. My assessment of the three candidates' performance could be summarized as this: The Democrat candidates talked to the students like they were 8th graders; Gabriella & I talked to them like they were adults. Not that we talked over their heads; I think both Democrats did that at times, especially Ms. Lowenthal. Our focus when we talked to them were on issues that they could relate to & would affect them directly. I'll give an example.
We made sure that the primary topic of discussion was the state budget. We did not shy away from talking about the education portion of the budget, and we pointed out to the students that the Democrats have had the last 12 years in charge of both houses of the Legislature to spend wisely, and have chosen not to. We used two analogies to make our point: First, we talked about their own budgets. We asked them how many would be able to go ask their parents for more money simply because they had spent all of theirs. Knowing how San Pedrans raise their children to be accountable and independent, we knew the answer would be none. Second, we asked them how much businesses like Starbucks pay in taxes. (Any fan of Tom McClintock knows this answer...NONE.) When I asked them why businesses don't pay taxes, most of them knew the answer...that businesses flow their tax increases to consumers in the price of products, like that cup of coffee. We then drew the relationship to the jobs they will be looking for in the very near future, and it made sense.
When it was Mrs. Uranga's turn to speak, she focused on Air Quality issues and the education budget as well. For the Air Quality discussion, she talked about "little particles" in the air, using her fingers like she was plucking them out of the air. She made a few good points about the need to be cleaner, but then she talked about how those "mean Republicans" wanted to take money away from schools. She talked about the Governor cutting the budget, but had no answer for fixing the budget besides raising taxes. Gabriella was able to talk about how her school district had the same problem in 2002, and found wasteful spending that resulted in saving EVERY teacher's salary. Among these was over $60,000 a year for bottled water for the administration. This is a teacher's salary saved from just this one savings action. Democrats are not willing to cut their wasteful spending in order to save teacher salaries. But they're willing to tax you more instead!
Ms. Lowenthal's discussion points kept changing during each of the six sessions. She was extremely defensive each time, and seemed to be trying to anticipate what Tonia and especially Gabriella were going to say. She would often turn around to Gabriella and state to the current group one of the points she thought Gabriella wold make, and then try to refute it pro-actively. Of course, because Democrats are used to misrepresenting Republican positions even to each other, Ms. Lowenthal often got the point wrong. This opened the opportunity for Gabriella to quickly re-introduce the topic (correctly) and then use a different example to prove the same point. Bonnie grossly underestimated the scope of the event, originally showing up with only a handful of fliers by herself. When she noticed that the other two candidates had more material and support, she made a quick phone call and got her campaign manager over there. When she talked, she listed all of her endorsements (people and groups these students never heard of) and
then tried to convince them how "greedy luxury boat owners and recreational vehicle owners needed to pay their fair share." Easy enough, but more proof that Bonnie does not know much about San Pedro. Boating and Sport Fishing are big with San Pedrans, and many of these students own their own ATV's or Sea-Doos. So when we got a chance to talk about these, it was simple. When these get taxed higher, fewer get sold, which means fewer get built. This means fewer people employed to build them.
Overall, the students who paid attention were smart and analytical. Questions like "If you don't cut the Education part of the budget, what part DO you cut?" and "How do you plan to deal with the gang violence in L.A.?" showed me that they were thinking extremely logical. Another question I liked was " What are you going to do to ensure people get off of welfare?". I watched as each Democrat candidate fumbled around in their head, probably searching for which talking point was appropriate. Meanwhile, Gabriella and I stood back and smiled as we waited so Gabriella could complement the students asking the questions and give them the intelligent answers they deserved.
In the end, we signed up a huge number of volunteers who are excited to get their volunteer hours working for Gabriella Holt. Despite the presence of two Democrat candidates (meaning there was twice as much time for the Democratic platform to be pitched), these students were able to sort out the truth from the talking points. We even received interesting comments from the Democratic candidates; both confessed that they did not expect a Republican candidate to come to the school. Both have been underestimating the Republican chances because of our past history in the district. If there's one thing Gabriella Holt did on Wednesday, it was to put a little fear in both Democrat candidates that the election for this seat will not nearly be over after June 3rd.
If you want to learn more about the Republican candidate making her two Democrat challengers squirm nervously when they're together, go to http://www.gabriellaholt.com/.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Green Energy available NOW, but Democrats do not support
Growing a bit lazy this week, I wanted to share with you the efforts of the great California crusader who is working to bring safe, nuclear power plants to California, just as the rest of the world is doing. Assemblymember Chuck DeVore has been putting it all out there for all legislators to address, and finally, Governor Schwarzenegger understands how nuclear power will help save us "billion & billions of oil".
Here's a copy of his e-mail to subscribers. (If you don't subscribe to his e-mails yet, I highly recommend them.)
