I saw an article posted on Twitter that Tony Strickland is running again.

Besides Jeff Gorell, this is the best candidate that Ventura County Republicans were likely able to recruit.

In a midterm election do you think Tony Strickland will have a better chance?

What do you think his ballot designation will be?

Camarillo City Council Member Mike Morgan's letter in support of Tony Strickland quotes extensively from a Los Angeles Times editorial ENDORSING Hannah-Beth Jackson. This shouldn't go both ways. If the Los Angeles Times had a valid editorial, then their endorsement of Hannah-Beth Jackson is significant. If it isn't a decent editorial, then it shouldn't be quoted from at all. Choose a position!

Key quote left out by the Strickland campaign:

The last thing the Legislature needs is another member who signed a no-tax pledge and simply will not engage with Democrats in the give-and-take negotiations necessary to get through the state's budget crisis.

Besides this I think it is a much better mailer than the others I have been seeing. It focuses on local issues including the Camarillo prison hospital. In this campaign I have seen Hannah-Beth Jackson doing a better job relating to local issues like the proposed landfill/dump expansion and the clean up of Rocketdyne. Have you seen anything else the candidates' have done to appeal to specific local issues to add on?

Click here to see the endorsement from The Los Angeles Times.

Click on continue reading to see the letter from Mike Morgan in support of Tony Strickland.

Tilting at wind turbines?

Did you catch the reference? Click here for the answer.

If you want to have me post mailers from your preferred candidate, scan them and send them in.

Click on continue reading to see the rest of the mailer.

Question:

Which of the Democratic candidate from the primaries does Hannah-Beth Jackson's campaign seem similar in their strategies and tactics?

Which of the Republican candidates from the primaries does Tony Strickland's campaign seem similar in their strategies and tactics?

The LA Times had an article recently about the state senate race between Hannah-Beth Jackson and Tony Strickland. Click here to read it for yourself.

The thesis of the article is that both sides are trying to reach out to voters who are not members of either party.

Here are some notable lines:

To partisans, they are "Phony Tony" and "Taxin' Jackson."

( About Tony Strickland's company ) The company doesn't have any employees, services or products because it's still waiting for its permit to be approved, he said.

But Strickland says his change of heart is real. Like T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire oil man now advocating cleaner energy sources, he has decided that America must "get off foreign oil," Strickland said.

And Hannah-Beth Jackson? The 58-year-old Democrat is so liberal that she's never seen a tax she didn't like, according to Strickland's supporters. Voters couldn't have a clearer choice, both sides say.

I am curious. If elected, would Tony Strickland be expected to sell off his interest in his alternative energy company being that he would be voting on issues related to it very often, or would he be expected to abstain on votes concerning energy policy?

Maybe he would be more effective in the private sector if he isn't going to be voting on the policies that are really important to him. I would expect he would sell his portion of the company to another willing investor.

Tell me if you think my analysis is missing something.

( A few videos from SBTV21 in Santa Barbara showing Tony Strickland and Hannah-Beth Jackson. Have you seen either of these on television? Click here to see more videos about other candidates.)

The Santa Barbara Independent has endorsed Hannah-Beth Jackson for state senate.

Click here for the endorsements from the Santa Barbara Independent.

I don't read the Santa Barbara Independent much because I live in Simi Valley. What is the reputation of the paper? Many alternative weekly papers lean far to the left. The Independent endorsements clearly favor Democrats ( They endorsed Marta Jorgenson, Pedro Nava, and Lois Capps.) but their news coverage seems to be equitable. If you live in a community that reads the Independent, what do you think of their reputation with readers?

Anyways, in the coming weeks more newspapers are going to make endorsements. What do you think they are worth? Feel free to preemptively spin if you don't think your candidate will earn a particular paper's endorsement.

In a campaign with low name ID they would seem helpful. I would be curious what % of district voters are following this campaign. If they didn't mean anything at all or it was already obvious who they were going to endorse. rival candidates wouldn't waste their time trying to explain themselves to the community advisory group that The Star puts in charge of their endorsements.

Click here for their recent articles about this campaign.

Click here to see Ventura County Star Editor Joe Howry's explanation of the endorsement process.

