I have more videos and pictures to post later this week. If you have videos of pictures from today you want posted send them to me.

Former State Assembly candidate Ferial Masry has news regarding her intentions:

Candidate for Sheriff Geoff Dean (R) worked the crowd. Here he is speaking to Ventura City Council Members Brian Brennan and Ed Summers. I expect Geoff Dean's list of endorsements will be updated with new bipartisan additions soon.

I ran into a friend of this blog Denis O'Leary of Oxnard. Denis has been a long time activist for a variety of progressive causes.

State Assembly candidate Susan Jordan gave a speech that outlined her life story and the causes she supports. Her opponent Das Williams was there too. I will post his picture later. Das, if you have pictures from today you want posted send them in.

Here are a bunch of polls related to the labor day picnic and candidates that were there.

Click here for the news story from The Star.

Here is a video of Republican candidate for State Assembly Jeff Gorell at a Tea Party, with people that were protesting against Barack Obama, higher taxes, and more government spending.

Jeff Gorell has many reasons to be happy. He has a new addition to his family, no Republican has announced they are challenging him in the primary, and his latest announcement of his fundraising successes shows he is the clear front runner.

Click on continue reading to for the press release.

His major contributers include State Senator Tony Strickland. I am waiting to see if State Senator Strickland also invests in Mike Stoker, who is running in the 35th Assembly District. I don't know if Mike Stoker is planning a serious run for what is considered by many to be a safe Democratic district, but if Tony Strickland donates a large sum of money that will be a good sign for him.

Now that State Assembly candidate Jeff Gorell has consolidated Republican support for the nomination of his party he can focus on his next rival: The Avocado.

You should join Jeff Gorell on Facebook to see his updates. He answers questions on policy, shares photos from events, and posts his upcoming events.

Click here to join him on Facebook. There is a debate going on between his friends over the budget Democrats passed today. Facebook is the new way to directly communicate with politicians and to ask them questions.

Here is a short video of Jeff Gorell playing a Linkin Park song on the piano:

( Former Governor Pete Wilson, State Assembly Candidate Jeff Gorell, and State Senator Tony Strickland.)

State Assembly Candidate Jeff Gorell held a successful fundraiser last Thursday night raising crucial early money in his attempt to force out any Republican thinking of challenging him in the primary. So far his plan has been very successful as no legitimate challenger has emerged. That is impressive being that he is a social moderate that in the past positioned himself as a Schwarzenegger Republican. Add to that his professional work as a lobbyist for business groups and I could see a conservative populist giving him a serious challenge.

But for the time being he looks like he has cleared the primary field of any credible challengers and is already planning on a general election campaign.

Jeff Gorell told me he took my suggestion to get young people involved by giving them free tickets to events with prominent politicians. At least six high school aged students attended this event for free and he plans to expand on that number for upcoming events.

Jeff, call each of those students personally and ask them to come out and support your campaign at the next event. The investment will likely yield loyal supporters and create life long interest in those young people.

Here is a Youtube video of Jeff Gorell playing Linkin Park that I have posted before:

And here is a video of him campaigning at a Tea Party with a Tea Bag around his neck :

Blog entries like this remind me of the difference between newspapers and blogs. You can't watch a video in the print edition and it isn't newsworthy enough to be mentioned in a medium measured in column inches or by word count. I am posting this video because Jeff Gorell is running for state assembly, not because he is a musician. That being said he knows how to play.

I don't know all of his policies but personally he has always known him to be a modest and nice guy. Even though he has experience in public relations and lobbying I am not sure he has the skills most typical politicians posses.Maybe when he runs his first misleading ad I will think different.

Jeff Gorell checked in earlier from the Ventura Red Cross where I assume he is helping out because of the fire in Santa Barbara. Join him on Facebook to follow his campaign.

What is it that Elton Gallegly refuses to do? Release his schedule and host scheduled town hall events.

I have been calling his offices for months asking when the next town hall event is and they have transferred me, asked for my number, sent me to voicemail, and told me to call a long distance number to Washington DC. They even claim the local office doesn't get a copy of his schedule even when he is in the district.

Wouldn't it be easier and more friendly to your constituents to post your events online?

