In the campaign for sheriff some are arguing that candidate Dennis Carpenter is trying to connect with a previous sheriff Larry Carpenter by using the nickname Carp and by using a similiar logo.

In the comments section of a previous entry a family member of the former sheriff and a family member of candidate Larry Carpenter argued over the issue. Check out this comments here. I was very impressed with how civil they were with each other.

I asked for Larry Carpenter's logo so that I could post it. Looking at the logos above do you think this is a trivial or an important argument?

Ventura County, and more specifically, Thousand Oaks made the infamous list in the 2009 end of the year Jib Jab video. The video has vulgar content.

Leave a comment if you catch where in the video an event that happened in Thousand Oaks is mentioned. I will post a congratulations to the winner on the front page.

What are your top local predictions for 2010 in Ventura County politics? Next year at this time I will post the winners. I am going to make this an annual tradition.

Click on continue reading for some of my predictions.

When you buy products locally the city gets a cut of the sales tax. The Simi Valley City Council and The Chamber of Commerce have hired a firm to run an ad campaign explaining that and other benefits to local people.

I don't know effective the ad campaign has been and I haven't seen a survey showing proof the city has had a return on their money. I have been critical of the ad campaign because of my skepticism over the effectiveness of such a campaign.

Personally I can't think of a single purchase that I have changed because of the campaign. I shop in Simi Valley because I live here. Has the campaign changed your purchases at all?

Click here for past blog entries I have written on the subject.

Instead of just being critical though I have chosen to help inform the public of the benefits of shopping locally. In the past I have promoted individual businesses and now I have created a fanpage on Facebook:

Click on become a fan above to join the grassroots push to inform the public of the benefits of shopping locally. For those of you that don't live in Simi Valley I will post a fanbox for your city too if you create a page.

I am not involved with the official program and I am not getting paid to promote it. But I do believe we benefit when people shop locally.

Local attorney and Ventura County Community College District Trustee Bob Huber is rumored to be considering running for mayor next year. The other two rumored candidates are Steve Sojka and Barbra Williamson.

Mayor Paul Miller isn't expected to run for another term.

Recently Bob Huber earned an award from the local Bar Association for his charitable works. As you can read for yourself in the letters below he has been very active in local charities. He should be proud of his achievement and I am glad he has done so much for our community.

In addition to congratulating him on his award are his supporters preparing for a campaign by boosting his name identification among voters?

Here are the letters to The Ventura County Star:

Huber deserving

A hearty congratulations to longtime Simi Valley resident Bob Huber on being named as Ventura County's Public Service Lawyer by the Ventura County Bar Association.
Huber has worked hard for Simi Valley schools, youth programs, affordable housing for our seniors and our young people, and for a strong business community. He has rightly earned recognition for his efforts on our behalf over many many years. Congratulations, Bob!
-- Jenni Sherman, Simi Valley

Huber deserving

I would like to commend the Ventura County Bar Association for bestowing its top award, the Norman Public Service Award, to Bob Huber of Simi Valley.
As a mother of two young daughters in Simi Valley public schools, I appreciate Bob's dedication to our local schools. He chaired the successful $35 million school bond campaign, which provided much-needed repairs to our schools. He was on the original founding committee that started the Simi Valley Education Foundation, providing hundreds of thousands of dollars to our schools.
Bob has been recognized for his commitment, receiving the Honorary Service Award from the Ventura County PTA Council.
I wish to extend my appreciation and congratulations to Bob on his public service leadership award.
-- Patricia Kleiman, Simi Valley

The next election isn't until June but letters to the editor sections of newspapers are going to see many more people writing to them than usual for a midterm primary. The race with the most intensity ( do you know what else is intense?) so far is the contest to see who will be the next sheriff.

We haven't had a contested open seat race for sheriff in a generation. The candidates both know this could be their only chance at this seat during their careers. By the end I expect to see a very expensive race that tears at the political fabric of Ventura County in surprising ways. Both of the candidates are registered Republicans which means ideology and party support should be minimal.