Ventura County Star reporter Timm Herdt wrote an article that says the campaign between Hannah-Beth Jackson and T. Strickland is between a candidate from the liberal wing of her party and a candidate from the conservative wing of his party.

The contest is going to be a battle to see which candidate proves their ability to work with people from the other party and which candidate has the ability to connect with people regardless of their party.

( He even has a green shirt! Way to stay on message!)

The Tony Strickland campaign has spent resources and time to introduce West County and Santa Barabra voters to Tony Strickland as an environmentalist in an effort to look more moderate. He has also put "independent" leadership on his campaign signs. I am curious. If he is independent of his party, how has he also been a leader in his party? If he is not a partisan in his party, who is a partisan in the Republican Party locally or at the state level?

But will it work? Will a leader of The Club for Growth, which has often gone after moderate Republicans really be able to show he has the record to share the same vision with moderate voters?

( Hannah-Beth Jackson with the Santa Barbara Sheriff, Bill Brown. I think a testimonial from a criminal she helped locked up would be great. If the criminal attacks her that makes her look great. If he talks about her helping to lock him up and how he has reformed that looks great too. Start researching Team Jackson. Maybe win a Poli Award?)

On the other side we have Hannah-Beth Jackson. She has been trying to show that her top priority isn't social issues but the basic local issues that matter to people of either party. For example, in Simi Valley she is pushing her record of legislation related to Rocketdyne/SSFL, her opposition to the expansion of the Simi Valley area landfill/dump, and her past support in successfully keeping Ahmanson Ranch as open space. She has also been fighting the stereotype that liberals are soft on crime by bragging about her past as a prosecutor, her legislation dealing with crime, and her endorsements from people or groups involved with public safety.

But will she be overwhelmed by attacks calling her "Taxin' Jackson" when budget problems are the top issue Sacramento has been dealing with? With bank failures, massive government bail outs being proposed, and a budget passed that legislative Democrats, Republicans, or the governor aren't proud of could any candidate win while being the target of ad after ad that says they will raise your taxes without cutting spending?

I am a Democrat but I realize there are major problems in Sacramento. I want to elect a Democrat that knows that big money doesn't just influence the Republican Party and recognizes that Californians are willing to pay for our government if we are assured that the money is being used wisely. I also don't believe that the closing tax loopholes on yachts will make a real impact on the budget. I am bored with Democrats bringing up an imaginary flotilla of minimally taxed yachts that could make a major improvement in our budget.

Is Hannah-Beth Jackson a different type of Democrat?

What do you think? Has the branding of the candidates started to work?

Which candidate is able to connect on issues that motivates voters in the middle?

Sidenote: If you write a political blog about Ventura County politics but you don't know her name is Hannah-Beth Jackson are you really staying informed? We all make typos from time to time but you have been getting her name wrong for weeks. You should correct your errors.

If you see a typo, misspelling, or grammatical error on my blog I'd appreciate an email from my readers before it goes into google cache. Thanks!

I think most of us agree the budget should be the top issue in race in the 19th senate district. Some favor higher taxes, some favor cuts to the budget only, and others favor a mix of the two options.

But this entry isn't about the top issue, it is about what should the other top issues should be. What are your top issues, they might be related to, but isn't the budget? In the above video a group of environmentalists are taking on Tony Strickland's record at a press conference because they think he is greenwashing his actual support for alternative energy.

His website only says this about his energy plans:

Reducing Our Dependence on Foreign Oil:

As Vice President of GreenWave Energy Solutions, a company created to harness the power of ocean waves, Tony Strickland is helping to invest in new, innovative, clean and renewable energy sources to help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and help jumpstart California's economy.

Do you think he should be more specific on this issue if it is going to be the center of his campaign? I am surprised more people haven't been calling him out on his complete lack of specifics about how to support alternative energy.

What are your top issues for a state senate candidate? Is it alternative energy?

Hannah-Beth Jackson supporters are striking back at what they are calling Tony Strickland's greenwashing over his agenda and record.

The California Courage Campaign made this viral video to get activists pumped up to take on Tony Strickland. Because of the length it won't be on any stations but judging by how many people are emailing links of it around I expect it will get many views.

