Brian - I love your challenge to open up some door for those under 21. I have personally taken a number of just turned 18 to get registered to vote. Both of my children are now registered and plan on voting in the upcoming election. I think we all need to encourage the voting engagement of the younger generation.

Brian, this is a duplicate post. It should probably be on this thread.

I wonder if GS maybe right (I personally still support GW) but most voting Republicans have abandoned him.

If I recall, Huffington spent alot of money on his campaign as did the guy in the Bay Area (Urz?). Both lost.

In closely contested races, it isn't necessarily about the money but about the campaign. It should be about the voters and the needs of the district.

I have to say Obama has McCain on the run (which doesn't make this Republican very happy). HB seems to be outcampaigning TS. I think TS has the corner of the self proclamation market. Joel Angeles's implosion and TS's ballot designation as a "alternate energy executive" are minuses. He does seems to have a lock on business concerns though. But the one chamber that awarded his company is headed by a major contributor to his campaign. It will be interesting to see if the other chambers get involved.

The DNC is holding back on the money for HB - which doesn't make sense - I expect that to change. At this point they should support anyone that breathes - too much is riding on this election. But maybe they aren't getting the concessions they want out of her and she doesn't need their help.

The California Association of Political Centrists, along with the Ventura County Star and CLU, will be sponsoring a number of forums. Once again the Ventura County Star will be coming up with the questions and CLU will be moderate the forums.

Obviously, the voting public wants to know how their concerns will be addressed. The candidates both need to speak to the public - their campaigns shouldn't decide the vote - the public should.

I know both candidates agree with me and look foward to participating in the forums. More information including dates will be forthcoming.

Katie,

Looking back to 2000 would you have preferred another Republican for the nomination?

Katie,

Any relation?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olin_E._Teague

Katie,

Looking back to 2000 would you have preferred another Republican for the nomination?

I think we have a situation of two extreme sides - one far right, one far left. It remains to be seen who appeals best to the broad middle and who can get the most done.

The year 2000 seems so long ago. I don't even know who was running!

Katie,

besides George W. Bush the other candidates included Elizabeth Dole, Lamar Alexander, John McCain, Alan Keyes, John Kasich, Pat Buchanan, and Steve Forbes.

Your first pick was George W. Bush over all of the rest? Does that mean you think of John McCain as a second choice to George W. Bush?

Brian, I thought you were talking about the Senate race and I was deep into my schooling at UCSB at that time.

I was not a McCain fan. I've heard good thing about E. Dole. I like Forbes and Keyes. No on the rest

How can you possibly say that HBJ is out-campaigning Tony Strickland?
She has less money, less visibility, less media coverage, less Party support ... less campaigning!

Katie is a defector to the Democratic Party and a Strickland-hater, so it's no surprise she's trying to propagate propoganda in this race.

It is clear to anyone with more than 10 brain cells that Strickland has the clear advantage in this campaign so far. The Democratic Party isn't even sure if they want to invest the $$ in Jackson's campaign because she's done such a poor job of campaigning so far.

Well, I am not ashamed to use my real name for my perspective. I invite you to do the same.

Katie,

I find it funny that you like Alan Keyes and support George W. Bush even when his approval ratings are in the twenties but somehow if you don't support Tony Strickland.

I wonder if you didn't support Bush anymore but did support Strickland if you would be seen by them as a loyal Republican.

I always support the candidate with more integrity. Integrity trumps party. Now, I have opened a can of worms when it comes to GWB and integrity so everyone spare me the dog pile.

I think most view me as a loyal Republican - it is just a vocal half dozen who don't.

Katie,

Please define what it means to you to be a "loyal Republican."

Prediction: HB Jackson 53% Tony Strickland 47% Jackson wins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not Osborn,

And what do you base this wild prediction on? Jackson is virtually unknown in most of the district and she is not making much of an effort to change this.

Tony is well known and widely respected by residents of this district. He has devoted many years to public service as has his wife, Audra. He has been campaiging vigorously for the past few months, which is quite evident in his successful fund-raising efforts.