Primary campaigns are often very personal because the ideological differences between the candidates are usually minimal. I expect a nonpartisan race for sheriff between two Republicans will follow the familiar primary model. I assume neither candidate is that far apart from the other on must issues. I doubt either of them is going to support medical marijuana or letting prisoners out because of the state budget. Both of them have great resumes with years of public service both in law enforcement and in local charities.

Here is a letter that supports my idea that the race will focus more on personal matters ( experience, community support, image) instead of policy:

This letter appeared in The Fillmore Gazette:

To the Editor:
To Stop the Confusion
I am disturbed over some recent events involving one persons campaign for Sheriff of Ventura County. Dennis Carpenter has kicked off his campaign going by the name of "Carp".

Click on continue reading or to The Fillmore Gazette for the rest of the letter.

I don't have much of an opinion on this matter. I vaguely remember the name Larry Carpenter before this campaign started but I don't know if I remember it for the current candidate or the previous office holder. Do you think many voters remember the other Larry Carpenter?

For Advent I am mostly focusing on subjects that should unite us. A way I have done that is to promote the causes and places that makes this place our home. The Christmas House on Sycamore is one of those places.

This is my entry from last year since I don't have much to add:

A long running tradition in Simi Valley is the Christmas House on Sycamore. My Mom brought me there as a kid and now it is my turn to bring young people there. We went the other night and I plan on going back to get better pictures. The same family has been decorating the house since the 1960's and it has become a Simi Valley tradition.

If you live in Simi Valley you know what house I am referring to when I say the Christmas House on Sycamore. If you don't, please move to Thousand Oaks or something.

If you want to check out their website click here.

If you know of other cool places in Simi Valley or Ventura County to go check out Christmas lights leave a recommendation with directions. I know there is the house with the model trains and there is another house in East Simi Valley a friend of mine told me to go check out.

A top favorite tradition of mine is Christmas lights. I really like coming home with my lights on. They seem to capture the idea of the season by making our homes welcoming.

What is your favorite local Holiday tradition?

Merry Christmas!

Check out their website:

http://thebeckers.homeip.net/index.htm

A young fan of theirs was moved enough to create a fanpage dedicated to this Simi Valley treasure. Please consider showing your support by becoming a fan on Facebook:

For Advent I have been focusing mostly on topics that should unite us.

The Simi Valley Samaritan Center helps homeless and near homeless people with a variety of services. I am interested in helping by issuing my readers a challenge:

For every person that posts something they will donate to a local provider of services for homeless people by the end of the year I will bring needed supplies to the Samaritan Center.

Post a comment with what you are going to do to help. The Samaritan Center always can use toiletries and socks.

Where we end up in life is a mixture of choices and luck. When I sometimes become proud of the choices I have made I try to remember all the good fortune I have been blessed with in life. I know I can do a better job knowing that the difference between myself and the people that need services from places like the Samaritan Center often are factors we don't have control over.

I don't want to leave an impression that I have made any major contributions to helping local homeless people. My contributions are minimal, especially compared to the many volunteers that have given so much to help out. While I am at it thanks to Kari Lev and her team for doing an awesome job with the canned food drive this year at Royal High School.

Check out their new website design:

http://www.thesamaritancenterofsimivalley.org/

Look at what my readers did last year to inspire me.

I created a fanpage on Facebook to honor their work. When it grows to a respectable size I will give control over to the center to get their message out. Let's make helping the homeless more popular than any local politician. Please become a fan:

Republicans are moving towards nominating someone that only started voting last year to run for Secretary of State. The idea that someone that has a long history of not voting wants to be in charge of registering voters and running elections is comical.

Maybe State Assembly Member Audra Strickland should run against him. Say what you will about her but at least she votes! How hard would it be to win a primary against someone when all you have to do is keep reminding people that your opponent doesn't feel voting is a prerequisite to being in charge of elections?

Click here for my past story that she has created an account to run for Secretary of State.

Here is the information:

Child Safety Event

WHEN:
Friday, December 18, 2009
3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
WHERE:
Simi Valley Town Center
1555 Simi Town Center Way, Simi Valley CA 93065 | Map

Join Assembly Member Smyth as he hosts a child safety event at Simi Valley Town Center. Come by and find out what Assembly Member Smyth is doing to keep you and your children safe. While you're there, you can also pick up a child safety kit, and have your children fingerprinted.

