Archive for March, 2012
Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on March 13, 2012
Note to candidates: If you are going to run for office don’t wait until the last-minute to turn in your paperwork.
I was at the Orange County Registrar of Voters on Friday helping out Custom Campaigns clients with their filing paperwork throughout the day. I had some business to attend to with a client who arrived by 4:00 PM.
Around 4:45 PM I realized that it might be fun to take a seat and watch the candidates frantically come running down the ramp to get in before the officer in charge of managing the end of the day locked the doors at 5:00 PM.
At 4:47 PM I heard the consultant on the phone with Travis Allen who was stuck on Edinger trying to get to the office. At the time Allen had not finished his paperwork for Assembly and was thought to be off the ballot if he did not get into the office by 5:00 PM. This turned to be really interesting with this race going into extended filing by the mistaken rationale of the California Secretary State in a post written by the grumpy one this morning.
It did not matter though as Allen came running in the door at about 4:52 PM, thus winning the proverbial game of “Beat the Clock.”
Dr. Long Pham also got in the door with less than 5 minutes to spare but in his case nobody really won. More on the Long Pham story tomorrow.
Posted in 72nd Assembly District | Tagged: Long Pham, Travis Allen | 1 Comment »
Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on March 13, 2012
A surprise race that I did not think would happen this election is Fullerton Mayor Sharon Quirk-Silva challenging sitting Assemblyman Chris Norby.
The banner for Chris Norby:
The banner for Sharon Quirk-Silva.
What surprised me the most about this matchup is that Sharon Quirk-Silva will have to give up her council seat to run for this office. Most elected officials wait until midterm or when they are termed out to run for higher office. It wouldn’t be that important were it not for the fact that Fullerton has become a major fight between Republicans and Democrats.
Quirk-Silva was the last remaining Democrat on the City Council, although she was a bit more conservative than the trio that will likely be recalled in June. With my prediction being Greg Sebourn, Travis Kiger, and Barry Levinson winning the three council seats after the recall.
Republicans hold a 2 point registration advantage in AD 65 and Fullerton is the hub of this district. The problem for Quirk-Silva is that Norby is also from Fullerton and he is known outside of Fullerton as well. With DTS voter leaning a bit more conservative in this area I would have to say advantage Norby.
Norby has been one of the staunchest supporters of eliminating RDA’s and he was successful this year in eliminating them. He has also been a solid conservative voice in the Republican circles up in Sacramento. I figure that with AD 69 facing a Democratic Party money war this will free up more Republican money for this seat.
Norby should by no means rest on his laurels, but if I were a betting man I would bet on Norby to beat Quirk-Silva in June and that the Republicans will control all 5 council seats in Fullerton.
Posted in 65th Assembly District, 69th Assembly District, Fullerton | Tagged: Barry Levinson, Chris Norby, Greg Sebourn, Sharon Quirk-Silva, Travis Kiger | 8 Comments »
Posted by OC Insider on March 13, 2012
Many have gotten the wrong impression of AD72 candidate Travis Allen, based only on a strategically timed blog smear over the weekend, timed to try to trip up Allen before the Republican Party’s endorsement confab last weekend.
Travis has been a life-long Republican, and a business owner in Orange County for more than a decade.
He has contributed thousands of dollars to Republican candidates, and tens of thousands to Pro-Israel causes throughout the country.
He has been a Member of both the Lincoln Club of Orange County and the New Majority.
For anyone who has ever met Travis, he is unquestionably a fiscal conservative – seeing both in his own business and with his clients the troubles of big government taxing and regulating too much.
For Troy Edgar of all people to try to attack Allen for having given some money to Democrats is especially rich – as Edgar was himself a Democrat for most of the past decade, only having opportunistically switched over just in time to run for City Council in 2006.
That’s right, for Bush v Gore, in the aftermath of 9/11, for Gray Davis v Bill Simon, for the Gray Davis Recall, for Bush v Kerry, and even up to the Primary of Angelides v Westly – Troy Edgar was a high-propensity Democrat voter. He didn’t even vote in the Primary for the man he is trying to replace. When Jim Silva was on the ballot against Diane Harman and Mike McGill in the Republican Primary in 2006, Edgar cast his vote in the Democrat Primary.