The Honorable Chuck DeVore:
I had a long conversation with a member of the O.C. Register editorial board yesterday about modern nuclear power. He was very interested in Gov. Schwarzenegger's public embrace of nuclear power. This is the editorial that came out of that conversation and recent events.
Chuck DeVore, California State Assemblyman, 70th Districtwww.ChuckDeVore.com
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/nuclear-power-energy-2001597-percent-california
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Editorial: Nuke the energy crisis
Gov. Schwarzenegger endorses a nuclear future
An Orange County Register editorial
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may have signaled a new era of common sense for California regarding energy matters by announcing last week that nuclear power has "a great future" and should be considered, rather than "just looking the other way and living in denial."
We hope this points to a change in attitude among policy-makers, and to overturning a statewide ban on nuclear power plants imposed in 1976. Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, who last year unsuccessfully authored a nuclear energy bill, is encouraged by Mr. Schwarzenegger's endorsement of the concept.
"I'm delighted to see Gov. Schwarzenegger now out front on this vital issue," Mr. DeVore said. The Irvine Republican again has introduced two bills in the current session to repeal the nuclear power-plant prohibition.
Mr. Schwarzenegger and Mr. DeVore are joined by public opinion that increasingly looks favorably on nuclear energy. A 2006 poll of likely voters, for example, showed those favoring nuclear power to be equal to those opposed, each drawing 46 percent of responders. That's an impressive increase from just one year before when opponents were 55 percent and those in favor only 37 percent. That's all on the plus side.
On the negative side, the usual suspects are in opposition. "Nuclear power has no future in California's new energy era because of its monumental dangers to the health and welfare of Californians," declared Democrat Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, chairman of the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee.
Contrary to Mr. Levine's assertion, there are at least 434 operating nuclear reactors worldwide meeting electrical needs of a billion-plus people, according to a report by the National Center for Policy Analysis. If those have resulted in "monumental" dangers, we must have missed that story.
Nuclear power provides about 75 percent of France's energy, and even 20 percent of U.S. power from 103 nuclear plants, including two California plants in San Onofre and Diablo Canyon. China plans 30 new nuclear reactors in the next five years. For 30 years there were no applications processed for nuclear plants in California, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received seven applications in the last year alone and expects another dozen by year's end, representing a total of 22 reactors, according to the Sacramento Bee.
A single, quarter-ounce pellet of uranium creates as much energy as three and a half barrels of oil, 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas or 1,780 pounds of coal – without CO2 emissions, according to the NCPA. The nuclear option is a perfect opportunity for Democrat obstructionists and radical environmentalists to support clean power generation without burning fossil fuels that generate the dreaded greenhouse gas, CO2.
Or will Democratic and radical environmental interests keep California in the dark while the rest of the world taps this reasonable, economical and environmentally clean option?
Here's a copy of his e-mail to subscribers. (If you don't subscribe to his e-mails yet, I highly recommend them.)
The Honorable Chuck DeVore:
I had a long conversation with a member of the O.C. Register editorial board yesterday about modern nuclear power. He was very interested in Gov. Schwarzenegger's public embrace of nuclear power. This is the editorial that came out of that conversation and recent events.
Chuck DeVore, California State Assemblyman, 70th Districtwww.ChuckDeVore.com
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/nuclear-power-energy-2001597-percent-california
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Editorial: Nuke the energy crisis
Gov. Schwarzenegger endorses a nuclear future
An Orange County Register editorial
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may have signaled a new era of common sense for California regarding energy matters by announcing last week that nuclear power has "a great future" and should be considered, rather than "just looking the other way and living in denial."
We hope this points to a change in attitude among policy-makers, and to overturning a statewide ban on nuclear power plants imposed in 1976. Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, who last year unsuccessfully authored a nuclear energy bill, is encouraged by Mr. Schwarzenegger's endorsement of the concept.
"I'm delighted to see Gov. Schwarzenegger now out front on this vital issue," Mr. DeVore said. The Irvine Republican again has introduced two bills in the current session to repeal the nuclear power-plant prohibition.
Mr. Schwarzenegger and Mr. DeVore are joined by public opinion that increasingly looks favorably on nuclear energy. A 2006 poll of likely voters, for example, showed those favoring nuclear power to be equal to those opposed, each drawing 46 percent of responders. That's an impressive increase from just one year before when opponents were 55 percent and those in favor only 37 percent. That's all on the plus side.
On the negative side, the usual suspects are in opposition. "Nuclear power has no future in California's new energy era because of its monumental dangers to the health and welfare of Californians," declared Democrat Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, chairman of the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee.
Contrary to Mr. Levine's assertion, there are at least 434 operating nuclear reactors worldwide meeting electrical needs of a billion-plus people, according to a report by the National Center for Policy Analysis. If those have resulted in "monumental" dangers, we must have missed that story.