Here is an excerpt from State Senator Tony Strickland's website:

Senator Strickland's Upcoming Events

Strickland Hosts Community Coffee Event

Date: Friday, April 24, 2009, 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Location: Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, 28460 Ave. Stanford #100, Santa Clarita, CA 91355

State Senator Tony Strickland recently introduced legislation that would ban paying money to a spouse to be a consultant on a political campaign. In the past Tony Strickland took money from contributers and paid his wife to work for him. Elton Gallegly has been paying his wife to work on his campaigns for years.

Here is a quote from Timm Herdt's article on the legislation:

Westlake Village political activist Bob Larkin, who has loudly criticized the Stricklands for having paid each other's companies out of their campaign funds, said the practice should have always been illegal because it's already against the law for an elected official to transfer campaign contributions into their personal accounts.

"When it's illegal to move money from Point A to Point B, and you move it from Point A to Point C and then move it to Point B -- that's money laundering," he said. "If someone took a check from Chevron and put it in his personal account, he'd go to jail."

The proposal isn't likely to become law but it does show there is a difference between Elton Gallegly and Tony Strickland on this issue?

Who do you side with on this issue? Tony Strickland or Elton Gallegly?

Do you agree it would be a decent idea to post events that are open to the public on a legislators website?

Our elected representatives should have to take tough questions, with follow ups, from the public.

In blog news The Star has enabled me to allow TrackBacks on my entires. I will be using them for most future posts.

Also, when you leave a comment use the URL feature to drive traffic to your favorite blog, business, or cause.

Thanks for reading and commenting on my blog.

Does the uniform look familiar? Click on the image. Click here for the details of State Senator Tony Strickland's upcoming basketball season. Click here for a recent story of him playing basketball against a radio DJ.

Before the vote on the state budget Ventura County school district Superintendents held a meeting to discuss the impacts of different proposals on local schools. State Senator Tony Strickland, State Senator George Runner, and State Assembly Member Audra Strickland did not attend. State Senator Tony Strickland was at a card table event meeting constituents, State Senator George Runner didn't release a statement on why he didn't attend, and State Assembly Member Audra Strickland had to deal with a family emergency. None of them sent staff to sit in the audience and take notes.

Local Democrats have been calling on State Senator Tony Strickland (R), State Senator George Runner (R) and State Assembly Member Audra Strickland (R) to reschedule a meeting. Democratic elected officials that represent Ventura County in the legislature attended the last meeting .

Click on continue reading for the latest email from the Ventura County Democratic Party on the issue. Their website uses new techniques to help organize grassroots activists. Even if you aren't interested in this story the technology they are using is very promising for online organizing.

Obviously the Superintendents are advocates for public education but their goals and policy priorities don't always line up with those of the California Teachers Association (CTA). Meeting with the local superintendents would allow them to listen to what exactly is going to be cut in local schools under different budget proposals, including the impacts of the May ballot propositions. I spoke with State Senator Tony Strickland's Chief of Staff and he said he was against Proposition 1A and is split on the rest of the proposals. He supports taking money from mental health for the general fund but hasn't announced his position on the lottery proposal yet. I expect we will see his opinion on all of the proposals soon.

Not going to meetings like this reinforces the public perception that Republicans aren't concerned with public education as much as Democrats are concerned. The trio should take this opportunity to bring their ideas for education funding and reforms and see if they can convince some local education leaders to support them.

I don't know why Assembly Member Cameron Smyth was not included in the email blast even though he represents a major portion of Simi Valley.

Tony Strickland's Chief of Staff said they were in the process of scheduling another meeting with the Ventura County Superintendents that State Senator Tony Strickland will be attending. One goal of such meetings is to inform elected officials of the impacts of their choices. With that in mind it would be best before he announced his position on all of the May ballot propositions.

Click here for a past entry from Making Waves blogger Marie Lakin explaining in detail the frustration from many over the failure for local Republicans to schedule a meeting. Marie Lakin is a progressive Democrat that supported Hannah-Beth Jackson in the last election. But she is also a leader and fundraiser for local education causes.

I didn't call and ask Assembly Member Audra Strickland's office but I assume the meeting will include other area elected officials like the last meeting did.

I reported here that Audra Strickland opened an account to run against Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

Thanks to Timm Herdt for giving credit to me for breaking the story .

