I am having a contest here on my blog for top political animal. The candidate that has the best animal with their campaign sign will have their picture at the top of my blog a week from this Tuesday for the primary election.

Geoff Dean is running for Ventura County Sheriff. In the last few weeks his campaign has been gaining momentum by raising more money, putting up more signs, and collecting more endorsements than his opponent.

I haven't seen any polling on this race but I feel confident saying that as of today Geoff Dean is a strong favorite to win. Both he and his opponent have been running energetic campaigns including getting supporters out on corners waving signs, making phone calls, and walking precincts.

His opponent Dennis Carpenter is getting so much support from the local Republican establishment Geoff Dean felt compelled enough to put this in a recent mailer:

I'm glad that Sheriff is a non-partisan office. But it's no secret that I'm a lifelong Republican. When it comes to taxpayers' money, I'm a 'live within your means' conservative."

I don't get every mailer so I don't know how effective Dennis Carpenter's campaign has been at bringing attention to Republican voters that he has the support of the local Republican establishment. Have you been getting much mail on the topic? Send me any mailers from any local candidate you want me to post.

Dennis Carpenter responded to a recent interest group questionnaire that he was pro-life, anti-gay marriage, and in favor of school vouchers.

Geoff Dean didn't respond and I don't know his opinions on those issues. I would like a sheriff that didn't use the position to advocate for Republican causes unrelated to their position. They should speak out on law enforcement issues but the sheriff shouldn't be seen as a partisan activist. I understand Dennis Carpenter was only responding to a questionnaire sent to him but I am wary of a electing a Sheriff that will be out campaigning for Republican causes often.

Click on continue reading for the other pets before you vote.

The campaign to be the next Sheriff of Ventura County will be among the top decisions voters make locally in June. I don't know about other parts of Ventura County but in Simi Valley I have seen many more signs and bumper stickers for Geoff Dean. I even saw someone at Lowe's with a Geoff Dean tshirt.

I did see my first Dennis Carpenter sign today with the line about being endorsed by Sheriff Bob Brooks on it.

How is the campaign to be the next Sheriff going in your area going? Are they regional pockets of support for each candidate?

Dennis Carpenter's campaign sent me the HTML for their Facebook Fanbox. Click on continue reading to become a fan of his campaign.

The race to be the next Sheriff for Ventura County really is a question of character. The issues that seperate the two candidates are so small that without being an expert we are left with character evaluations. Candidate Geoff Dean was fired and then re-instated over what has been called a ethical issue by the current Sheriff. Dean admits he acted improperly in preparing to campaign but has refuted any insinuation that it should be a major issue.

Dennis Carpenter has argued that this episode is enough to be a major issue in the campaign. Trust is an important issue in law enforcement. If the only information I had was news articles on the subject I wouldn't feel good voting for anyone involved in the department leadership and would prefer a clean sweep of the place. Sometimes news stories leave us with so many unanswered questions we feel less knowledgeable after reading them.

But then I look over the impressive endorsement list over at Geoff Dean's website and it alleviates many of my concerns. If so many of the people that work closely with Geoff Dean trust him enough to put their names on his website then I feel more comfortable with the trust issue.

I wonder if the candidates trust each other enough to keep working for the department no matter who wins? That's an interesting question.

Dennis Carpenter's campaign sent me a fundraising letter to share with my readers:

Sorry for the delay in posting it. Good luck at your fundraiser.

Dennis Carpenter's campaign has been solidifying support among Republican Party leaders and I expect we will see more endorsements rolled out over the next few weeks. With both Tony Strickland and Audra Strickland running for office I don't know how involved they will be getting but I expect they will be helping Dennis Carpenter.

It would be interesting to see if they start going after more endorsements from school board members, park board members, and even water boards. Geoff Dean has a large fundraising advantage as of now but I expect that will narrow. Will there be IE committees that will form to support Dennis Carpenter?

Does this force Geoff Dean to look for more support from Democratic groups? Over the coming months I predict Democratic activists will see where Carpenter is getting support from and start working to elect Geoff Dean.

The informed voter poll The Star reported on doesn't influence my view of the race much without seeing the questions that were asked. Sure, it is more scientific than the online polls on my blog but that isn't saying much. My polls are to gauge the intensity of the supporters of a campaign and for fun. So far this poll shows both candidates have very energized supporters.

Geoff Dean's Campaign has announced another prominent endorsement.

Click on continue reading for the press release.

I am getting some emails about a recent mailer in this campaign. Please keep sending me information and I will post an entry on it this week.

I have become a follower on Facebook/Twitter of the candidates for sheriff and I have been impressed that both of them have been willing to campaign in front of a variety of groups. I want the next Sheriff to be so dedicated to their job they don't get overly involved with endorsing candidates for partisan positions. Their opinion matters on issues of public safety but at the same time it should be a nonpartisan office.

So far the campaigns have been encouraging in this regard. Has your opinion of the candidates changed since the campaign started?

Geoff Dean's campaign sent me the HTML for a Fanbox for me to post. When Dennis Carpenter's campaign sends it to me I will post it too.

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?

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.

Goeff Dean's campaign for sheriff has posted some videos from his campaign kick off press conference. being that most of us will never met a candidate for sheriff this is an alright way to see them speak. I look forward to forums where the candidates answer questions.

Dennis Carpenter has officially declared he is running for sheriff. Click on the logo above to go to his website. This is from an article covering his press conference:

Now that both candidates have declared they are running the campaign has officially started. I would think that Geoff Dean has the momentum of endorsements behind him for the time being but there are many that haven't endorsed either candidate yet.

I have not closely watched an election for sheriff before so I don't totally know what to expect. Will the candidates try to get endorsements from the local political parties? How influential are endorsements from elected officials outside of law enforcement on voters?

There should be a few forums between the candidates scheduled across Ventura County early on before the money, momentum, and endorsements are all determined. We need a robust debate that moves beyond bland slogans and into specifics.

This poll is really a test of the energy and organization of the campaigns and not an accurate sample of the voters. I will keep reposting it when I post new entries on the campaign.

The Geoff Dean for Sheriff campaign sent me in a press release for their press conference next week. I am thinking of going to it but I need some questions I should ask. What should I ask him?

Click on continue reading to see the whole press release.

Polls on a political blog are not scientific but that doesn't mean they don't offer us information. This poll has been the most popular poll I have ever posted. That tells me this campaign has the potential to really energize people.

Click on the appropriate button below to share this on Facebook or another social network.

Now that the Moorpark City election is over the next big local race I am going to cover in depth is the campaign for the next sheriff.

Click here to see the recent article from Ventura County Star Reporter Timm Herdt on the upcoming races.

The first candidate I see campaigning for Ventura County Sheriff is Geoff Dean. His campaign. Click here to check out his website. What do you think? It looks very professional to me although the issues page is lacking at this time.

Send me in the official photo of your candidate and campaign logo you want me to use when you get the chance.

I will repost this poll whenever I write updates on the candidates running for sheriff.

To share this blog entry on a social network like Facebook click on the appropriate button below. This could be a quick way of letting your supporters know they can come here and vote in my unscientific poll.