Nuclear power provides about 75 percent of France's energy, and even 20 percent of U.S. power from 103 nuclear plants, including two California plants in San Onofre and Diablo Canyon. China plans 30 new nuclear reactors in the next five years. For 30 years there were no applications processed for nuclear plants in California, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received seven applications in the last year alone and expects another dozen by year's end, representing a total of 22 reactors, according to the Sacramento Bee.
A single, quarter-ounce pellet of uranium creates as much energy as three and a half barrels of oil, 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas or 1,780 pounds of coal – without CO2 emissions, according to the NCPA. The nuclear option is a perfect opportunity for Democrat obstructionists and radical environmentalists to support clean power generation without burning fossil fuels that generate the dreaded greenhouse gas, CO2.
Or will Democratic and radical environmental interests keep California in the dark while the rest of the world taps this reasonable, economical and environmentally clean option?
Monday, March 17, 2008
Central Committee Endorsements...and WHY
In my earlier post on central committees, I laid out the basics of its mission and objectives. Today, I will lay out for you the six other candidates you NEED to vote for (along with me, of course) this June in order to maintain the momentum of involvement and support for electeds and future electeds throughout the 54th Assembly District. (I have listed them at the top left, and will maintain this list through the June Election.)
Prior to my election to the central committee, the level of involvement by both this district's committee and others throughout Los Angeles County was sporadic at best. Personally, I had worked two congressional campaigns in Los Angeles County and had never HEARD of the central committees. To this, I give due credit to Mr. Jackson, who promoted the need for increased involvement by the district committees. At the time (February 2006), we were primarily concerned about his own race for Assembly, but he was correct to call out the lack of participation by these committees. In my opinion, the primary reason for the lack of involvement by these committees was the primary reason most people ran for these committees: Their own personal agendas.
I decided to be a candidate that was going to engage differently. It was time for a committee of members that had no specific campaign or candidate in mind, but wanted to get more Republicans elected throughout the district. Others that filed shared this vision, including James Crean (who is taking time away next term to focus more on family & business). James has been a phenomenal mentor of mine, and I hope I can continue working with him in future years to further the principles and values throughout the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
We have some great candidates who are eager to get involved from Palos Verdes to Long Beach, and I'll talk about each one now.
First, I hope that my fellow board member Davina Keiser is elected to the next central committee. Davina has been serving as an alternate, and also stepped up to serve as our committee Secretary. Employed as a teacher in LBUSD, Davina has been this committee's best resource for providing information about the political scene throughout Long Beach. While we have members from Long Beach, Davina has dove deeper into both the LBUSD races and the City Council races, and been a positive point-of-contact for Republican electeds there. I expect Davina to continue building her network within Long Beach, and make this committee's networking event stronger.
Two central committee members that have weathered the storms of the past and I hope will continue to be appreciated and supported throughout the district are Nancy Comaford and Al Han. Both are veterans of past AD campaigns, as well as critical races throughout Los Angeles County. Nancy has been a positive role-model for fellow Republican Women's Federated (RWF) groups throughout the county, and I have benefited much from her knowledge & experiences during meaningful telephone conversations. I very much hope I will continue to benefit from this, and the district will reap those benefits as well. Al has been a critical member of key election campaigns throughout the county, including the LA Community College District race last year and the Victory '06 campaign. Serving as the 2nd Vice-Chair to the County Party, Al has been able to bring increased attention to our district and continues to work hard to get campaign donations to key candidates. Al has also been a critical resource for me as I continue building relationships throughout the county in the best interests of this district.
For new members, I am endorsing a candidate from each of the three primary cities in this district: Chuck Michel from Palos Verdes, John Cozza from San Pedro, and Kevin Kunkle from Long Beach. Each brings a unique background and set of experiences that should help this committee take advantage of lessons learned from a diverse group. Chuck Michel is an attorney who brings contacts and connections throughout the district, including his representation of the American Flag flying at Trump National Golf Course. John Cozza has been involved in both local San Pedran business issues and those within the City of Los Angeles. He was the Legislative Analyst for Former Council member Rudy Svorinich, and has a deep understanding of the 15th Council District of Los Angeles, which is primarily located within the 54th AD. Kevin Kunkle was recently on the local leadership team for Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul, and brings with him experiences and lessons from his campaign. Kevin was very active in Get-Out-The-Vote efforts throughout Long Beach, and brings a lot of operational experience and motivation to this committee. Though I worked for a different candidate in the primary, I have a deep level of both respect and admiration for fellow Republicans that supported Ron Paul's high-energy campaign, and I hope we can take some valuable advice from Kevin and others on how to energize our other 2008 races.
