Another great interview even considering the inconsiderate interruption from Daniel Goldberg. Why Daniel think he is entitled to disrupt the Dennert Blog's interview?

Thank you Mr. Stoker and Brian

"I have always found Congressman Gallegly to be very accessible" If you are a right wing nutjob Gallegly will talk to you. He has had ZERO town hall meetings in the last 23 years because he can't face an ordinary patriotic American resident of his district.

Mike Stoker has been around for years in Santa Barbara County politics. It is very disappointing that he has further eroded his limited credibility by associating himself with Strickland.

What was inconsiderate about Daniel Goldbergs question? No offense to Brian but softball questions don't really help people decide how to vote. Stoker OF COURSE is in reality AGAINST gay marriage. But he is willing to deny his true feelings if he can pick up more net votes. This guy is a typical slick politician who has been around for years. Don't fall for his attempt to moderate his strongly held extreme right wing beliefs. Like offshore drilling off Santa Barbara? Stoker has been about the strongest advocate in the history of Santa Barbara County politics. Many many years ago he wanted to split the North and South County up because they were "just too liberal:" and opposed offshore drilling.

JW,

Nothing was wrong with the question, but when I request interviews I told him it was between us two. I have in the past asked elected officials to take questions from the public and they have done that too. Look through the "Ask a candidate" or "ask an elected official" section in the archives.

I was going to ask the same question as I have asked almost everyone running for state office that question.

Did you like the other questions? What questions would you like to see?

Thanks for reading and commenting on my blog.

Nobody,

You are correct. I was rude. But thats the game of politics is it not. And it just happened that i tuned in during the actual interview so I said, "why not?"

Got my question answered didn't i?

The problem with JW is they don't want to deal with the facts. Take for instance offshore drilling. It may shock JW but I was the County Supervisor that asked for my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors to give me permission to ask then Congressman Lagomarsino to work with then Congressman Panetta to ADD the Santa Barbara to Monterey and SLO County to the offshore moratorium. which they gave me the Yes vote and we accomplished putting SB Channel in the moratorium.

Also was responsible for taking the lead to get on-shore pipeline, All-American Pipeline built, so that we could eliminate tankers in the channel.

And I was the County Supervisor who took the lead on closing the Casmailia Toxic Waster Dump.

And I authored the Toxic Waste Reporting Ordinance requiring trains to report to local jurisdictions toxics that are being trasported through the local community so that emergency response providers are aware and can take appropriate action.

Bet you didn't know those facts did you JW but then again you proably don't really care.

But those are the facts.

Mike

So why didn't you ask him about his other job Brian? Spokesman for Greka OIl, California's worst oil polluter.

This company has more than 200 documented spills that leaked at least 600,000 gallons of oil, violating county air quality standards more than 300 times with releases of potentially deadly natural gases, and provoking a visit from the county's hazmat teams 400 times in fewer than nine years--not to mention being successfully prosecuted by the federal government for violating the Safe Drinking Water Act.

"I've been in the hazardous materials business for 20 years and this is the worst oil company I've ever seen," said Robert Wise, who works at EPA's Superfund division.

They are a nightmare and Stoker's been the mouthpiece for both them AND Tony Strickland.

Does it get any worse?

I do care about facts and that is why I stated them. You were for offshore drilling BEFORE it was politically convenient to be against it. And you are FOR it today but you can't say so because it will cost you votes from the Santa Barbara area. I know you from WAAAAAAY back Mike Stoker.

So who in your organization issued this press release Stoker?

"I congratulate Das on his endorsement by Hanna Beth Jackson. However it should be noted that Hanna Beth has been dubbed the Queen of Taxes and hence the nickname Taxin Jackson. has picked up the endorsement form the Queen of Taxes herself, Taxin Jackson. And Das has been following in her footsteps ever since his first job for Hanna Beth as one of her field representatives.

This is exactly why I decided to run for office so the voters would have a choice of more of the same by politicians who want to keep taking money out of our pocketbook's which is what Das and Hanna Beth believe we should do vs. getting a reality check and pursuing policies that will require the state to live within its means. (I issued a statement last month expressing specifying what real solutions the state should pursue at this time and will provide to you upon request to mikestoker@aol.com.)