None of those pitched battles or moments in history could convince Troy Edgar to become a Republican, only his own selfish political interests of trying to obtain office in Orange County… Telling, isn’t it?
This race is just getting started. Troy Edgar has a liberal voting record that he has been trying to hide and a record of corruption that is hard to ignore. Of course then it makes sense for him to be slinging mud, trying to paint his opponent into a corner just as he was getting started. He sure doesn’t want people paying attention to his own past.
Unfortunately for Troy, voters will look past a single smear… and that clearly has Edgar scared.
Posted in 72nd Assembly District, Uncategorized | Tagged: Travis Allen, Troy Edgar | 8 Comments »
Posted by Chris Nguyen on March 13, 2012
While Emami was chasing his tail trying to get an explanation from the Orange County Registrar of Voters for why AD-69 and AD-72 had candidate filing extended (as he described in this grammatically-flawed post incorrectly blaming the Registrar), I went to the source of the people actually responsible for the filing extension: the Secretary of State. They were the ones who instructed the county registrars to extend filing on various races. The Secretary of State had sent this memo to the county registrars (h/t to Capitol Alert for that memo, which was oddly placed inside a post about Elizabeth Emken getting the CRP endorsement).
After contacting friends in Sacramento, they inform me that once the filing period extension has been announced, the Secretary of State cannot reverse the decision, as only a judge with a court order can shut down filing. Only a candidate who has already completed filing has standing to launch the lawsuit necessary to get the court order (in other words only Tom Daly, Michele Martinez, Julio Perez, or Paco Barragan can sue to end the AD-69 filing extension, and only Troy Edgar, Long Pham, Travis Allen, Joe Dovinh, or Albert Ayala can sue to end the AD-72 filing extension). If they launched the lawsuit, they’d also have to show that they were harmed by the filing extension (i.e. another candidate filed, but no new person has pulled papers in either AD-69 or AD-72 as of this morning).
Even if a candidate launched the suit, they’d have to be willing to suffer the negative press and the hits from their opponents accusing them of “anti-democratic” action by trying to prevent people from joining the race.
Then in the lawsuit itself, the candidate would then face off against bureaucrats in the Secretary of State’s office who would show some bizarrely liberal interpretation of law justifying the extension. Then, the plaintiff candidate would have to convince the judge that there was enough damage done to themselves and the electoral process from having additional candidates that warranted an injunction (99% chance the judge would not issue an injunction to reduce the number of candidates).
The Orange County Registrar of Voters also sent this out to their e-mail list yesterday:
Explanation for Contest Extensions
March 12, 2012 – Statewide 53 Congressional, Senate and Assembly contests were extended by the Secretary of State to March 14th at 5:00 p.m. This takes place in races “for which no eligible incumbent is seeking reelection”. The key is eligible – according to the Secretary of State they have determined that some districts that appear to lack an incumbent have eligible candidates (who currently hold office) that could have moved into the district, causing an incumbency. Redistricting has contributed to this and In Orange County there are two Assembly Districts (69th and 72nd) that fall into this category.
So it seems that the Secretary of State’s office was encouraging carpetbagging.
- Despite Jose Solorio being termed out and the vast majority of AD-69 being his district, the justification for extending AD-69 is because tiny pieces of Anaheim and Orange from Chris Norby’s old district were included in the new AD-69, candidate filing was extended since Chris Norby chose to run for his hometown’s AD-65 instead of carpetbagging into AD-69.
- Despite Jim Silva being termed out and the only sitting Assembly Member in the boundaries of AD-72, the justification for extending AD-72 is because is because portions of Allan Mansoor’s old district were included in the new AD-72, candidate filing was extended since Allan Mansoor chose to run for his hometown’s AD-74 instead of carpetbagging into AD-72.
Wow. Sometimes the Secretary of State can make even the most cynical people more cynical.
