I think you'd have to live here to appreciate the irony of it.

For Mayor Morehouse, they added union member. Police and Fire didn't endorse him. So much for that theory.

They left off that Bill Fulton was a business owner and a nationally recognized expert on urban planning.

Jerry Martin is hardly an anti-Wal-mart activist. He also serves on the Mobile Home Rent Review Board, same as their endorsed candidate Cunningham. That was listed for him, however.

Why would they insert "Christian" in Deputy Mayor Weir's career as a division manager of a publishing company? But they left out that she is founder of the Downtown Ventura Organization? But added that Halter is a FORMER member of the now defunct Downtown Council?

These are things to think about.

They also got my occupation wrong. I am actually the Business Manager for the Santa Barbara County Parks Department. But why confuse the voters with the facts, right?

I think it is odd that the Chamber which is normally considered conservative inserted Christian into her title. I wonder if it was an attempt at a wedge issue?

A union member? So now being a member of a union which many people are basically forced to do is a reason to vote against someone? Another odd line of attack.

It came disguised as their usual Zoomerang poll. Why can't they just be open and honest with their advocacy for their two preferred candidates? Nothing wrong with that.

Was it necessary to provide wrong and misleading information about the other candidates?

They also have on their signs around town, "Keep Victoria Wide" when they know full well the council voted to scrap the street reconfiguration part of the Victoria plan.

I particularly like this one:

3. Do you understand that by voting for less than three candidates in a low turnout election you can actually amplify the power of the Chamber PAC's endorsement?

Now THERE's a straight-up, we-really-want-to-know survey question!

In other words, since we couldn't bring ourselves to endorse any of the incumbents, who are all probably going to win, we want you to bullet-vote for the people we did endorse, all as part of our desperate attempt to MAYBE get ONE person elected.

AND because we don't trust our own Chamber members to actually be responsive to a straight-up campaign mailer, we're disguising this as a survey in the hopes that they will accidentally open it and read it.

This is not a survey. This is a piece of campaign propaganda. Rank-and-file Chamber members should be disappointed at the very least.

Fight fire WITH fire and have fun at the same time! Do your own survey with questions such as... "If you learned that the C-of-C and its political action committee was conspiring to harm voter interests by making secret deals to support stealth candidates would you support taking away their tax free status? Or..."If you learned that the C-of-C and its PAC was plotting to affect the outcome of the coming election would you continue to support their candidates?".

Push polls can go both ways.

Gibson is the master of 'fact' spin. He should write a long letter of discontent to the Chamber.

GS, I agree with your assessment of Gibson. Not only is he a spin master, but he's sly as a fox. I notice he's playing the Chamber both ways (i.e., using them to his advantage whenever he can). He's criticized them when it works to his benefit and advocated for them when this works better for him.

I'd say we have our own little version of Richard Nixon developing right here in Ventura.

Print - Close Window
Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2007 10:33:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: "c will"
Subject: Fraud Depriving the Public of the Right of Honest Services
To: rcole@ci.ventura.ca.us
City Manager, Rick Cole:

I am asking you to respond to the following:

Your words are in quotations because they are your exact words.

Do you admit or deny that these words are your exact words?

Please respond in any way you see fit, but respond you
must.

Regards,

Carroll Dean Williams

"TRUTH IN THE PUBLIC ARENA" SAID COUNCILMEMBER BRIAN BRENNAN ON OCTOBER 22, 2007

Ventura City Manager Rick Cole's addressed Carroll Dean Williams as follows: Rick Cole said:

"Well, I don't think we have sat down face to face like this before, Carroll Dean."

"And, Carroll Dean, I inherited your reputation."

"And, I tried to come in Carroll Dean with an open mind."

"Carroll Dean, I inherited your reputation that you are never happy." "And, I guess I bought into that."

"I want to start fresh with you Carroll Dean."

"I don't like writing you off Carroll Dean."

"I don't like overlooking your genuine concerns Carroll Dean."

"Carroll Dean, I don't want to show any personal discourtesy or disrepect to you." "So that is where I'm at Carroll Dean."

"I would like to start fresh with you Carroll Dean."

"Carroll Dean you've shown some courtesy...some of your concerns are somewhat valid concerns."

There goes that Carroll Dean Wacko again, posting all this superfluous garbage and taking thread space away from the rest of us who could care less about his personal crusades to vindicate himself with the Ventura City Manager.

By the way, Carroll, why weren't you endorsed by the Ventura County Republican Central Committee? I thought you were one of the 3 registered Republicans running for City Council? Did you ever think of asking Mike Osborn this question?