Bottom line, me and the vast majority of people in the 35th Assembly District get it and we all voted no to Prop. 1A-1E last month in the special election. (67% voted NO!) Taxin Jackson and her young protege Das Williams didn't get, and still don't, and voted yes. Should we be surprised that Das has teamed up with Taxin Jackson to make his run for the Assembly seat? Absolutely not. I would have been shocked if Taxin Jackson supported anyone other than Das. The race really comes down to two choices....more of the same that got our state into this mess or real solutions requiring fiscal restraint and spending caps as to restore California to the prosperous state it once was?"

http://www.flashreport.org/blog0a.php?postID=2008063010371024&authID=2005081622025042&printMe=1

Read all about Greka folks"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greka_Energy

"The next day showcased a Energy/Environment Forum with Governor Schwarzenegger and former Director of the CIA, James Woolsey, headlining with the Senator. The Senator made it very clear where the country needs to head to deal with our pending energy crisis. We need to give states the right to develop offshore oil. We need through tax credits and rebates to significantly speed up the process for rolling out the next fleet of automobiles that will be hybrid, flex and/or electric. And we need to significantly expand electrical production through nuclear energy. When local SB activist/environmentalist Mike Feeney questioned the use of nuclear McCain retorted that the technology is there, the French generating 80% of their electrical needs through nuclear have proved the feasibility and viability and that it is time that America provide our nation's electrical needs through one of the cleanest forms of energy production...nuclear. The crowd cheered and Feeney, to the crowd's delight admitted he knew very little about the subject. (The point to me underscored how the opposition often supports policies and initiatives that they haven't done their homework and know very little about! Upon leaving the event, this point was further underscored to me as I asked one of the protesters outside the venue who was holding a "No Offshore Oil" sign what his solution was and he responded, "I don't know but its not oil." So there you have it!!!)"

Written by Mike Stoker for flashreport.org in June 2008.

I guess you folks just don't want to give credit where credit is due in regards to the environmental record I mentioned above. I notice you didn't respond to it. As for Greka, your all proving what I've said from the outset that Das or Susan will run a typical mudslinging campaign and turn a positive into a negative.

I was not the guy who owned or operated Greka when they had their problems. I was the guy the company hired to turn them around to be a good corporate citizen and operate in a way expected by the regulators and citizens in the central coast. And I am proud of the accomplishments of where the company was and where I have taken it. Now if your end goal is to put another CA company out of business and cause 140 hard working Latinos to loose thier job, which I expect is your what you really hope to accomplish, I will fight you every inch of the way.

Talk to the regulators. The comapony and their operations have never looked so good since I got involved.

You are the kind of folks that would say that the contractor that comes in to save a hospital project gone bad due to a bad contractor who turns the project around and gets the project done and built correctly...is just as bad as the bad contractor that caused the initial problems. Its unfortunate but in poiltics I fully expected you, Das and Susan to turn a positive into a negative.

Bring it on. I really look forward to letting the constituents know what the real facts are.

Best regards,
Mike

The piece I quoted from flashreport.org THAT YOU WROTE IN 2008 really gives away your true feelings Mike. No attempt at slick spin will change that.

Stoker, you're complaining about mudslinging after that press release you issued?

No campaign has to bother digging up this stuff. The media has been on this story from Day One. Dozens and dozens of articles nationally and locally. After you got on board they had more spills and sued the county so they wouldn't have to pay fines, giving taxpayers the bill for legal fees.

Paint yourself as green as you want to. We've already heard the phony green routine from your employer Tony Strickland.

Greka's Guy,

Thanks for reading and commenting on my blog.

The reason I didn't ask him about his client is because I have seen him asked about it multiple times. But I am glad that he came on this entry and answered questions. That's more than almost any other politician will do.

Let the mud fly!

Where has he answered these questions?

By the way I am a moderate Republican IN NO WAY associated with Mikes opponents. I live in Ventura County today but am a former constituent of Mikes from the eighties.