I have it from a very good authority that his campaign will be receiving some significant contributions in the coming weeks, which will further enable him to get his message out in a broader and more extensive manner throughout the district.

He has and will continue to raise funds because he refuses to become complacent and risk losing this very important race that is vital for the future of all Californians. From what I've seen so far, he has nothing to worry about.

Tony is not WELL KNOWN but merely recognized as a name that keeps appearing on our ballots. This November voters are paying close attention to their ballots and his name will be recognized as dead weight.

Neither is he WIDELY RESPECTED but simply tolerated because the residents of this district have heard few negative words thrown his way. This is quickly changing as voters actually learn wthat he's worked against their interests at every opportunity.

He has not devoted his time to PUBLIC SERVICE but instead he's made a career of promoting the worst values of the worst Republicans. He's done more to help give the GOP a bad name in Ventura County than anyone.

SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS, especially from ill- respected sources, are easily turned into a serious liability. No one can defend Tony's greedy suckling at the teats of the Three Sluts: Tobacco, Gambling & Alcohol.

Give the money back, Tony!!

OK, GS, I'm sure we'll be talking on November 5th. I look forward to it...

Hannah-Beth has been campaigning really hard and her calendar is very full. She has three offices up and running. She's gotten great earned media and all positive. Tons of endorsements, too.

Most of the time when Strickland's name has been mentioned in the press, it has been negative. First the questionable ballot designation, then the tobacco money and then his wife's chief of staff is suspended.

GS said it best. Gibson has it all wrong. Such those teats of the Three Sluts, tony the once tiger. You are going down! Stay tuned, Gibson/Mongo. The once tiger is heading south. As for Audra, . . . now that is a ha ha ha and not much more.

No, CAP-826, I'm afraid Mongo is right. Marie claims Hannah-Beth has been campaigning really hard and her calendar is full. A full calendar does not a good campaign make.

She is not reaching voters at all in the central portion and the eastern end of Ventura County, which will be crucial to her winning this district. Most of her support (what little there is) seems to be coming from south Santa Barbara County.

HBJ is doing a coffee at a friends house on the 16th. While she is meet and greeting around the west side Tony is riding in the fair parade with Audra proclaiming to be "The Strickland Team". Tony needs to get long pants and his testicles back from his wife.

Notice Katie "I hate the ventura republican central comittee" Teague always goes back to the old show your real name arguement.. Its hilarious...

Why dont you just come out and endorse Hannah Beth already, and while you're at it pick up a registration form to you can check "democrat" next to yourname..

as for you Ligor, HBJ has almost no staff, no events to speak of, and in a month will have more money from the party and unions to speak of... She can hang out with her hollywood friends like Ted Dancin (yawn, laugh, joke) all she wants... the SEIU isnt going to win this campaign for her.

GOPBLONDIE,

Can a person being a loyal Republican who supports conservative values but at the same time not support the local party?

I am proud of my support for Barack Obama but I am not pleased with the job state level Democrats have been doing.

Does that make my disloyal?

Of all the unions why did you mention only the SEIU? What about teachers, Firefighters, or Police?

gopblondie-
I guess it's much better to have solid donations from established corporations no matter the product. It's comforting to know they can't buy influance with the honerable Tiger on the job. Or did they?

They did...

gopBlondie sounds like Gibson with still another name. Katie Teague is a lifelong Republican who is turned off by the Stricklands for good reasons. Like many other Republicans, she apparently sees Strickland for the money grabbing con man that he is. This doesn't make Katie any less of a Republican, just a smart Republican. At this point in time though, Katie is operating as a gay person afraid to come out of the closet. Katie should endorse Hannah-Beth Jackson and do so proudly in the tradition of a moderate Republican without a horse in the race.

Mango I base it on the fact that Tony Strickland is a scumbag and democrats and republicans and DTS all know it and they are sick of Bush/Strickland/Osborn. I want to hear you cry the day after the election Mango and I will be here to say I told you so.

I am a lifelong Republican but I think I would be considered conservative (pro-life, pro-guns, less government, no redistribution of wealth).