I don't expect her to run as Debra Bowen is a popular elected official without much controversy in the office of Secretary of State.

State Senator Tony Strickland does have time to ready his alternative energy proposals but the cynic in me wonders if they are going to go anywhere in the state legislature. If they are good ideas and can gain enough support to pass wouldn't the Democrats put up a slightly different version and pass theirs instead? Add to that highly limited budgetary options and the chances of passage don't seem strong. Am I too cynical?

Here is a video of State Senator Tony Strickland briefly explaining his legislation:

Tony Strickland spoke at a recent Tea Party protest where people were encouraged to send tea bags to their elected officials to complain over government spending and taxation. To see his Twitter page click on the images below.

The Santa Barbara Independent write a recap of the event. Here are a few key quotes:

"...believes the protest's aims should be seen without party bias. "It's the elites versus the masses," he said, articulating his reasons for protesting on Saturday. "It's not a partisan issue."

And...

Among the speakers on Saturday were California State Senators Tony Strickland and George Runner; Carpinteria City Councilmember and head of Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association Joe Armendariz; Andrew Caldwell of COLAB (Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business); Lompoc Mayor Dick DeWees; screenwriter Andrew Klavan; and UCSB student Gabriela Murillo. Political singer Lloyd Marcus also contributed to the protest, singing songs attacking President Obama. "Mr. Obama," sang Marcus, "don't talk down to us!"

And

President Ronald Reagan was remembered and missed again and again as speakers cited him as the greatest president in memory. Reagan was quoted at the rally more than any other figure from American history.

So much for nonpartisan and aimed at bringing in people from across different political ideologies.

Click here for the rest of the story from the Santa Barbara Independent.

The Santa Barbara event was emceed by Tammy Bruce. Recently Tammy Bruce called Michelle Obama trash as she was ranting over Michelle Obama telling young African-Americans that she was ridiculed when she was young for trying hard in school.

Listen to the audio:

Sharing a stage with someone doesn't mean you agree with everything they have ever said. But that isn't the type of person he should associate with if he is serious on fulfilling his campaign platform of reaching across the aisle and working with the majority party to pass legislation. Bruce is bitter and will twist anything to make a nasty personal attack to sell a few more books or stay in the public spotlight for a few more minutes. Her appearance at this Tea Party shows that it really was a gathering of conservatives and far right activists, instead of the grassroots groups from all walks of life like they tried to pretend.

I remember people for the last eight years demanding civility and respect for President Bush because he was our president. Somehow many of those that demanded a high level of respect have lost their voices in less than a hundred days of a new presidency.

Tony, to show that you strongly disagree with the lack of class Tammy Bruce showed for the President you could let people know your feelings on this type of gutter politics. A press release, blog post, or news story might be too much, but could we get a Tweet on your Twitter account? If your basketball practice schedule is included I am sure you could find the time and room for a few supportive words for the first family.

You have more class than Tammy Bruce. Your Twitter update will be posted on my front page and will stay at the top for a week if you take me up on the offer.

Did any of my readers attend the Tea Party in Santa Barbara? How was it? Did you see mythical ACORN protesters? Who did you enjoy listening to the most?

State Assembly candidate Jeff Gorell ( He is running to repalce termed out Assembly Member Audra Strickland) picked up the endorsement of the union representing California Highway patrol Officers.

Click on continue reading for details.

Any chances a candidate will emerge from the right to challenge him?

I doubt a serious contender will emerge on the right because he already has the support of Ventura County Republican Party leadership including State Senator Tony Strickland, State Assembly Member Audra Strickland, and County Supervisor Peter Foy.

The only real challenge might come from a Democrat. Check back for more information.

In unrelated law enforcement news The Simi Valley Police Department is asking you to sign up for their email updates. Click here for more information.

I don't have a budget for prizes but if you are up for it try to guess the identity of these Ventura County politicians:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

And click on continue reading for a difficult bonus question!

Post your answers as a comment by clicking on continue reading.

Ventura County Supervisor Peter Foy is said to be thinking of running for governor according to a recent article from Ventura County Star report Timm Herdt and other sources. He has a few people mentioned as opponents in recent polls including Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, former US House of Representative Member and State Controller Tom Campbell, former Ebay CEO and Mitt Romney/John McCain campaigns leader Meg Whitman.

