Many campaigns turn negative in a primary when candidates don't disagree on much. Maybe that is why David Cruz Thayne has spent so much energy attacking Julia Brownley.

He has been relentless in the attention towards Julia Brownley. It seems he believes his only way to make the top two is to reduce her favorables. He doesn't seem to pay attention to the other candidates nor does he really discuss policy differences with Julia Brownley.

Why is his campaign so negative towards only one candidate?

Ventura County Star reporter Timm Herdt posted that a Democratic Super Pac made a huge purchase for this new ad supporting Julia Brownley. With only a few weeks to go before voters choose the top two candidates I expect more outside interest groups to help her.

This ad is designed to rally the base of the Democratic Party. What do you think? With only one registered Republican running I expect Tony Strickland will get first place. The real contest is between Julia Brownley and Linda Parks to make the top two. Have you seen this ad or others on television?

Timm herdt has a new blog post up that runs the numbers on the various voter turnout scenarios and outcomes of of the CA26 primary.

I don't have strong opinions if it will be Julia Brownley or Linda Parks in the top two. What are your thoughts?

I like Linda Parks. I think she has been a decent County Supervisor. I don't like her new ad. I know she is trying to introduce herself to more voters but I want her to discuss other issues besides her new independence from a political party.

Her Campaign for Congress has been devoid of issues beyond claiming to be a moderate and an independent. I want to know where she stands on issues. I understand she isn't a member of a party anymore but I don't know how she would vote in Congress.

But she could be running a brilliant strategy for this new top two primary where Democrats have been dividing their support behind multiple candidates.

I don't like her new ad.

Is she really not going to caucus with a party? If she doesn't join a party caucus she won't be on any committees. How effective of a legislator can someone be if they aren't on a committee?

Her new ad is on television which is something I haven't seen much of from other candidates. This add had 12,409 when I checked. That is massive for a Ventura County online ad. She is attracting far more attention than the other candidates.

Check out where many of the online views are coming from:

Democrats have been paying attention to her but I am not convinced they have a plan to stop her.

If Democrats want a candidate in the top two then Julia Brownley is going to need to run a great campaign.

David Cruz Thayne when he mentions his opponents almost exclusively focuses his energies on Julia Brownley. I posted this on his Facebook page:

Does it make sense to target mostly Democratic voters or should he also be going after Linda Park's base of support too? It seems most of the candidates are ignoring Linda Parks. That seems like a mistake to me. She is a popular politician. I am curious what her upcoming campaign finance report will show us.

With absentee ballots coming out soon more mail and calls will be made. You can email me any mailers you receive that you want me to post.

Ventura County Democrats are trying to attack polarizing Republicans like Rick Santorum and Rush Limbaugh to Tony Strickland. Click on this link to read more.

Here is the message from the Ventura County Democratic Party.

As you've probably heard, Rush Limbaugh has gotten into a lot of trouble over his misogynistic and sexist remarks about women who use contraception. But it's not just Limbaugh. Republican leaders like Rick Santorum and Ron Paul have painted described basic contraception as immoral, too.

Well, it's time to get local Republicans like Tony Strickland on the record about birth control. [link]Ask them TODAY if they agree with Republican leaders Rick Santorum and Rush Limbaugh that birth control is immoral.[/link]

The citizens of Ventura County have a right to know if the Republicans who want to represent them in Washington and Sacramento share their Republican leaders' antiquated views. Please take a few minutes to ask Tony Strickland whether he would vote with Limbaugh and Santorum on birth control.

Please fill out the form below to send an email to Republicans asking them if they agree with Rush Limbaugh and Rick Santorum that birth control is immoral. Let them know that you support the ability of women being to control their own bodies, and the ability of families to plan their futures responsibly. And thank you again for helping to hold your local Republicans accountable to real moral values!

The Democratic candidates are spending time concentrating on each other as Linda Parks is campaigning on bipartisanship. That leaves Tony Strickland without much opposition that is organized against him.