Finally, I (John Stammreich) sincerely hope that I have proven to be a valuable player in the local politics throughout the 54th AD. From my neighborhood council election in San Pedro to chairing this committee (when no one else wanted to), I have worked hard to grow this committee back into a viable & credible committee that our Republican leadership has recognized as a key political force in the district again. Knowledgeable local candidates used to skip this committee and proceed directly to the county meetings when seeking endorsements, and many local candidates did not know about the capabilities and support that this committee can offer. Since December 2006, I have risen both the visibility and credibility of our committee, with the help of some great supporters mentioned earlier, and I ask for your vote for myself and the six candidates I have endorsed for the June 2008 Central Committee elections.
Please e-mail me at stammiam@yahoo.com if you have any questions about myself or those I look forward to serving with for the next 2 years.
Prior to my election to the central committee, the level of involvement by both this district's committee and others throughout Los Angeles County was sporadic at best. Personally, I had worked two congressional campaigns in Los Angeles County and had never HEARD of the central committees. To this, I give due credit to Mr. Jackson, who promoted the need for increased involvement by the district committees. At the time (February 2006), we were primarily concerned about his own race for Assembly, but he was correct to call out the lack of participation by these committees. In my opinion, the primary reason for the lack of involvement by these committees was the primary reason most people ran for these committees: Their own personal agendas.
I decided to be a candidate that was going to engage differently. It was time for a committee of members that had no specific campaign or candidate in mind, but wanted to get more Republicans elected throughout the district. Others that filed shared this vision, including James Crean (who is taking time away next term to focus more on family & business). James has been a phenomenal mentor of mine, and I hope I can continue working with him in future years to further the principles and values throughout the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
We have some great candidates who are eager to get involved from Palos Verdes to Long Beach, and I'll talk about each one now.
First, I hope that my fellow board member Davina Keiser is elected to the next central committee. Davina has been serving as an alternate, and also stepped up to serve as our committee Secretary. Employed as a teacher in LBUSD, Davina has been this committee's best resource for providing information about the political scene throughout Long Beach. While we have members from Long Beach, Davina has dove deeper into both the LBUSD races and the City Council races, and been a positive point-of-contact for Republican electeds there. I expect Davina to continue building her network within Long Beach, and make this committee's networking event stronger.
Two central committee members that have weathered the storms of the past and I hope will continue to be appreciated and supported throughout the district are Nancy Comaford and Al Han. Both are veterans of past AD campaigns, as well as critical races throughout Los Angeles County. Nancy has been a positive role-model for fellow Republican Women's Federated (RWF) groups throughout the county, and I have benefited much from her knowledge & experiences during meaningful telephone conversations. I very much hope I will continue to benefit from this, and the district will reap those benefits as well. Al has been a critical member of key election campaigns throughout the county, including the LA Community College District race last year and the Victory '06 campaign. Serving as the 2nd Vice-Chair to the County Party, Al has been able to bring increased attention to our district and continues to work hard to get campaign donations to key candidates. Al has also been a critical resource for me as I continue building relationships throughout the county in the best interests of this district.
For new members, I am endorsing a candidate from each of the three primary cities in this district: Chuck Michel from Palos Verdes, John Cozza from San Pedro, and Kevin Kunkle from Long Beach. Each brings a unique background and set of experiences that should help this committee take advantage of lessons learned from a diverse group. Chuck Michel is an attorney who brings contacts and connections throughout the district, including his representation of the American Flag flying at Trump National Golf Course. John Cozza has been involved in both local San Pedran business issues and those within the City of Los Angeles. He was the Legislative Analyst for Former Council member Rudy Svorinich, and has a deep understanding of the 15th Council District of Los Angeles, which is primarily located within the 54th AD. Kevin Kunkle was recently on the local leadership team for Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul, and brings with him experiences and lessons from his campaign. Kevin was very active in Get-Out-The-Vote efforts throughout Long Beach, and brings a lot of operational experience and motivation to this committee. Though I worked for a different candidate in the primary, I have a deep level of both respect and admiration for fellow Republicans that supported Ron Paul's high-energy campaign, and I hope we can take some valuable advice from Kevin and others on how to energize our other 2008 races.
Finally, I (John Stammreich) sincerely hope that I have proven to be a valuable player in the local politics throughout the 54th AD. From my neighborhood council election in San Pedro to chairing this committee (when no one else wanted to), I have worked hard to grow this committee back into a viable & credible committee that our Republican leadership has recognized as a key political force in the district again. Knowledgeable local candidates used to skip this committee and proceed directly to the county meetings when seeking endorsements, and many local candidates did not know about the capabilities and support that this committee can offer. Since December 2006, I have risen both the visibility and credibility of our committee, with the help of some great supporters mentioned earlier, and I ask for your vote for myself and the six candidates I have endorsed for the June 2008 Central Committee elections.
Please e-mail me at stammiam@yahoo.com if you have any questions about myself or those I look forward to serving with for the next 2 years.
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