(In the interest of full disclosure, I do work in the office of Assemblyman Chris Norby for my day job. However, I would oppose him carpetbagging into AD-69 even if I did not work for him.)
Posted in 69th Assembly District, 72nd Assembly District | Tagged: Albert Ayala, Allan Mansoor, Chris Norby, Debra Bowen, Jim Silva, Joe Dovinh, Jose Solorio, Julio Perez, Long Pham, Michele Martinez, Neal Kelley, Paco Barragan, Secretary of State, Tom Daly, Travis Allen, Troy Edgar | 5 Comments »
Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on March 12, 2012
The OC GOP Central Committee races have been finalized.
Here are the candidates that qualified for the ballot (top 6 win in each district):
55th Assembly District
Brett Barbre Appointed Incumbent
Jim Domen Pastor
Karla Downing Small Business Owner
Desare Ferraro Small Business Consultant
Peggy Huang Deputy Attorney General
Connie Lanzisera Small Business Owner
Robert Lauten
Brenda McCune Businesswoman/Childrens Advocate
Tim Shaw Mayor, City of La Habra
Dennis R. White Mechanical Engineer
65th Assembly District
Samuel “Sam” Han Appointed Incumbent
Steve Hwangbo Councilman/Businessman/Father
Jerry Jackson Retired Aerospace Engineer
Sou Moua Businessman
Shawn Nelson Orange County Supervisor
Baron Night Incumbent
Greg Sebourn Businessman/Educator
David John Shawver Mayor Pro Tem
Pat Shuff Incumbent
Henry Charoen Mayor/Businessman
Alexandria Coronado Small Business Owner
68th Assembly District
Denis Bilodeau Mayor Pro Tem
James Brownfield Business Owner
Mark William Bucher Incumbent
Steven S. Choi Irvine City Councilman
Jon Dumitru City Councilman
Marcia Gilchrist Incumbent
Ray Grangoff Incumbent
Jeffrey Lalloway Irvine Councilmember/Businessman
Joshua Robert Morales Retail Sales Associate
Walter H. Myers, III Software Consultant
Noel Stone Parrish Businesswoman
Deborah Pauly Councilwoman, City of Villa Park
Lynn Schott Entrepreneur/Educator
Todd Spitzer Businessman/Victims Advocate
Scott “Scotty” Voigts Lake Forest City Councilman
Fred M. Whitaker City of Orange Councilman/Businessman
Ken L. Williams Jr. Member, Orange County Board of Education
Nick Wilson Small Business Owner
69th Assembly District
Cuong Sinh Cao Incumbent
Bryan Carter Software Engineer
Gwen A. Dyrud Appointed Incumbent
Brett Elliott Franklin Incumbent
Thomas Anthony Gordon Incumbent
Robert Morris Hammond Business Owner/Teacher
Charles Hart Appointed Incumbent
Lupe Moreno Office Specialist
Glen Stroud Retired Recreation Supervisor
Timothy “Tim” Ryan Whitacre Incumbent
72nd Assembly District
John W. Briscoe Certified Public Accountant
Dennis R. Catron Small Businessman
Patrick Dooley
Michael E. Gates Businessman/Attorney
Dean Grose Small Business Owner
Matthew Harper Huntington Beach City Councilman
Brian Hoops Special Needs Educator
Diane A. Lenning Small Business Owner
Kermit Marsh Incumbent
Mark McCurdy Fountain Valley City Councilmember
Steve A. Nagel Incumbent
Janet Nguyen Orange County Supervisor
Patricia Ross Homemaker
Mary Tuong Van Pham Businesswoman
73rd Assembly District
Alice Anderson Incumbent
Nesa Anderson Planning Commissioner/Businesswoman
Linda Barnes Community Volunteer
Tony Beall Incumbent
Evan P. Chafee Marketing Sales/Representative
Chandra Chell Computer Systems Analyst
Nina R. Davar Export Assistant Manager
Norm Dickinson Retired Naval Officer
Mark Dobrilovic Financial Advisor
John C. Drew Author/Speaker/Consultant
Dave Duringer Gun Trust Attorney
Jon Steven Fleischman Small Business Owner
Roy Fussell Realtor
Paul Hebbard Certified Public Accountant
Michael Kogus Business Owner
Steve Magdziak Small Business Owner
Mike Munzing Incumbent
Nancy Padberg Governing Board Member, South Orange Co. Community College District
Kevin Richardson Plumbing Contractor
Eric Stolaski Small Business Owner
Greg Woodard Appointed Incumbent
Mary Young Incumbent