I would ask Tony Strickland if he thinks Rush Limbaugh is a good conservative leader.

There are now officially six candidates for the Ventura County based 26th Congressional district with the latest being Linda Parks. She is a Republican with strong connections to the local environmental community.

Linda Parks will make a formidable opponent for the other candidates. Her platform so far includes criticisms of the insider trading scandal in Congress, calls for less partisanship, and appeals to limit the influence of corporate PACS and unions in politics. She will be running as a populist outsider.

Her campaign will need to answer questions from many activists in both parties if she wants to attract their support. To start with what party would should caucus with? I will request an interview with her soon.

I shared the story on my Facebook page for this blog before it was in the newspapers. If you want to follow the latest in Ventura County politics include that page in your reading.

https://www.facebook.com/BrianDennertHere

Who are the other potential candidates?

Tony Strickland is expected to announce that he is running. He is currently in New Hampshire campaigning with Mitt Romney. I expect when he returns he will be organizing his official announcement.

Peter Foy has also been mentioned as a potential candidate but he has said he will be supporting Tony Strickland.

Other potential candidates include Michael Tenenbaum and maybe Rep. Brad Sherman moving to the district to avoid a primary battle with fellow Democrat Rep. Howard Berman.

Another blog had a rumor in the comments section that Michael Reagan was considering a run also. That would be very interesting if some Republicans want an alternative to Tony Strickland. Tony Strickland has spent a long time organizing the local Republican Party. The Central Committee has many close allies of his on it. Michael Reagan wouldn't start as the favorite of local Republicans.

A surprise potential candidate is Simi Valley City Council Member Glen Beccerra who said:

"This seat looks like it was designed for a Hispanic Republican," he said.

Becerra, like Gallegly, lives in Simi Valley, outside of the district lines, but said that makes little difference.
"I was born and raised in Ventura County, and this is a Ventura County district," he said.

The Constitution does not require Members of Congress to live in the district they represent.

Ventura County politics is going to start being much more exciting.

As I was researching candidates for school board races I found Mike Dunn's website. MIke Dunn's tenure on the CVUSD Board has seen many controversies with him being at the center of some of the most contentious debates. From being accused of violating labor law to debates over the alleged gay agenda in health textbooks Mike Dunn has been a hero to some and a villain to others. He has been a polarizing figure and a favorite for media coverage because of it.

He took questions from my readers before and he admitted he was wrong to call an applicant for a job. His willingness to speak openly about his values and agenda have made him among the most vocal school board members in Ventura County.

I thought he would continue being a polarizing figure but with this screenshot from his website I am having my doubts:

If Mike Dunn earned the endorsement of Linda Parks I am thinking I should reexamine the conventional wisdom about him.

I am writing about SVUSD Board politics later this week. But what's happening with the election for your local school board?

Like many of you I thought the contest between Audra Strickland and Linda Parks would be close. I don't have much to add to what Timm Herdt and Eric Ingemunson have already written. If the race was close then it would be easy to dismiss arguments like the voters have rejected negative campaigning. But with a stunning defeat many factors are likely true.

Mike Osbourn tried to blame the money unions spent on the race but that can't be the prime cause when the VCRCC spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Audra Strickland. They can't blame turnout when Republican turnout was much higher than DTS and Democratic voters. Besides, blaming turnout admits that Audra Strickland didn't have cross party appeal.

Blaming incumbency doesn't work either because both of the candidates currently represent most of the same people. Incumbency is usually very powerful because of name ID and the ability to raise money. Audra Strickland's supporters can't claim those worked against her because she is a well-known elected official and she was very-well funded.

I was amused that Audra Strickland's team played so many games including demanding that a fundrasier of hers or a past candidate against Linda Parks moderate a debate. She might have technically been correct that Linda Parks didn't demand a neutral moderator but did her team really think the news stories on the issue would look good to voters?