Mongo Osborn is just trying to deflect the responsibility away from having not asked Carroll Dean to attend the Republican endorsement meeting.

Mongo Osborn deliberately omitted one Republican, and tried to ignore a second when it came time to support the party candidates.

Mongo Osborn and his inept buddies in Hawaii shirts just have "feel good" mixers so they can learn new songs to sing on their sinking ship.

While you can't blame it all on the county Republicans, because the Iraq War and pork-spending issues etc are hurting Republicans nationwide, it is disconcerting to see that there are 8000 fewer Republicans in the Ventura County than there were last year.

Well, let's go to the numbers. In the last year the Reps lost 8m, the Dems lost 4m and the county as a whole lost 12m.

Under Cornejo's leadership the Reps lost 9m.

So it appears that the decline is a simple continuation of a process that started during Cornejo's watch. It should be noted that the Reps have started to gain numbers in the last two months.

Is it somebody's fault? Don't know. Is it people leaving the state due to the Dems hard left legislating? Don't know. Bad business climate? Maybe, we know Kinkos left the state and other businesses are leaving for Arizona and Nevada.

You be the judge.

Quit trying to blame Leslie for the current right wing problems of the VCRCC. You sound like you must be Osborne trying to cover your butt. Why don't you post again under Mongo.

How's Gallegly's district looking? I think he has a voter registration program in place. The 19th Senate is about the same.

The County is down to a 1% advantage Republican over Dem. It was a 2% advantage a year ago.

Elton's district (where I believe there is a paid voter registration effort) has lost ground as well.

Yeah - blame Leslie - that's the ticket.

http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_u.htm

I blamed no one, I just stated the facts, you're the one who made the connection.

Sounds like you're Cornejo or Teague and getting a little defensive.

But since you bring it up let's look at the facts. Cornejo led the VCRCC for about 5 years. Toward the end of her time registrations began to slide to the tune of 9,000, that trend continued for the next year and is just now turning around. This last year was also witness to an unending attack by Teague & Cornejo in the blogs, in the papers, and in complaints to the County Clerk and the DA, that continues to this day.

You want us to believe that the first slide was no fault of leadership but the following year is. That's flawed logic.

So Leslie, Katie, whoever you are, good luck with whatever you think you're accomplishing. I'm fairly sure the VCRCC will thrive without either of you.

Voter, it is you who sounds like Mike Osborn and are desperate. The county is on the verge of turning blue and it is the fault of the Republican party not being more inclusive.

The VCRCC is not an organization I choose to be affiliated with these days. It may thrive under the current "leadership" but at least my hands are clean.

Be a man and use your real name Voter. And suck it up and take some responsibility will ya? Jeez....

Indeed the party will thrive without Cornejo's & Teague's lukewarm leadership and involvement. The two of them may as well re-register as Democrats for all the good they've done the GOP in Ventura County.

Mango, be a man - don't be like Voter - or maybe you are Voter.

It is so brave to make your judgements under a fake screen name. Everyone knows who you are so you might as well post under your real name.

I'm the quintessential Republican - you and Voter are dinosaurs from the 80's. We are in the 21st Century now - you are snoozing and losing. And definitely not proving any leadership.

As was pointed out earlier, the County and the State is losing ground to the Dems and the DTS. Times are a changing - get with it.

Katie, please do me the simple favor of getting my name right - it's "Mongo", not "Mango"!

I think the bottom line here is that the Chamber of Commerce has lost all credibility with the community. They endorse 2 candidates instead of 3, which makes no sense at all, and then they do a push poll to try and get some support for a poor decision they made. The Chamber will continue to diminish it terms of its relevance in the City Council race until no one even tries to solicit them for support.

I know one of the frequent bloggers here sits on the Chamber's PAC. But she has been oddly silent about this push poll.

It doesn't appear to have come from a professional campaign consultant. Too many typos & factual errors, plus it is too long. I'd love to know what everyone was thinking here. Why not do just straight-up advocacy? Why disguise it?

Doesn't something like this have the potential to backfire?

Well, I'm one of the females on the Chamber PAC and I am a frequent blogger so I'll chime in. My silence should be self-expanatory - I don't know anything about the poll and I am also not an officer f the PAC. I think it was a Chamber poll not a PAC poll. But he'll point you in the right direction. E-mail me if you want his e-mail address. KatieTeague@verizon.net Bob's the guy to contact regarding all questions regarding the PAC.

I left out a sentence! Bob Alviani, President, Ventura Chamber of Commerce PAC is the "he" I am referring to in the above paragraph.