74th Assembly District
Jon Aiken Office Clerk
Allan Bartlett Incumbent
Scott Baugh Incumbent
John Draper Businessman
Bill Dunlap General Contractor
Thomas A. “T.J.” Fuentes Businessman
Don Hansen Mayor, City of Huntington Beach
Daniel Marshall Attorney
Jeff Mathews Business Owner
Vanessa A. Matthews Small Business Owner
Gary Morse Retired Business Owner
Richard “Dick” Palmer Community Volunteer
Scott “Scotty” Peotter Businessman/Legislative Analyst
Rhonda Rohrabacher Small Business Owner
Emily Sanford Retired Navy Captain
Christina L. Shea Businesswoman
John Warner Incumbent
This is simply a list of the candidates that qualified for the ballot along with their ballot designations. After the alphabetical lottery we will make some predictions on who we think will actually win these races.
Posted in Republican Central Committee | Tagged: Alan Bartlett, Alexandria Coronado, Alice Anderson, Baron Night, Bill Dunlap, Brenda McCune, Brett Barbre, Brett Elliott Frankln, Brian Hoops, Bryan Carter, Chandra Chell, Charles Hart, Christina L. Shea, Connie Lanzisera, Cuong Sinh Cao, Daniel Marshall, Dave Duringer, David John Shawver, Dean Grose, Deborah Pauly, Denis Bilodeau, Dennis R. Catron, Dennis R. White, Desare Ferraro, Diane A. Lenning, Don Hansen, Emily Sanford, Eric Stolaski, Evan P. Chafee, Fred M. Whitaker, Gary Morse, Glen Stroud, Greg Sebourn, Greg Woodard, Gwen A. Dyrud, Henry Charoen, James Brownfield, Janet Nguyen, Jeff Mathews, Jeffrey Lalloway, Jerry Jackson, Jim Domen, John C. Drew, John Draper, John W. Briscoe, John Warner, Jon Aiken, Jon Dumitru, Jon Steven Fleischman, Joshua Robert Morales, Karla Doowning, Ken L. Williams Jr., Kermit Marsh, Kevin Richardson, Linda Barnes, Lupe Moreno, Lynn Schott, Marcia Gilchrist, Mark Dobrilovic, Mark McCurdy, Mark William Bucher, Mary Tuong Van Pham, Mary Young, Matthew Harper, Michael E. Gates, Michael Kogus, Mike Munzing, Nancy Padberg, Nesa Andersoon, Nick Wilson, Nina R. Davar, Noel Stone Parrish, Norm Dickinson, Pat Shuff, Patricia Ross, Patrick Dooley, Paul Hebbard, Peggy Huang, Ray Grangoff, Rhnda Rohrabacher, Richard "Dick" Palmer, Robert Lauten, Robert Morris Hammond, Roy Fussell, Samuel "Sam" Han, Scott "Scotty" Peotter, Scott "Scotty" Voigts, Scott Baugh, Shawn Nelson, Sou Moua, Steve A. Nagel, Steve Hwangbo, Steve Magdziak, Steven S. Choi, Thomas A. "T.J." Fuentes, Thomas Anthony Gordon, Tim Shaw, Timothy "Tim" Ryan Whitacre, Todd Spitzer, Tony Beall, Vanessa A. Matthews, Walter H. Myers III | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Chris Nguyen on March 12, 2012
Robert Hammond, Tom Daly, Michele Martinez, Julio Perez, Paco Barragan, Long Pham, Troy Edgar, Travis Allen, Joe Dovinh, Allan Mansoor, Leslie Daigle, Robert Rush, Albert Ayala, Todd Spitzer, Deborah Pauly, Janet Nguyen, and Steve Rocco. Not pictured for space considerations: Matt Harper, Tyler Diep, Bob Huff, Greg Diamond, Mimi Walters, Steve Young, and the 13 Fullerton Recall Candidates
Friday was such a busy candidate filing day that we still haven’t finished all our coverage of candidate filing action here on OC Political, but for those of you who weren’t reading over the weekend, here’s a quick rundown/annotated table of contents of what we’ve covered so far:
The big news that dominated our coverage was the AD-69/AD-72/OCBE chaos:
- OC Democrats’ Worst-Case Scenario Comes True: Coups Benefit Republicans in AD-69 & AD-74
Republicans had long feared an all-Republican battle between Assemblyman Allan Mansoor and Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, which would eat up Republican human and financial resources in both June and November. There were further fears that Democrats would cast their votes for Daigle to oust the more conservative Mansoor. These fears proved unfounded when Democrat Robert Rush qualified for the ballot.