I don't know exactly what motivated voters to reject Audra Strickland's arguments or I would put it in a binder and sell it to other politicians. What do you think influenced voters the most?

It is approximately the % by which Linda Parks defeated Audra Strickland and it is also the approximate number of negative mailers Audra Strickland sent out during the campaign.

Over the next few weeks I will review some of the other campaigns. Next up: The Clerk / Recorder race.

How many of my readers remember this video clip?

Even though the Ventura County Republican Central Committee is outraged a candidate would obscure their party membership on a mailer their candidate Audra Strickland did just that by paying to be on a slate mailer sent to Democratic households that make it look like she is a Democrat. Meanwhile she is sending to Republican households mailers attacking her opponent for not being Republican enough.

Here is the guest blog entry from Democratic Party Activist KK Holland:

Hi Brian,

I got this REALLY interesting and wacky "pay to play" mailer today, with JFK on the front, and a banner saying "take this Democratic voter guide to the polls!" The four candidates with the biggest pictures were on the inside page, and Audra Strickland was one of them--over a big box reading "Democrats" and encouraging me to "vote DEMOCRATIC on Tuesday, June 8." Her name has an asterisk on the opposing page, which the mailer states means "Appearance is paid for and authorized by each candidate and ballot measure which is designated by an * " .

Like everyone, I've gotten a ton of these, but the Strickland campaign involves a Republican central committee going up against one of their own under the premise that Strickland is the real Republican. Strickland's entire campaign is premised on making the race not about nonpartisan, county-level representation, but identity, values and a fight over the legitimacy of who represents real Republican values here in Ventura County. That makes it super problematic for her to resort to this type of cheap trick. While these types of mailers are generally irrelevant to the process, this mailer seems different because of how deeply contradictory and damaging it is to the entire reason for her campaign. If this campaign isn't a litmus test of values and party identity, then there really isn't any reason for Republicans to support her over Parks--and it seems tough for Strickland to continue to make that case with a straight face given the powerful visual imagery she chooses to associate herself with here. Strickland is already contending with allegations of being a career politician looking for the next pay check, having run for three offices in the last six or so months. This really reinforces the meme of a vanity candidacy.

I've attached three of the four pages. If you want the back piece, let me know and I can get it for you.

KK Holland

Thanks for your post KK. If any of my other readers would like to analyze campaign mailers for a guest blog entry send me an email.

I am running a contest to win the top spot on my blog next Tuesday. In an era with so many negative and desperate attacks I think it is refreshing to remind each other that although we have political differences our opponents are not the monsters that they are made out to be.

Linda Parks has posted the negative mailers her opponent Audra Strickland has been bombarding voters with over and over again. I especially like the mailer that says Bill Clinton was impeached in 1996 before he ran for reelection. If they missed a simple historical fact imagine how wrong some of their interpretations of county government actions on their mailers must be.

I have found many faults with Audra Strickland's political tactics. The latest comedy involves her paying to be on a Democratic slate mailer as a protector of open space as she attacks her opponent ferociously for working too often with Democrats and supporting open space. But politics aside she is a nice person that comes from a caring family. I don't like her politics but she isn't maliciously trying to destroy the state.

Let's temper our words and remember that what we have in common is greater than our differences. That said let's get back to our top political animal contest.

Linda Parks' Field Coordinator sent me the following message:

Please find attached a picture of Supervisor Linda Parks with her dog, Travis. Travis the yellow lab is in dog heaven, but if he were here with, this is what he'd look like with her political sign.

Best,

Mark

Click on continue reading to see the other dogs before you vote. You can vote for as many dogs as you want.

Because I live in Simi Valley I do not get the mail that Audra Strickland and Linda Parks have been sending to voters. If you scan and send me any mailers of theirs I will post it so that we can analyze it. Feel free to include the demographic details of the voters in your household if you want.