Voter,

How are things "turning around" for Reps in the county? You can't be looking at the registration numbers, because, as was pointed out by several people earlier, you've done nothing but continue to lose ground. This will be a blue county in no time. And despite all the money you threw at non partisan races last year, you lost 4 seats countywide - 3 to Dems and 1 to the Greens. Also, you barely scrapped by in the Dantona/Foy race.

You outspent Democrats by a huge margin, and you STILL LOST seats in the county. Democrats will never outspend you, but we will continue to outperform you. The sad part is that you will never understand why, and will go the way of the dodo. Poor misguided little extremist.

The most ironic part will be the fact that Moderate Republicans and DTS voters will play a huge part in your demise. The very people that used to make your party a force to be reckoned with are the ones you have driven out in large numbers, in a quest for ideological purity. The truth is that the "middle" is a much larger group than the extreme right or left.

Well, interesting, Katie. It must've been generated by a small group of people because most everyone already contacted about it says they know nothing about it. It came from the PAC. If you look up at the top here it says "Ventura Chamber of Commerce - Political Action Committee."

Venturan - Ask Bob Alviani - alviani@sbcglobal.net - he's the man with the answers. If I had any, I'd be offering them up.

Laura, what is your take on the article today on the front page - above the fold. I noticed you were quoted, as was Leslie Cornejo and others. Was it accurate?

I got a good chuckle from the article in the Star today. Leslie Cornejo has been on the outs with the VCRCC for some time now, ever since she supported Tannenbaum (who cost the Republican Party $500K in his attempt to unseat Gallegly in the last election). She is suffering from major "sour grapes" now and thus her comments should be taken with a grain of salt.

As for the future of the Republican Party in the County, I don't see it changing very much. Wishful thinking on the part of Laura Winchester is certainly not going to make it happen. Most dedicated members of the GOP are conservative in nature. Cornejo & Teague are more the exceptions than the rule.

Well, is seems there is a lot of division among the Chamber members themselves. I know Katie served on the PAC team that evaluated City Council candidates because one of the candidates told me she was there when he was interviewed and asked him questions, in fact. Not sure who's running the game on the survey, but, if it's Bob Alviani, as Katie suggests, he must be some sort of a loose cannon.

Wow, it sounds like there is absolutely no cohesion among the Chamber leadership. Where is Zoe Taylor on all of this? Wouldn't she have to approve any mailer that went out representing the Chamber?

Tim, I am quite conservative. I always want to be upfront about that. But I value integrity over all and I resigned as an alternative from the VCRCC last year.

Leslie has no "sour grapes" - that is a sound bite being perpetuated by those that hope to minimize the damage done to the party locally.

Not sure where you came up with the $500K figure on the Tennenbaum run. That's a lot of money to be spent by the Republican party to protect an incumbent!

I can vouch for Leslie's comments. I can also tell you that there were some lies told by other parties. It's all out there as a matter of public record.

Still waiting get Laura's opinion on matters.

Chamber Divided - I would direct your questions to Bob A. This blog isn't the best place to reach them.

The survey came via an email blast.

Nobody over there is talking. Unless we haul out the waterboarding techniques, I don't think anybody will.

Oh well, no matter. It will all be over soon.

Katie, I got the $500K figure from Elton Gallegly, whom I happened to be speaking with at the October 14th VCRCC picnic in Thousand Oaks, along with ex-Congressman Bob Lagomarsino and his wife. The subject came up when Mike Tannenbaum showed up at the picnic and caught Elton's eye as he walked by.

That makes more sense that Elton spent $500K, not the Republican Party. Wonder if he will be challenged in the next election.

Actually, I think he was referring to the Republican Party (if I heard him correctly). Does that sum seem extraordinarily high? I'm not an expert on how much the Party typically spends on congressional campaigns, but maybe at a national level that might make sense.

It took Elton Gallegly $500,000 to be a no name, new to the political arena, underfunded challenger? I hope the DCCC is reading this because imagine if Gallegly had to battle someone with resources.

I didn't realize he was weak. Unless it really was consultants who took the money.

Was the money from the VCRCC? Did they really interfere in a primary? Doesn't seem to be very democratic.

Well, I think the issue with Tannenbaum is he deliberately set out to derail Elton's reelection bid and that sort of raised the hackles of the party faithful. I mean, seriously, why would you force an incumbent with as much support in his district as Gallegly to have to spend money to fend off an insurgent effort in the primary. If you were a true Republican, you would be working with your party to defeat the Democratic challenger and spend the resources where it counts.