However, the scenario Republicans feared in AD-74 became the scenario Democrats face in AD-69. Republican Robert Hammond pulled out of the AD-69 race, leaving four Democrats to face only each other in a bloody intra-party battle in June. Then the top two of those four will face each other again in a bloody intra-party battle in November. AD-69 will eat up Democratic human and financial resources in November when they could have been spending their time, energy, and money battling Republicans.
(Prop 14 made this possible by eliminating traditional primaries, and requiring the top two candidates from the June primary to advance to the November general election, even if they’re from the same party, even if someone broke 50% in June, and even if there were only two candidates in June.)
- Hammond Enters OCBE Race & Withdraws from AD-69, Producing OC Democrats’ Worst-Case Scenario
Republican Robert Hammond withdrew from the AD-69 race to enter the race for Orange County Board of Education, Trustee Area 1. It was Hammond’s withdrawal from AD-69 that left Democrats in a bloody intra-party war in November, locking up Democratic resources to attack Democrats instead of Republicans. OCBE 1 is held by conservative Republican Long Pham, who made all this possible by vacating his seat to run for AD-72.
- AD-72: Five Candidates (Two Democrats, Three Republicans) Running
The Republicans in the AD-72 race are OCBE Trustee Long Pham, Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar, and Huntington Beach Businessman Travis Allen. The Democrats are Garden Grove Planning Commissioner Joe Dovinh and 89-year-old Tea Party Democrat Albert Ayala.
- Matt Harper opts out of 72 AD race
Not among the candidates was Huntington Beach Councilman Matt Harper who announced his withdrawal on the final day of filing. Just five weeks ago, the Republican line-up in AD-72 was expected to be Harper, Long Pham, and Westminster Councilman Tyler Diep. Now Harper and Diep are out, replaced by Troy Edgar and Travis Allen.
- Bizarre Travis Allen Strategy in AD-72: Alienate Non-Huntington Beach Voters and Declare Los Alamitos to Be “Foreign”
With Matt Harper out and Travis Allen jumping in the race in the final days of filing, Allen certainly made a splash, with a pair of bizarre press releases that attacked Harper for endorsing “Foreign Candidate” Troy Edgar.
After all the AD-69/AD-72/OCBE chaos, how could we forget the legendary Spitzer-Pauly showdown? And Steve Rocco!
- Board of Supervisors: Two Crazy Races on the Docket
The well-anticipated fiery battle for the Third Supervisorial District is proceeding as expected, with former Assemblyman/Supervisor Todd Spitzer and Villa Park Councilwoman Deborah Pauly facing off. I don’t think Supervisor Janet Nguyen will object to being known as the boring candidate in her race, as her sole challenger is convicted ketchup thief Steve Rocco. (For the record, I am not related to Supervisor Nguyen. The last name Nguyen is held by 36% of Vietnamese people.)
Wait, there’s more! The Fullerton Recall!
