The former best man in Tony and Audra Strickland's wedding and Tony Strickland's former campaign manager Joe Giardello probably summed it up best when he told the
Ventura County Star: "I don't think he's in this for anything other than Tony Strickland."
Manipulators of both campaign donations and the truth to suit their own purposes, the Stricklands do whatever it takes to win, ethical considerations be damned. Tony is currently running for State Senate District 19; Audra for re-election in Assembly District 37.
Blatant campaign distortions Tony Strickland's entire State Senate campaign is based on his claims of being a "renewable energy businessman" and "independent thinker." Yet records show that the wave energy company he is associated with was started by his political friends and has no paid employees or even a permit to do business. Strickland's "whoppers" have
drawn jeers from environmental groups everywhere based on his 1.67% voting record on environmental issues. Even more laughable is his self-proclaimed "independent thinker" label after being president of the far-right California Club for Growth, a group known for destroying the political careers of moderate Republicans.
County School Board shenanigansThe Stricklands worked behind the scenes to stack the Ventura County Board of Education in Karl Rove-like fashion with politically minded right-wing zealots. Tony's former aide, Chris Valenzano, who was elected to the county board after financial help from his boss, first proposed hiring lobbying firms in 2006 and the board entered into a $396,000 contract with two outside lobbying firms who have both donated money to Strickland. These lobbyists have produced little more than additional bills for local taxpayers and a possible partnership with one of their own clients, a private Christian college in Indiana, which could help build the college a new $8.5 million building but do little for Ventura County students. Valenzano is in a very tight race for re-election against well-known and respected community leader Dr. Mark Lisagor. It is expected that Dr. Lisagor will win this race in large part because of obvious mismanagement of taxpayer dollars like this.
Corporate influence shows trail of pay-to-play politicsBeginning in his 1998 Assembly race and from every year thereafter, Tony Strickland took money from tobacco, alcohol, gambling, insurance and oil interests like Enron, and once in office repaid his benefactors by sponsoring bills for them and voting in their favor. This led to legislation such as his bill which was vetoed by the governor for "unacceptable expansion of gambling in California." His wife is equally drenched in these dubious campaign contributions.
Allegations of campaign finance misdeeds According to the
Los Angeles Times, "Over a little more than five years, Tony Strickland and his wife, Audra, who replaced him as a member of the state Assembly, paid more than $138,000 raised by their supporters to businesses owned by them and a staffer living in their Moorpark home. An additional $20,000 in campaign money was deposited into a nonprofit organization run by Tony Strickland."
Even Republicans were outraged. "How could people be so arrogant to blatantly transfer money like this?" Jere Robings, a Republican activist from Thousand Oaks told the Times. "It is obvious they are trying to circumvent the law," he said.
The Stricklands' money laundering practices would be investigated many more times, usually by fellow Republicans.
Out-of-control employeesIn June, Audra Strickland's chief of staff (and Tony's former top aide) Joel Angeles got into a
well-publicized fracas with anti-tobacco protesters outside the Hyatt Westlake in an apparent attempt to keep them from being seen by people entering the fund-raiser Tony Strickland was doing with Mitt Romney. He allegedly knocked a former minister to the ground in a scuffle in front of many witnesses, including the press. The man later underwent surgery for a torn rotator cuff. The
Star reported the case is now with the State Attorney General after Republican Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten needed to recuse himself because of his extensive campaign activities for the Stricklands. Sheriff's investigators typically do not send files to the District Attorney's office unless they believe charges should be filed. The photo above shows him yelling at protestors and Obama supporters.
And the list goes on. This kind of corruption and cronyism must end. The Stricklands must go.