Tim, search the Star archives to refresh you memory on what happened during Elton's last run. He jettisoned his own re-election bid by retiring and then got back in when he had no choice about the matter. The world of politics doesn't revolve around an incumbents whims and foibiles. Otherwise, why have elections?

He had to spend his own money to fight to save his seat. He and other congressional incumbents do lots of fund raising for this purpose. His FEC report shows he spent a lot of money. It would be shocking if the RNC spent any.

Probably the biggest issue with Tennenbaum is that he is a young guy that isn't content with sitting on his thumbs until Elton decides he wants out. That probably didn't set well with all of heir apparents as well as Elton. I think Elton caused a lot of embarrassment and instead of accepting responbility, he tried to blame others. He handled pretty much everything poorly, including the run against Tennenbaum. I used to always vote for Elton but this last election gave me pause. Furthermore, I'll be cautious on any successor he might appoint.

There is no law against running against an incumbent. It's just that the political parties know it is easier to re-elect an incumbent than a newcomer.

We should always expect our legislators to prove their worth and show us why they are better than any other to represent us. That is why our government is set up with 2 and 4 year terms. Our founding fathers knew of the danger of a complacent legislator who believes he owns the seat.

At a time when it appears that corruption of influence on government is at a high level (or at least we are better aware, thanks to improved communications), we need to hold our electeds to a higher standard. If we gave incumbents a pass, then the Tom Delays, Duke Cunninghams, Larry Craigs and Mike Caronas will continue to disappoint because of the culture of entitlement.

There should be no guarantee of re-election. The job should be earned. An incumbent that performs well and is responsive to the people will be re-elected.

Actually Les terms are 2, 4 and 6 years, depending on whether they are state 2 & 4, or federal 2 & 6.

It's also interesting, but not unexpected, that you only mention corrupt Republicans.

Ron, er Mike:
Typical to nit-pick instead of discuss the issue at hand.

I guess since Craig and Carona just happened, Cunningham is in the news almost daily FROM PRISON and Abramoff's pal Tom Delay is the most famous (at least before Craig decided to teach our children about "cruising") that they come to mind first. I'm surprised that you didn't use the worn-out "William Jefferson has cash in the freezer!" rebuttal. Yes, there's enough to be disgusted about in both major parties - EXACTLY making my point that incumbents should be challenged. Thank you.

So Leslie, why don't you mention Fabien Nunez? Is that not current enough?

BK-
How does one have the moral right to criticize the other party when one's own party has so many who have abused the power of their office?
It's not enough to say - "well their party is just as bad, if not worse!" As my immigrant husband says, "Mal de muchos, consolacion de tontos!" Roughly translated, "Bad for many is the consolation of stupid people."
We've got to insist on higher standards from all our office holders.

You know Les it's a little sad watching you living out your life on a blog, knowing that the only real recognition you'll ever get is as a tool of the local paper.

That is as long as they can count on you to attack your own party.

As soon as that loses steam they'll drop you like a bad habit.

For the record, Ron. 1) Leslie has NOT attacked her party but those who a lot of people feel have hijacked it. She's been very clear on that. 2) The Party has been drinking too much kool aid on its own to be bothered with attacks from others.

gs,

Regardless, it's still too bad. She's reduced herself to a sad pathetic figure desperately trying to get noticed.

Ron, er Mike,
Sorry you are reduced to personal attacks instead of substantive discussion of the issues.

Poor Les,

Loved the radio link. Looks like a vanity spot (smaller stations let people pay to put themselves on the air), or a favor from your pal Maria.

Want to impress someone, post a pay check.

Pathetic??? I think not. I don't think the VCAPC right now is the end all but Leslie and Katie and others have started the ball rolling on something that may well turn into the state of the art of local politics. With GOP & Dem votes split so closely the VCAPC could become the caucus that has the final say on who gets elected. All they need is to get their group known and active. A few key endorsements and they're off and running.

Pathetic??? I think not. I don't think the VCAPC right now is the end all but Leslie and Katie and others have started the ball rolling on something that may well turn into the state of the art of local politics. With GOP & Dem votes split so closely the VCAPC could become the caucus that has the final say on who gets elected. All they need is to get their group known and active. A few key endorsements and they're off and running.

Ron, you sound like Voter and like Mongo Flamo - which all sound like Mike Osborn. Misogynistic and mad at the world. Why don't you address the question raised instead of making peevish personal attacks? Should incumbents be challenged?

I tried the link and it looks like Leslie has more than one paycheck, not to mention a "real life" I listened to her on the radio this morning. She does a weekly show.

Ron, you are a very angry man.