How many views would it need to be a success? I would guess at least a few thousand which will be a tough number for for either campaign to achieve.

Tony Strickland would have a better defense if he had a position on alternative energy that had any details at all. His "issues" section of his website says only this:

Reducing Our Dependence on Foreign Oil

As Vice President of GreenWave Energy Solutions, a company created to harness the power of ocean waves, Tony Strickland is helping to invest in new, innovative, clean and renewable energy sources to help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and help jumpstart California's economy.

No mention if he believes in subsidies, higher taxes on some forms of energy to make alternatives more competitive, reducing regulations on alternative energy, or any specific policy at all.

This ad comes directly from Hannah-Beth Jackson's campaign and ends with a quote from a Jere Robings, a Republican that is supporting Hannah-Beth Jackson.

This morning I saw Tony Strickland and a group of his supporters waving signs at the corner of Erringer and the entrance to the Simi Valley mall. One of the supporters included Audra Strickland's Chief of Staff, who was suspended from her government office for the pushing that happened outside of Tony Strickland's fundraiser with Mitt Romney back in June. I don't know if he is back from suspension yet but as he has been by Tony Strickland's side for many years I think we will see more of him. I didn't get a fair count as I turned but I would say there was about ten people total. If my numbers are wrong send me an email.

Allies of Tony Strickland have released a negative attack ad on Hannah-Beth Jackson. From their website it looks like the group is directed by Tom McClintock and the Republican Party. Of course Tony Strickland doesn't control these groups but being that they are close allies he could stop them if he wanted these ads off the air. Let's be serious. Of course he wants these attack ads up on the air.

I am sure both campaigns will go negative but Strickland supporters put out the first ad that is negative.

I have news that Hannah-Beth Jackson filmed an ad the other day also.

In this district do you remember any other campaigns running television ads?

The campaign for state senate is getting more exciting.

State Senate candidate Hannah-Beth Jackson is hosting a BBQ to thank local firefighters for their recent service. Click on continue reading for details.

She also has a free event in Simi Valley this weekend. I have heard that flyers have been distributed to a very wide area. I plan to be there. I will post photos and maybe some video afterward. Click here for details.

The contest is getting more press attention. Blogger Nick Welsh has something in the in his post to upset pretty much all sides of this election. Click here to read a funny and irreverent look at the candidates.

Here are some of the less colorful quotes:

"Angeles was also involved in Tony Strickland's feeble efforts to green wash his outspokenly anti-environmental voting record while in the Assembly."

Before leaving, McClintock anointed Strickland as his hand-picked successor. If Jackson hasn't sent Tom a handwritten thank-you note on perfumed stationary, then she's either an idiot or an ingrate.

A new group of educators has been put together and will be organizing events for Hannah-Beth Jackson in East County. Their next event is a fundraiser. Click on continue reading for details.

The list includes 3 school board members from Simi Valley and past county board of education candidate / education activist Donna Prenta from Simi Valley. Donna, the press release mentions that Hannah-Beth Jackson has the support of many education board members throughout the county. Is there a place where we could view the names? Have you been calling on Hannah-Beth Jackson's behalf to help the campaign?

Getting educators together to support a candidate isn't anything new. But what about the idea of getting together a group of students to support a candidate? That would be impressive locally because of the lack of political participation and organization of the parties.

( Somebody get me a new video of this contest!)

A new group of Republicans that are supporting Democrat Hannah-Beth Jackson has formed.

Unlike the purported group of Democrats supporting Strickland this group has a long list of former party leaders and elected officials.

Why is the group of self-proclaimed Democrats not willing to put their names behind Tony Strickland?

I am sure that Republicans will try to diminish the group but before you do, who is the biggest name Democrat supporting Tony Strickland?

Who is the most surprising name that you see on the list?

Click here to see their petition.

Click continue reading to see their press release.

Click here for Timm Herdt's take on the new group.

( Warning: Timm is spelled with two M's. If you send him an email and spell his name wrong he will sign you up for spam.)

A friend of mine puts together websites for Democratic candidates if you want a website put up quickly send me an email.