- Battle for Fullerton: The Field is Set
Thirteen candidates have filed for the three seats up for recall. Rick Alvarez (R), Janes Rands (G), Greg Sebourn (R), and Paula Williams (D) have filed to replace Don Bankhead. Dorothy A. Birsic (R), Glenn P. Georgieff (D), Matthew Hakim (D), Travis Kiger (R), and Roberta Reid (NPP) have filed to replace Dick Jones. Doug Chaffee (D), Barry Levinson (R), Sean Paden (R), and Matthew Rowe (NPP) have filed to replace Pat McKinley.
Still more…
We’re still not done with our candidate filing coverage, but at least, now, dear reader, you’re caught up.
I give South OC the award for most boring region in the 2012 Primary. Things are much more interesting in the North OC and Central OC campaigns. Fear not, South OC, I anticipate fun from you in the 2014 Primary to replace termed-out Supervisor Pat Bates unless Senator Mimi Walters decides to ruin it all by entering and clearing the field for herself, assuming Assemblywoman Diane Harkey continues on her path to the Board of Equalization.
Posted in 1st Supervisorial District, 29th Senate District, 37th Senate District, 3rd Supervisorial District, 69th Assembly District, 72nd Assembly District, 74th Assembly District, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Orange County Board of Education, Rossmoor, Santa Ana, Seal Beach | Tagged: Albert Ayala, Allan Mansoor, Barry Levinson, Bob Huff, Deborah Pauly, Dick Jones, Don Bankhead, Dorothy A. Birsic, Doug Chaffee, Fullerton Recall, Glenn P. Georgieff, Greg Diamond, Greg Sebourn, Jane Rands, Janet Nguyen, Joe Dovinh, Julio Perez, Leslie Daigle, Long Pham, Matt Harper, Matthew Hakim, Matthew Rowe, Michele Martinez, Mimi Walters, Paco Barragan, Pat McKinley, Paula Williams, Rick Alvarez, Robert Hammond, Robert Rush, Roberta J. Reid, Sean Paden, Steve Rocco, Steve Young, Todd Spitzer, Tom Daly, Travis Allen, Travis Kiger, Troy Edgar, Tyler Diep | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on March 12, 2012
According to a release on the Orange County Registrar of voters Facebook page it appears that they have listed 4 races as entering the extended filing period.
I plan to contact them shortly as soon as the office opens up at 8:00 AM, but I do believe that they have made a mistake on this. Here is the release they posted on their Facebook page:
SANTA ANA, CA – March 10, 2012 – The Registrar of Voters announced today that the nomination period has been extended until March 14, 2012, 5:00 p.m. for the offices listed below because the incumbent failed to file Nomination Papers by the March 9, 2012 deadline. Any qualified person, other than the incumbent, can now file the Nomination Papers until March 14, 2012, 5:00 p.m., in the office of the Registrar of Voters, 1300 South Grand Avenue, Building C, Santa Ana, California.
Business hours are: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
For further information, call the Registrar of Voters office at 714-567-7600, hit option “0” and ask for the “Candidate and Voters Services” division.
CONTESTS THAT HAVE HAD THE CANDIDATE FILING EXTENDED:
- United States Congress, 47th District
- State Assembly, 69th District
- State Assembly, 72nd District
- Board of Education, Trustee Area 1
In the case of the 69th Assembly District Jose Solorio is termed out and cannot legally run for re-election. This should make this seat closed as of Friday at 5:00 PM according to the way that the rules are written.
The 72nd Assembly District should also be closed because of the same rule. Jim Silva who resides in this district is termed out and cannot legally run for the office. Chris Norby who on paper is the representative for the 72nd Assembly District is busy running for the 65th Assembly District, which now covers Fullerton.
Expect a follow-up post from us here at OC Political once we get an answer from Neal Kelly.