CAPC will be doing a series of forums this summer/fall on the Senate race and the Assembly race.

I'll remain neutral until then. In the meantime, I'll be posting observations as I see them and I'll stick with my original post. HBJ is running a better campaign.

Katie,

You can't be serious about HBJ running a better campaign. She has not made the inroads necessary in Ventura County to make her a viable candidate in SD-19. Sure, she'll get the Santa Barbara-Summerland-Montecito-Carpinteria vote. That's a given, based on her connection to those areas.

But, clearly, she needs to win in Ventura County as well to pull this thing off. And she hasn't even been campaigning there. She's sticking to her home territory and hoping for the best.

Strickland has outpaced her (by far) in fund-raising and total campaign appearances. His campaign events are turning out much better numbers than hers and people are writing checks too.

She'd better re-evaluate things (and quickly) before this thing gets completely away from her.

I saw where CAPC (isn't this the organization that tries to turn Republicans into Democrats?) is hosting some forums feauring these 2 candidates. That should be interesting...

Mango - to refresh your memory CAPC serves Republicans, Democrats and DTS voters that are interested in electing people that will work across the aisle to make things happen. Right now we have partisan gridlock in Sacramento and Washington DC and even locally.

CAPC has endorsed Prop 11 - the redistricting initiative - and if it passes - districts will become more competitive and incumbent protection won't be as prevalent.

It's clear that Strickland has far outraised HBJ. That's doesn't automatically guarantee victory, but it's an extremely useful metric because:

1. It reflects a certain level of support.
2. That money can be used to get the candidates message out more often, to more voters.

Katie, perhaps you've already enumerated, but why do you think HBJ is running a better campaign? Mongo (or his minions), has Strickland made inroads into East County?

Replace "East" with "West." Changing coasts has messed up my sense of direction . . .

I've enumuarated but will do so again.

TS has received some very negative publicity with the implosion of his campaign worker and Audra Chief of Staff, Joel Angeles. There was also negative press on his ballot designation because he is listed as an alternative energy executive yet he has a history of voting against alternative energy. Also, lots of negative feedback with the tobacco money donation. His endorsements so far are weak and he only has one office. His Dems for Strickland group doesn't appear to go anywhere.
Most of his donations are out of the area.

HBJ has only received positive publicity. Her ballot designation is educator which judging by the 24th Congressional results is a good one. she has strong bi-partisan endorsements and at least two offices in the county. Her Reps for Jackson names names. Most of her donations are in the area.

I'm not on the mailing list for either so rely on the paper for notifications of appearances and/or invites. HBJ has a much higher profile.

Owen, are you on the East Coast permanently or are you coming back?

Owen,

Yes, I think Strickland has made good inroads in West Ventura County. Most people out here seem to know him well and I've heard far more acknowledgements when I mention his name than when I mention Jackson's.

In fact, at a business round table I attended recently, most of those I spoke with (and these are pretty high profile folks involved in chambers, business organizations, and real estate) were surprised that Jackson had chosen to run in SD-19 because of the fact that it's far more Republican-friendly.

It is amusing how people on this blog make broad proclamations about campaign activities, calendars and staff without having any access at all to that information. (If you are basing your opinion on the few public events listed on her website, you should know that those are just the few the campaign has released to the media in the form of press releases.) Strickland had nothing at all listed under events last time I looked.

She has three offices up and running now. Campaign events are going well. I am not worried about the money issue in the slightest.

Katie,

"I am a lifelong Republican but I think I would be considered conservative (pro-life, pro-guns, less government, no redistribution of wealth)."

Which of your professed beliefs does HBJ support?

JM - I have learned over the years that talk is cheap and what counts is action. The better question is which candidate has authored/passed legislation that best embraces my beliefs. I am looking for an effective candidate that will not give me lip service. I don't know that much about HBJ and will be watching this race with great interest.

