( The name of the band is "Middle of the road".)

The California Association of Political Centrists is soliciting their members for opinions about endorsing a candidate in the State Senate campaign between Hannah-Beth Jackson and Tony Strickland. Katie Teague sent me an email that went out to their group members. Click on continue reading to see it.

Of all the endorsements not yet announced in Ventura County, which is the most valuable? I would think Mickey Jones could help. Any other ideas?

Should CAPC make their opinion known as a group?

I say go for it. If you think she will stand up for moderate voters, redistricting, and she is wants the groups endorsement, why wouldn't you do it?

Does Tony Strickland even want their support? It doesn't sound like it.

The Ferial Masry Campaign recently held an event with Retired USMC
General Hoar. If you have been following her political activism you might know she has worked with Bush administration officials to promote America in the Middle East. I don't know much about her involvement but it would be a great story for a print reporter to cover.

She is running against State Assembly Member Audra Strickland again.

Click here to see the district map.

( This photo was from Hannah-Beth Jackson's Simi valley days group. If you have more Simi Valley Days photos that you want posted send them in.)

Both campaigns have more endorsements to announce.

For Hannah-Beth Jackson's endorsements click here.

For Tony Strickland's endorsement page click here. It isn't currently updated but look at the press releases for details.

Tony Strickland has a press release detailing the former Sheriff of Santa Barbara endorsing him, whereas on Hannah-Beth Jackson's page she lists the current Sheriff as a supporter. I don't follow Santa Barbara's politics enough to know which sheriff is more widely known and/or respected. Fill us in with that you know if you have something to share.

I did notice that the former sheriff mentions Tony Strickland's independent leadership. How has he been independent? To my knowledge he has been a long time supporter of the Republican Party, a career politician or political professional, and holds conservative Republican values. In addition, many of his allies or supporters run the local central committee. He has supported and worked for Tom McClintock, who hasn't worked well at times with his party's leadership including when he ran against the current governor in the recall election.

It is obvious he just doesn't want the word Republican associated with his name.

To see his press release click on continue reading.

( Past candidate Thurlow Partridge (R) speaking about his campaign. To see more candidates videos click on continue reading.)

I don't know if any challengers will appear but SEA ( Simi Valley Educators' Association) which is the union that represents Simi Valley teachers has endorsed all three incumbents for reelection.

Unions have their own reasons for doing things and an endorsement this early surprised me. I personally like to wait to see who all the candidates are before I choose who I am going to support. Their goal was likely to encourage them all to run again and do make any potential challenger think again. Will it work or will we see a contested school board election?

I assume that means Janice DiFatta (R), Rob Collins (D), and Debbie Sandland (D) are all planning on running again.

What are the top priorities for you when voting for school board?

I want candidates that have a background in business or education. Someone that has helped local schools in a variety of ways. I want someone that will go to campuses not just for big events but to check out how things are being run. What I don't like is political activists that are there for their own reasons. A school board mixed with people from different parts of our community including education, business, and other places seems like a good fit.

It might not have the cache of a Superdelegate but Republican Michael Tenenbaum has earned the endorsement of a former local elected official that represented Simi Valley for many years at the local and state level.

Can you guess who it is before you click on continue reading for a picture and press release?

UPDATE: Tenenbaum was out walking precincts as he ridiculed Rep. Gallegly's record on the environment.

The Ventura County Star's Timm Herdt wrote an article about the contest for nomination to take on Assembly Woman Audra Strickland that prompted me to ask what my readers think about this campaign.

Ferial Masry:

Pluses: On the one hand we have a Saudi born woman that draws worldwide attention to the virtues of American democracy. Ferial Masry, as a high school teacher and immigrant, has a important story to tell about our nation and our values. In addition, her son Omar ( full disclosure: I have known Omar for a few years) served in Iraq and helped to show this wasn't a crusader war for conquest but instead a war designed in part to help the people of Iraq. Ferial Masry, just by running, strengthens America's democracy and broadens the base of the Democratic Party. Click on continue reading to read an update from her campaign.

Negatives: Ferial Masry stands very little chance of winning. She has already lost twice to Audra Strickland and I don't see any real reason to see a fundamental shift. In the last two campaigns she hasn't shown the ability to raise the hundreds of thousands of dollars it would take to make this a competitive contest.

There was a debate over the fairness of a mailer her campaign was using. Click here to see the mailer and read the discussion.

A campaign supporter that sends me updates responded to my requests for clarification with this statement:

Ferial made those flyers for this cycle BEFORE Hare was in the race. He got in very late... sorry for your confusion... Renee

David Hare:

Pluses: With a strong connection to the local agricultural community David could reach out to groups not currently connected very well to the Democratic Party. David owns his own small business and could campaign on his experience battling against bureaucracies when trying to get a business off of the ground. David is also a strong environmentalist which seems a natural fit for parts of the district. He also has done a better job raising money.

Negatives: David is being attacked for the legal hoops that he has had to jump through in the process of running his business. I don't know the level of infractions he has against him but most business people will tell you that almost any business has a history of some sort of warnings, violations, lawsuits, complaints, or financial disputes. It is up to voters to see if the charges are serious or frivolous. From what I have seen the complaints seem rather minor. I am interested to see how good of a campaign Hare puts together in anticipation of the open seat in about two years when from the looks of it Jeff Gorell will be running on the Republican side.

So, what do you think? How are you or did you make up your mind in this campaign? Is asking how much money each candidate raised a decent question?

Has CAPC rated the candidates in the primary?

The Tony Strickland for State Senate campaign has announced the support of many Simi Valley City officials and other Simi Valley citizens. You can click on continue reading to read the whole list. Rep. Elton Gallegly is one of the most prominent, but so far it looks like a who's who of the Simi Valley Republican Party. Most of them could be relied upon to endorse the GOP candidate in most campaigns.

The list includes the entire city council except for Michelle Foster. Anyone know why Michelle didn't join with the rest of the council? The other prominent names not mentioned are Republican school board members Eric Lundstrom and Janice Difatta,

On a personal note, thank you to Tony Strickland and his staff . Tony has put together a quick responding and young staff. Thanks for your help! I will write about it more later.

I will have a Hannah Beth Jackson campaign update next week. But in the meantime enjoy their new campaign widget: