Jim Dantona has started releasing some of the names of local leaders that have endorsed his run for Ventura County Clerk Recorder. His press release is in bold below my comments.

Here are my thoughts on some of his endorsements:

I have deep respect for State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell. He has consistently pushed for education reforms, even when other educational leaders disagreed with him. I also like his brand of politics. When he was a local legislator he often met with constituents at a card table set up on a street corner. More politicians should follow that example.

Arleigh Kidd is a personal friend of mine and although we disagree on some education policies I know he is a true advocate for the middle class. His endorsement is personal as teachers unions have next to nothing at stake with the county government.

Brad Sherman used to represent large parts of Eastern Ventura County before the last census. He might again after this census. His name might not persuade many voters but it shows Dantona is putting together a credible challenge. In the interest of full disclosure I interned in his office for a few weeks years ago.

I am not surprised supporters of limiting urban growth boundaries wouldn't be supporting Peter Foy's employee as Foy has consistently voted to support the rights of property owners to develop their land. That said it will help Dantona to get support from across the county to avoid being a regional candidate.

We will see how much Firefighters want to spend supporting a candidate for clerk when they have other tough races for supervisor. They do have a great GOTV team which I wonder if it will put to use for a slate of candidates.

Jim Dantona has many contacts across the state and nation from his work in politics but I wonder how they can be used locally. Can he use their endorsements to raise money when the office he seeks doesn't control the types of issues that are important to many interest groups?

He was endorsed by State Senator Alex Padilla who should help him earn more endorsements. He would be smart to work with groups that want to increase Latino electoral participation, especially since his opponent doesn't mention increasing voter registration or participation of any voters on his political website.

It will be an interesting local election season.

JIM DANTONA PICKS UP KEY ENDORSEMENTS

On the same day Jim Dantona officially filed to run for Ventura County Clerk and Recorder, he picked up some major endorsements. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, Congressman Brad Sherman and State Senator Alex Padilla join a growing list of supporters lining up behind Dantona's campaign.

Joining Dantona at the Ventura County Clerk's office to file were former Mayor of Ventura and author of SOAR, Richard Francis, California Teachers Association Regional Director Arleigh Kidd and Ventura County Firefighter Association President Chris Mahon.

Click on continue reading for the rest of the press release.

Jim Dantona had a long profile of his campaign themes in The Acorn last Friday. His opponent Mark Lunn started his campaign much earlier but Jim Dantona has been working hard to catch up.

He will be announcing that The Ventura County Firefighters Union will be supporting him and I have heard several other prominent announcements will be announced in the next few weeks.

I want a Clerk-Recorder that will work to register more voters and make it easier for them to vote. The legitimacy of our elections is dependent on voter participation. Mark Lunn has many sections of his website with buzzwords about safety, integrity, and character but he doesn't do much to show me he will work with other people to make sure more people participate. I look forward to him addressing this major issue.

Let's see which candidate does the best job of proving they will work to register young people and other underrepresented groups. If a candidate is satisfied with the local voter turnout they aren't qualified for this position.

Mark Lunn sent me a request to post his fanbox so here you go:

Mark, my request is that candidates for this office hold a one on one debate online without a moderator. Each candidate can post their replies to each other and ask any questions they see fit. Let me know as we get closer if you are interested.

When I went to his website I checked out his endorsement page and I was really impressed. Although he has been running for longer than Jim Dantona that doesn't fully explain his long list of supporters. Mark Lunn served on The Ventura County Republican Central Committee that isn't too surprising he has the support of many Republican officeholders. He has been endorsed by 4 members of the Simi Valley City Council which isn't too surprising by itself as Simi Valley officials seem to make it a hobby to endorse candidates. But what is surprising is that past Dantona ally Barbra Williamson is on the list of his supporters.

It will be interesting in the next few weeks to see if Jim Dantona can get the support of prominent Democratic officeholders and if he can make a case he has bipartisan support.

This year is going to be great for blog traffic. I have many races that the print media won't be covering much combined with candidates like Audra Strickland and Jim Dantona who always get massive attention.

Jim Dantona is running for Ventura County Clerk-Reporter. He has shown in the past he is a tough campaigner when he defeated an incumbent supervisor and then came close in a run-off to Peter Foy in a Republican district. His declared opponent is Supervisor Peter Foy's Chief of Staff Mark Lunn.

The Ventura County Clerk-Recorder is in charge of voter registration and running elections. I want to see a candidate that isn't on the central committee for their party and won't use the position to directly influence elections. I wouldn't mind if they resigned from their party and promised to rarely endorse candidates.

I also want to expand voter registration and Vote By Mail efforts across our communities including (but not limited to) minorities, young people, military members and senior citizens. My ideal candidate will rally young people on campuses to vote and see a major duty of theirs to increase voter turn out.

I will be following these candidates closely to see who offers us the clear choice. Jim Dantona has earned my respect for his energetic campaigning. Let's see if he will earn my vote.

In related news Peter Foy might be too busy to help Mark Lunn much. Check back in a few days to see why.

To all of the candidates: If you ever see a comment that is personally offensive or otherwise over the top send me an email to have it removed. I often remove comments and I don't post who requested me to delete the comment.

The Ventura County Young Republicans will be holding a mixer Tuesday night with County Supervisor Peter Foy and Thousand Oaks Planning Commissioner Mark Lunn.

Click on continue reading for details.

In related news voting remains open in the poll for who you would like to see as the nominee of the Republican Party for governor in 2010. Supervisor Peter Foy is behind Tom Campbell by just a few votes. Do you want Peter Foy to run? Vote for him and encourage him to run.