Mr. Softball,

Mike Stoker posted on this thread in regards to the oil company:

"I guess you folks just don't want to give credit where credit is due in regards to the environmental record I mentioned above. I notice you didn't respond to it. As for Greka, your all proving what I've said from the outset that Das or Susan will run a typical mudslinging campaign and turn a positive into a negative.

I was not the guy who owned or operated Greka when they had their problems. I was the guy the company hired to turn them around to be a good corporate citizen and operate in a way expected by the regulators and citizens in the central coast. And I am proud of the accomplishments of where the company was and where I have taken it. Now if your end goal is to put another CA company out of business and cause 140 hard working Latinos to loose thier job, which I expect is your what you really hope to accomplish, I will fight you every inch of the way.

Talk to the regulators. The comapony and their operations have never looked so good since I got involved.

You are the kind of folks that would say that the contractor that comes in to save a hospital project gone bad due to a bad contractor who turns the project around and gets the project done and built correctly...is just as bad as the bad contractor that caused the initial problems. Its unfortunate but in poiltics I fully expected you, Das and Susan to turn a positive into a negative.

Bring it on. I really look forward to letting the constituents know what the real facts are."

That's what I meant when I said he answered that question. You or I might not agree but he answered it.

"The reason I didn't ask him about his client is because I have seen him asked about it multiple times"

He didn't answer it until somebody here asked you why you didn't ask. What multiple times? Not on this board. A candidate who works for a company like that needs to be asked about his employer. It's like forgetting to ask Karl Rove about working for Bush.

Mr. Softball,

I have seen the issue many times on other blogs and it didn't seem interesting enough to me to brig up again. Here is a short example:

http://www.legendarysurfers.com/das/blog/labels/Mike%20Stoker.html

I am sure his opponents will put it on their mailers against him.

I was more interested in his support for a constitutional convention and his agreement that term limits needs to be reformed.

Thanks for reading and commenting on my blog.

Sorry didn't see him answering questions about Greka on that link. Got another? Did you make a deal with him that was off limits? Your bloggers obviously think it's very interesting that a candidate running in a green district would work for the biggest oil polluter in the west. And he works for Phony Tony. That kind of says it all. Really no point in asking him anything else.

JW-You call yourself a moderate Republican. Who did you vote for in the last State Senate election? Strickland or Taxin Jackson?

And I guess you still do not want to address the environmental accomplishments, some of which I listed above, which is fact and not spin.

And as for Greka my job was limited to one thing...to respond to what the environmental regulators wanted to see from Greka to make them a good corporate citizen. Ask them if I've made a positive impact. And I know they will all say they wish I would have come on board a long time ago to help turn things around.

That's why I gave the analogy of a construction company coming in to pick up the pieces and right the wrongs of a prior contractor and get the construction project completed in the right way. Only in politics is that turned around as a negative. I've been around a long time and I just think it is unfortunate. I fully expect both of my opponents to exercise that same approach against each other in the primary, which I also think is unfortunate.

While you and those that adhere to that kind of approach in politics, I think the people of the Central Coast expect and deserve better and our frankly tired of it. With that in mind you won't see that kind of twisted spin from my campaign. I will hit hard but hit hard on the facts to distinguish how either of my opponents are more of what got this State in the sad shape it is in.

If you think were headed in the right direction and we should have more of the same, then by all means your choice rightfully should be Das or Susan.

Have a super day.

If your idea is more of the same obstructionist, rightwing, drown government in a bathtub ideology espoused by your boss, we already see how well that's gone. State credit rating just above junk bond status, IOUs, teachers laid off, kids without medical insurance.

Already you have Tony Strickland's hate speech down perfectly. Taxin Jackson again. Is that the best you can do?

"And I guess you still do not want to address the environmental accomplishments, some of which I listed above, which is fact and not spin."

1. Those are fake "accomplishments" that were just done at the time for political expediency. The FACT is that YOU SUPPORT offshore oil drilling. See the quote from WHAT YOU WROTE in June 2008 above.

2. You work for Strickland - A PROVEN environmental phony. A proven incompetent who is in politics just for the money. Tobaccos number one man in Sacramento.