I changed Assemblyman to Assembly Member. Have you ever noticed the different nomenclature choices between Democrats and Republicans? Assembly Member makes flows better if you ask me.

This came in from a family member:

A friend's car had stalled when the police stopped and Steve Sojaka was in the car. They then gave her a $50 gift card from the Simi Valley Police Foundation for wearing her seat belt!

That's going to shock a few people!

Please become a fan of my blog:

I have been working with Democratic and Republican campaigns to post their Facebook Fanboxes on my blog. Social Networking can help citizens connect to their politicians in many ways and I am proud to be involved with that happening.

In almost every entry I post on a campaign I will post their Facebook Fanbox ( for those that submitted them to me) so that if you like a candidate you can click on their box to become a fan. As an example if you click on continue reading I posted a Fanbox for Democratic candidate Ernest Morrell. If you are interested in their campaigns become a fan and start asking them questions.

Fanboxes can be updated by the candidates. That means they can direct my readers to other sources of news regarding their campaigns. For example, I didn't post anything on a press conference Jeff Gorell held but he can now update my blog, through the Fanbox, and direct readers to an article covering his event.

University Instructor. Military Veteran. Lawyer. Business Owner. Lobbyist. Add to that list pop music cover artist:

Next up: Geoff Dean and Larry Carpenter.

Shawn Stern is running for the Democratic nomination for the 24th district. The current office holder is Rep. Elton Gallegly. For any Democrat to make a significant showing against him it is going to take innovative campaign techniques. Shawn Stern took me up on the offer to put his Facebook Fanbox on my page. His Fanbox allows him to update us when he updates his Facebook page and to recruit people to become supporters.

This district was carried by Barack Obama in the last election. If you want Rep. Elton Gallegly to be responsive to their concerns show some support for his potential opponents. I would like it if Rep. Gallegly started holding town hall forums. The representatives from the surrounding area ( Sherman, Capps, and McKeon) all hold public and scheduled town hall forums.

This is not an endorsement of Shawn Stern. If your campaign would like me to post a fanbox send me a message.

Professor Ernest Morrell is running for the Democratic nomination in the 37th State Assembly District. His likely toughest opponent is Ferial Masry. Audra Strickland is termed out and looking to run for another office.

Ernest Morrell has been sharing news from the campaign trail on Facebook. If you want to follow his campaign closer click on become a fan in the box above.

If you want me to post a fanbox for a campaign you support send me a message.

I have heard from a few sources that Ventura County Star blogger Daniel Goldberg is strongly considering running for the nomination of the Republican Party in the 35th State Assembly District.

The Star is open to hosting blogs by candidates running for office and has offered to host blogs for a variety of politicians. Maybe Daniel will write a campaign diary.

Will Republicans be able to stop him from challenging Mike Stoker in the primary? If he isn't a serious threat they shouldn't pressure him too much not to run. If he is a threat I expect them to try all sorts of ways to persuade him there are better opportunities.

Daniel's name has just been added to the ongoing poll below.

To the other campaigns:

If you want me to post a fanbox for your campaign send me the html and I will post it for you.

For Advent I am focusing most of my blog towards issues and causes that unite us. In that spirit I took the suggestion to create a fan page on Facebook for the Simi Valley Veterans Plaza. Please become a fan and share it with others.

Next time I have a camera with me at the park I will post a picture of my grandfather's name that is posted there. He died many years before I was born but because of the sacrifices of many like him we are free.

The Federalist Society's Gold Coast Chapter And

California Lutheran University's Political Science Department Present:

"The Nationalization of Health Care -

Is it Constitutional ?"

MODERATED BY JUDGE STEVEN HINTZ

Click on continue reading for more details.

By the way, Judge Steven Hintz was mentioned recently as a candidate for County Treasurer. Audra Strickland has already declared for this office but the County Supervisors are considering making requirements that would most likely make her ineligible to run. Maybe someone at the forum will ask Steven Hintz if he is running.

If your candidate or campaign would like me to add their fan box to every post I write send me the html code and it will be included. Use the option that includes a news stream and you can update the box with your latest news.