Posted in 47th Congressional District, 69th Assembly District, 72nd Assembly District, Orange County Board of Education | Tagged: Neal Kelly | 4 Comments »
Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on March 12, 2012
This came across the wire to me from S.O.A.R. who has arranged a fundraiser for itself.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Anaheim | Tagged: Gail Eastman, Harry Sidhu, Kris Murray | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Walter Myers III on March 11, 2012
It was a real honor to attend a reception in Santa Ana on Saturday night for Mexican presidential candidate Josefina Vazquez Mota hosted by the Hispanic 100, which is led by local businessman and political strategist Mario Rodriguez. A number of local dignitaries and Hispanic leaders were in attendance, all looking to get a glimpse of this bold,beautiful, and accomplished lady and to hear her speak about the hopes and dreams of the Mexican people. When Josefina spoke, you could hear and feel her passion and love for Mexico. She spoke glowingly of her admiration for and special friendship with Rosario Marin, who is a member of the Hispanic 100 and also former Treasurer of the United States under President George Bush from August 2001 to June 2003. For those who don’t know Josefina, she is a Mexican economist, businesswoman, and politician who has served in the National Action Party (PAN). She has served in various capacities under the current President Felipe Calderon, including Secretary of Education. In September of 2011, Josefina left her position as Coordinator of the Parliamentary Group to pursue the Presidency of Mexico in 2012.
We have our own election for President this year, which will hopefully retire Barack Obama and usher in a new Republican president who will restore our republic to fiscal sanity, create pro-business policies, get our energy economy growing again, and end the racial divisiveness that is the hallmark of the Obama presidency. Yet the upcoming election in Mexico is also of utmost importance to Americans in terms of building a stronger, more productive relationship between the United States and Mexico. My hope is that if Josefina wins, we will work more closely as countries to combat the drug cartels, boost the Mexican economy, and work towards policies that finally solve the illegal immigration problem, such as the immigration policy proposal advanced by the Lincoln Club of Orange County. As a member of both the Hispanic 100 and Lincoln Club, having worked on the policy with committee chairwoman Teresa Hernandez and other members committed to pursuing a real solution, I believe we have begun a new conversation on the illegal immigration problem that does not include citizenship for illegal immigrants.
As a matter of history, I lived in Mexico for a couple of years back in the early 1990s before moving to the OC, and I have a deep love for the Mexican people. That is why it tears my heart out that some Americans have such animus towards those who come here only to make a better life for themselves and their families. We had a wonderfully functioning guest worker program (The Bracero Program) from 1942 to 1964 that gave skilled field workers the opportunity to work in America. We did not have a serious illegal immigration problem until the program was killed because big agribusiness wanted illegal workers and convinced the federal government to look the other way while they exploited illegal labor from Mexico and other countries south of our border. This is a huge injustice, and I will not rest until illegal immigrants are no longer living in the shadows of America, exploited for their labor. This is the humanitarian issue of our generation. Yet you have spineless politicians that provide public benefits to illegal immigrants in the hopes they will eventually get citizenship and vote for them, not caring that as long as these people continue to live in the shadows, they are vulnerable to crime and exploitation. Additionally, they work for wages that native-born Americans cannot compete with. It is a racket that has been going on for 48 years where everyone loses except for pandering politicians and exploitative business owners. It is time for this to come to an end, and I invite all conservatives to join us in bringing this about.
Posted in 47th Congressional District, 69th Assembly District, Santa Ana | Tagged: Felipe Calderon, Hispanic 100, Immigration Reform, Josefina Vazquez Mota, Lincoln Club, Mario Rodriguez, Rosario Marin | 8 Comments »
Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on March 11, 2012
The CRP has endorsed Elizabeth Emken for U.S. Senate in the race against Dianne Feinstein. More information later…
UPDATED 11:48 PM– The CRP held a meeting for endorsements which included just 24 members to vote on who should be the endorsed in races throughout California. Emken is a solid candidate and has some solid conservative support so far, even though Feinstein will be extremely tough to beat it is always worth a shot.
The main reason why I am pleased to see the party choose to endorse in this race is for fear that Orly Taitz will advance into the November election. The last thing the Republican Party needs is a lunatic effectively branding the party with their image in what will be a high-profile race.
She is endorsed by local Assemblymembers Jim Silva and Don Wagner.
Posted in California | 1 Comment »
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