Some politicians have found a way to pay their family members with donations from special interest groups. Dr. Lee Rogers wants to ban it.

I support this idea. I do not think it is ethical for politicians to overpay family members from campaign donations.

What do you think?

Go on Twitter and you can see the questions Julia Brownley answered. I asked her about charter schools and how to motivate more young females to study STEM majors.

What do you think of her answers?

Let me know if your candidate is holding a Twitter Townhall.

How transparent is your local government?

Updated Campaign finance reports are posted on the city's website. Any surprises?

There was recently a robocall that went out to Simi Valley voters. The group that paid for it has not been identified. I wonder if we will ever know who paid for it. Transparency in campaign finance is important to follow the money in politics. We need better disclosure.

Great video of Bill Clinton. This quote should be shared with many people.

"I want a president and a Congress that loves it when unemployment drops."

Bill Clinton was in California today. If you have pictures that you would like me to share of that rally send them in.

Climate change has not been seriously addressed in this campaign. What issues do you think should be discussed more?

I am enjoying asking questions of Omkar Ranade on Twitter. He supports bringing wifi to our local parks and posting video of park board candidates online. He wants people to be able to remotely ask questions during park board meetings. What other questions do you want me to ask him?

Click here for my past interview.

Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks is fact checking campaigns on her blog.

What do you think of her website? With so many outside spending groups it is hard to hold candidates accountable for attacks. I am glad she is trying.

Photograph sent in by the campaign.)

Have you been following the campaign between Edward Headington (D) and Scott Wilk (R) for State Assembly? I would like to watch them debate in Simi Valley. Would you attend?

You do not need to register to comment. Keep it classy.

( The Simi Valley Education Foundation created this poster for me.)

I am helping to raise money for local schools. I appreciate the Simi Valley Education Foundation and the work they do for local schools. A former student D'Allura saw my post and donated to the Simi Valley Education Foundation.

Thank you Mark D'Allura! I was always impressed with your academic abilities. Thank you for signing up to protect America. I appreciate your support.

Click here to donate.

Dr. Lee Rogers has earned the support of progressive activist group Moveon.org for his campaign. Ventura County Star Reporter Timm Herdt has a great article on how this campaign could surprise people.

There will be a candidates forum for Simi Valley School Board hosted by the PTSA Monday October 15th from 6:30PM to 9:30PM at Simi Valley City Hall.

Do you plan to attend? What questions would you like answered?

You do not need to register to comment but keep it classy.

( This picture is from last time I was asked to help.)

I don't write much about my personal life but outside of being a blogger I am a teacher at Royal High School in Simi Valley. Before that I was a teacher at a Catholic High School in Los Angeles for four years. Few issues stir a passion in me as much as education reform.

I have gone to protests against budget cuts organized by our union and I have also have been at a union meeting where almost every speaker has turned against me for supporting education reforms. I see education as a great engine for social mobility and opportunity.

The Simi Valley Education Foundation has asked me again for help raising money for their programs. We all know that public education budgets have been cut which makes their grant programs even more important. Their grants fund supplies and field trips that otherwise wouldn't be available to students. If you want to see a great group of people go to their page to see who is on their board.

This blog doesn't pay much. If you appreciate at least some of my blogging I am asking for you to show your appreciation by donating as little as $5 to the education foundation.

And to show my gratitude every candidate that donates to the foundation will get recognition on the front page of my blog with a link to their campaign website. I won't publish how much you donated unless you specifically ask me to so don't worry if your budget is tight.

For those of you not running for office I will post a funny education story for every donation.

Go to their website to donate.

http://www.svef.org/bail-out.php?bailee=Brian%20Dennert

Thanks for reading my blog.

"My job is the defense." Rep. Buck McKeon arguing against spending cuts.

Watch this video. Dr. Lee Rogers is making serious accusations against Rep. Buck McKeon.