My frequent guest blogger Martin Breen is back with another of his articles. Please leave him feedback including questions. Martin, here's my first question:

Do you support the President's views on healthcare insurance reform?

Spy vs. Spy By Martin Breen

It has been years since I read MAD Magazine. For my generation, it was a weekly right of the prepubescent, my first taste of unfiltered comedy, and dare I say, anti-establishment tendencies. Contained within MAD's colorful pages was the serial cartoon, Spy vs. Spy. For those too young to remember, the Black Spy and White Spy were mortal enemies locked in a vicious eternal struggle to destroy the other. In one episode, the Black Spy would attempt to blow up the White Spy in this elaborate scenario involving fake quick sand and a phony "Top Secret" briefcase and in the next, the White Spy would use a giant sling shot to shoot himself over the napping Black Spy in order to drop a stick of dynamite down an exposed chimney.

Click on continue reading for the rest of the essay.

( Do you remember the debate between Al Gore and Ross Perot over NAFTA? In this first segment Al Gore displays excellent skills and a mastery of the topic. How would of history changed if Ross Perot had been able to make a better case?)

Sarah Palin recently wrote an editorial criticizing the president over his attempts to reduce greenhouse gases. In an interview after the article she was asked if she would be willing to debate Al Gore. She dodged around the question but if one of them issued a challenge it would be difficult for the other to not accept. I think it would be a great event to see these two debate. What do you think?

Locally I would also like to see Rep. Gallegly and Rep. Capps debate Healthcare insurance reform. What do you think? Call their offices and post their responses:

Rep. Lois Capps:

Phone: 805-985-6807

Rep. Elton Gallegly:

(805) 497-2224

Rep. Capps, Rep. McKeon, and Rep. Sherman have all recently held town hall events where people can ask them questions on healthcare insurance reform. Rep. Gallegly might not be interested in holding town hall events but a moderated debate would provide us with a more in depth understanding of their positions. Capps would be forced to defend a massive change to our healthcare system and Gallegly would be forced to prove he isn't an obstructionist. Regardless of your partisan persuasion it would make for an interesting night.

Christmas traditions vary from country to country. In America many people complain that it has become too commercial. Advent Conspiracy is trying to change that perception. Their video above was brought my attention to this video by Kurt Fredrickson.

What traditions do you think we should promote this time of year, besides getting your Christmas lights put away before spring?

Click here to purchase Texas No Limit Dreidel.

For Advent I am moving away from covering local politics and instead I am focusing on things that unite us.

Games have a way of bringing people together. It is actually how I met my sometimes guest blogger and Republican campaign worker Owen Paun.

I like Settlers of Catan, Trivial Pursuit, and Pictionary. What are your favorite games that bring people together over the holidays?

For the month of December I am turning my blog mostly away from politics and instead toward things that unite us.

When I was really young my Father took me to the Rancho Duck Pond and we fed the ducks. I don't remember much of that day but I was lucky my Dad took some pictures. Now that I am older I appreciate how awesome it is to see the wonder and joy in a child's eyes when they go to the duck pond. Thanks Dad, you taught me well.

Months ago State Senator Tony Strickland posted a Twitter message that he was at the Rancho Park feeding the ducks. Between playing professional basketball and constantly thinking of the next office to run for he is able to fit in hanging around Rancho Park. I have at times been one of the biggest critics of Tony Strickland and at other times I have complimented him when I thought he deserved it.

His Twitter message reminded me that although many of us have major policy differences most of us are dedicated to our local communities. The Rancho Duck Park might not be that fancy and it hasn't changed much in the last few decades but it is something that makes our town special.

If you have fond memories of the duck park please become a fan on Facebook. Then go over to Theresa's Country Feed ( consider this a Shop Simi Valley First Plug)to pick up some bird seed on your way to the park.

Here is a screenshot of Tony Strickland's Twitter message:

I read a recent news story on Happy Face Hill in Simi Valley and it inspired me to create a fan page for it. With several people as administrators it is now a collaborative project.

If you are fond of the hill with a smile on it become a fan.

This month I am turning my blog mostly away from politics and instead to news and causes that should unite us.

If you want to read something funny check out the comments section for the animosity Happy Face Hill brings out on a commentator.