Do you think he will run? I think there is a chance he is leaving it as a possibility to build up his name recognition and attract attention. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up endorsing another candidate and then ran with their endorsement of him for State Insurance Commissioner. Even though in the past Peter Foy has used "farmer" as a ballot designation I would think that with his background in insurance he could run with that experience as a major issue. If he ran for governor I would expect his past support for very conservative candidates and policies out of the mainstream to be the center of any strategy against him. But with all of the problems in the state voters might not be interested in discussions over the wild things Alan Keyes has said over the years on topics from gay people, to the Democratic Party, to personal attacks on Barack Obama.

Click here for a more detailed post about his support for former Presidential candidate Alan Keyes.

Whatever he runs for would leave an open seat on the County Board of Supervisors representing Simi Valley, Moorpark, and some surrounding areas. Peter Foy has said int he past he wasn't planning to make a career out of being on the Board of Supervisors and there has been discussion he would only serve one term. A possible candidate to replace him is termed out State Assembly Member Audra Strickland. While that is a likely scenario she did open up an account to run for Secretary of State recently.

What other candidates do you think are possible in this game of musical chairs? Any chance Jim Dantona will run again if it was an open seat? What about former Supervisor Judy Mikels? City Council Member Barbra Williamson ran before and might be interested. I also see Moorpark City Council Member Keith Millhouse as an intriguing candidate. What candidates would you like to see on your ballot?

Click here for Timm Herdt's article and here for his blog post.

Click here for an entry on State Assembly member Audra Strickland opening an account to run for Secretary of State.

Even though the primary to replace State Assembly Member Audra Strickland doesn't happen until June 2010 Jeff Gorell so far has been able to clear the field by raising money, getting endorsements, and putting a campaign team in place.

He has been sending out email for months. For the most current email click on continue reading.

In his recent email he is touting the endorsement of State Assembly Member Audra Strickland, who has opened a fundraising account to run for Secretary of State, an other Republican leaders.

(Side note: Audra Strickland's Chief of Staff has a trial set for later this month related to charges he pushed people outside a fundraiser for Senator Tony Strickland.)

He also is promising to run a transparent race without tricks to hide the sources of money funding his campaign. In the beginning this is easy for politicians but as a campaign raises more and more money it becomes increasingly challenging to hold true to a commitment to be transparent. I will be following Jeff Gorell's campaign to hold him to ideals.

Jeff Gorell, will you accept direct contributions from tobacco companies?

I know that you will be given donations from people that accept money from tobacco companies, like Hannah-Beth Jackson did in her state senate campaign, but it should be easy to announce you will not solicit or accept direct contributions from tobacco companies or their lobbyists.

Let me know and I will post your response.

I was invited to speak to Jeff Gorell's graduate level advocacy class at California Lutheran University (CLU) in Thousand Oaks and I know Jeff is a talented candidate with a background ( prosecutor, military member, business owner) that will make him a formidable opponent even if Democrats recruit a great candidate.

The best chance Democrats have is to tag him as a lobbyist and repeat it over and over. But with his service as a member of the military and as a former prosecutor the battle might be over message repetition.

With the close results in the last campaign for the 37th assembly seat, even though Democrats didn't put serious money in until very late, plus redistricting coming up this very well could be a true contest.

But that's if Democrats find a strong candidate.

Now, a barely related question: How come Republicans seem to always use Assemblyman and Assemblywoman but Democrats use the easier to use Assembly Member?

Seems like firemen are now firefighters and policemen are now police officers. Why is the Republican caucus behind the times?

Click here for Jeff Gorell's website.

Click here for past entries on the campaign to replace Assemblymember Strickland.

Ferial Masry is a former candidate ( she ran against Assembly Member Audra Strickland three times), teacher, and leader in trying to better our image to the Muslim world is now also an author. You can see the details of an upcoming book signing by clicking on continue reading.

I was thinking of writing a book, but by the end of a long blog post I sometimes get bored. Anyways, if anyone wants to write a review of the book I will post it.

Click here for the book on Amazon.com

In related book signing news author Ray Bradbury ( author of Fahrenheit 451 ) will be giving a brief lecture and then signing books in Simi Valley. Click here for the details.