I believe Oxnard to be the most corrupt city in Ventura County. Reforms are needed to give people confidence in their government again. There is a candidates forum this Friday. Click on continue reading for details. What questions do you want answered?

You don't need to register to comment. Keep it classy.

This was included in a recent email sent out by Linda Parks.

Gambling With Santa Susana Field Lab

It doesn't necessarily mean they'd build a casino there, but it does raise the odds when the same tribe that runs the Chumash Casino now wants to take ownership of the NASA land at the Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL).

Formerly known as Rocketdyne, the SSFL site had a partial core meltdown of its nuclear plant in the late 1950's. Along with other hazardous chemicals that were poured directly into the ground, the site's contamination is enough to warrant a Super Fund designation.

Transferring the land would shuffle the deck on so many of the issues - will Boeing want to give the tribe the rest of the SSFL land that they own too? Does a sovereign nation have to follow clean up orders? Can our government prevent a casino from being built and operated on sovereign land? Will the glow of a casino there carry on in its gamblers after they leave?

Disposition of the SSFL property should not be a crapshoot. Before the land is transferred it should be cleaned up by its owners.

The email contained many other subjects too. What do you think? Would you support a casino in this area? It would be a creative use of the area. This site does have Native American history on it.

You don't need to register to comment. Keep it classy.

I enjoyed this review of the debate between Lee Rogers and Buck McKeon. As of now Buck McKeon is not scheduled to appear in Simi Valley at a debate. If the two candidates debated in Simi Valley would you be interested in attending?

Post a comment with your thoughts. You don't need to register to comment but keep it classy.

The firefighters union have endorsed candidates in Oxnard. Click on continue reading for their press release.

Are these candidates what Oxnard needs? I believe Oxnard is the most corrupt city in Ventura County. Oxnard City needs serious reforms. Are these candidates reformers?

The Simi Valley Democratic Club has their grand opening tomorrow night. Click on continue reading for more details.

Are you going?

Gas prices can be influenced by political events in other nations, our energy policies, and random accidents like the recent refinery fire in California. Becoming energy independent will help America in many ways.

Dr. Lee Rogers (D) is running for Congress in the district that includes Simi Valley , Santa Clarita, and Palmdale. That is a big area to cover. He drives an American built Chevy Volt.

I have not understood why some people seem to take such an interest in attacking fuel efficient cars. When someone drives a fuel efficient car others benefit by cleaner air and less demand on oil.

Does the car a candidate drives matter at all to you? I do find it interesting what a candidate might communicate by their choice in vehicle.

If this subject interests you post a comment. If there is enough interest in this subject I will ask other politicians what they drive.

You do not need to register to comment but keep it classy.

Sometimes local elections are not exciting. The Community College Board is usually such a position that does not attract attention. This time we really need to make sure we make good choices.

The Community College District is dealing with important challenges including an out of control board member that has been threatening the accreditation of the entire district and continuing budget cuts.

Two candidates are running for the area that includes Simi Valley and Moorpark. I have not yet been convinced that either is capable of dealing with these challenges.

Bernardo Perez has not been running much of a campaign. I don't know if he has addressed the issues with the accreditation.

Ash Givargis has not explained how he could help much with the accreditation process. Ash Givargis lists his ballot designation as a businessman. But that doesn't seem to be his primary occupation. He does work for the Youth Correctional Facility in Information Technologies. He is a Republican Party activist. I am not sure if that is helpful in a nonpartisan position.

Do you know who you are supporting?

I am glad that so many candidates are campaigning for a seat on the Simi Valley City Council. Those candidates are out informing people what the city council does and what the issues are in Simi Valley. The signs might look trashy to some people but I see them as an example of a robust democracy.

There are two seats on the Simi Valley City Council. Do you know who you will be supporting?

You do not need to register to comment but keep it classy.

Ventura County Star reporter Timm Herdt has a summary of the debate between Tony Strickland and Julia Brownley. Did you watch the debate?