3. You worked for Greka - who still had problems for years after you came on board. If I remember correctly they even once sued SB County while on your watch at a cost to the taxpayer.

4. You worked for the right wing Republicans in Congress as counsel. The same mess who set us on the road to economic ruin. And that ruin is largely responsible for the mess our state is in today because of lower tax collections from people being out of work.

In conclusion Mike you just have a habit of working for all the groups that have caused problems. Why should we believe you would work for patriotic American liberal, moderate, and conservative members of the assembly district?

"And I guess you still do not want to address the environmental accomplishments, some of which I listed above, which is fact and not spin."

1. Those are fake "accomplishments" that were just done at the time for political expediency. The FACT is that YOU SUPPORT offshore oil drilling. See the quote from WHAT YOU WROTE in June 2008 above.

2. You work for Strickland - A PROVEN environmental phony. A proven incompetent who is in politics just for the money. Tobaccos number one man in Sacramento.

3. You worked for Greka - who still had problems for years after you came on board. If I remember correctly they even once sued SB County while on your watch at a cost to the taxpayer.

4. You worked for the right wing Republicans in Congress as counsel. The same mess who set us on the road to economic ruin. And that ruin is largely responsible for the mess our state is in today because of lower tax collections from people being out of work.

In conclusion Mike you just have a habit of working for all the groups that have caused problems. Why should we believe you would work for patriotic American liberal, moderate, and conservative members of the assembly district?

Mr. Stoker. We found out yesterday that Audra Strickland gave her chief of staff a huge raise in pay at taxpayer expense at a time she was also voting to slash spending for health care for children to cut education and to let felons out of prison. Do you feel this was a good use of taxpayer money and would you have given a raise to your staff at taxpayer expense at a time of budget cuts?

Daniel Goldberg,
The Dennert Blog "one on one" interviews should be kept "one on one". If the Dennert blog has someone with the guts and the belief in his or her mission to answer the publics questions it's a really big win for democracy.

JC,
With the cuts that have taken place some staff members have taken on more responsibility and that accounts for much of the pay raises.

Nobody do you speak for Mr. Stoker? The question was directed to him thank you. Lots of workers are doing more and being paid less, why should it be different for taxpayer paid assembly staffers?

Apparently Audras Chief of Staff was granted a salary increase of 1500 a month more while state employees had their pay cut and Schools, the disabled , and childrens health were cut. As a Republican I find the Stricklands to be hypocritical and disgusting.

Dear Mike:
Name five people you would place in your "kitchen cabinet" as your most trusted advisors or confidantes once you take office.

JW,
The Strickland's chief of staff is having to engage in hand to hand combat. What does a person have to do to get a raise?

Oh that's right. Isn't he the one that got arrested for assault or something like that at the Westlake Village thing with Mitt Romney?

I have to say Mike Stoker made some points with me. He didn't back down from the challenge of having an interview with the one we call Brian. He answered questions from the public in a very open and transparent way. I don't agree with everything he believes in. (Such as believing that gay people have equal rights yet they don't deserve all the benefits of being a citizen of the United States); not sure how that's supposed to work, but other than that he made some good points.

Brian-
Next time you speak with Mike Stoker, ask him who he's promising to be in his kitchen cabinet. He's a Reagan wannabe, without the charm.

I think its clear that NOBODY is Brian Dennert. Why hide Dennert?

I swear this blog is so much better than t.v...

What gave it away?

Daniel,

That is funny, but if you read Nobody's comments he has said what town he lives in and his line of work.

Don't believe me? I am willing to put $20 on it.

Keep it classy.

Don't be cheap Brian. Nobody sets his minimum bets at $5000.00

It is clear that JimmyM is Daniel Goldberg. Why are you hiding Daniel?

I actually don't gamble. Brian is the one who looks at IP addresses. You tell us Brian.

And who is to say there isnt more than one Nobody.

Who's trying to hi-jack this thread? It's not about nobody, it's about Mike Stoker and his kitchen cabinet.

I'd like to know who has been promised to be on Mike Stoker's kitchen cabinet. Mike, maybe you can answer that question. Is it qualified people, people with deep pockets, 5 people, 50 people?