Katie,

You're not the only one who knows nothing about Hannah-Beth Jackson. I live in Camarillo and I had never even heard of her until this campaign began. Do you know if she plans on doing any campaigning in Ventura County? I would be interested in hearing what she has to say about the proposed prison hospital in Camarillo.

I believe she wrote an op-ed piece for the Ventura County Star on the hospital matter or maybe it is on her website - I can't remember.

I did read it and she didn't talk about the role the previous/current legistlators had in making it possible. I'm mad that it got to this point (it was ignored by the state so it went to federal). Ferial M wrote an op-ed piece. Of course, Audra is politizing it even though she is blame for it ever getting to this point. And rah-rah our BOS wrote a letter - not.

Indeed Audra Strickland was asleep at the wheel, too busy picking up her paycheck, and not on top of the prison problem. Only when the newspaper broke the story, did Strickland try to take over the press and run with the defense of Camarillo. All politics and no substance. Typical Strickland play book.

Katie & Maggie,

You guys both ooze sour grapes. Audra was on top of this thing from the beginning. She hasn't politicized it. She's just being responsive to the concerns of her constituents, which is what she was elected to do. Thank God for her diligence and follow through on this issue. Hopefully, her efforts will pay off by Kelso backing off on this thing. It's a horrible idea.

Jackson, on the other hand, has taken a lame, johnny-come-lately position on it. She was partly responsible for the Legislature's failure to address prison healthcare because she did absolutely nothing about it during her 6 years in the Assembly. Now she's going to say this is just terrible? Sorry, it doesn't wash.

Same with Rocketdyne. Tony wouldn't offer the time of day...until he learned that the Assembly bill was a done deal. THEN he raced to the news papers announce how much he was shocked, shocked he said, to hear that there was gambling going on with our lives and that he fully supported the SSFL cleanup.

Tobacco, Gambling, Alcohol & Pollution! The FourSluts stand hand in hand, behind the GOP candidate for SD19!

Strickland the scumbag has raised more money because the tobacco companies, indian tribes, oil companies, Christian Coalition, NRA, etc know that Tony is their boy and he will do whatever they tell him to do to make sure they get what they want. They don't want HBJ because HBJ will fight for the people who live in her District and she will not be controlled by Special Interests the way Tony the scumbag is. He has never done anything for the suckers who voted for him.

Not Owen,

Your comments are childish and insulting. Calling Strickland a "scumbag" does not make your case that Jackson is a better candidate than he.

You, Katie, and GS all seem to be filled with unlimited vitriol towards the Stricklands. I'm not sure what they ever did to harm you three directly, but whatever it is, you all need to get over it and move on with your lives.

Dear Childish Not Owen,

I'm hoping you haven't included me in the foul mouthed contingent. I don't use such tactics.

And what you call unlimited vitriol is my way of opposing an elected official who can't seem to figure out what the term "public service" really means.

I am convinced that certain monies floated around the county school board, with Strickland's help, were instrumental in securing seats for at least two unworthy trustees and a taxpayer funded windfall for the source of that money. That harmed me and it harmed a lot of Ventura families and kids and it cost the taxpayers plenty. I hope you don't expect us to lie down and get shafted simply because Strickland didn't intend to harm us "directly"?

Years went by when Strickland could have helped get a cleanup started at Rocketdyne. He didn't. Now that local clusters of cancer cases are cropping up among the children & families surrounding the SSFL, he's ready to take credit for watching others fight his battle? No way! He has to live with his record. My own family and many of my friends & neighbors have to live with the possibility that they'll soon be part of those clusters. Is that considered "direct" harm or "indirect" harm?

Now Strickland's courting favors from the same boogie men we've tried so hard to keep away from our children. Child abusers hide behind many forms and one of them is a colorful box of cigarettes. As an elected official, charged with protecting our children from abuse, Strickland's fought every attempt to strengthen the tools that would help us keep cigarettes away from our kids.
That's as direct as it gets and its why BigTobacco's paying for Strickland's campaign.

Sorry, but that's not vitriol and I haven't even attacked the man directly. Instead I've done it indirectly, by leting his own record speak for itself.

Get Strickland to give back the money!