Check out the posts from Das Williams and Susan Jordan:

First Susan posts that she met Lilly Ledbetter at the recent Ventura County Democratic Party Kennedy Legacy event. Then minutes later Das Williams posts that he too watched the speech.

To summarize:

Susan Jordan posts that she attended the Lilly Ledbetter speech. A few minutes later Das Williams posts that he went to the Lilly Ledbetter speech. Then a few minutes after that Susan Jordan tops him by posting a picture of her with Lilly Ledbetter and announces that she has Ledbetter's endorsement.

Sure it could all be a coincidence but it looked funny to me.

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.

Click on continue reading for details.

Click here for my interview with Tom Campbell.

State Senator Tony Strickland has endorsed Meg Whitman and conservative political activist Steve Frank is working for Steve Poizner. I doubt that Peter Foy is really planning to run, but I am sure he likes people discussing the rumor that he might do it.

Who do you want to win the Republican nomination?

The interview is scheduled for 2:30 to 4:30 PM. Come back then.

This entry is only for that interview. If you have questions or comments you can leave them on the entry below. Only Mike Stoker and I will be posting questions on this entry.

State Assembly candidate Mike Stoker is currently running unopposed for the Republican nomination to take on the winner of the Democratic primary ( Das Williams or Susan Jordan).

I am going to be asking him questions on the budget, state government reform, taxes, education and more.

UPDATE: Thanks to Mike Stoker for doing this interview. The interview is now over but you can read it on this entry and leave your thoughts on the open entry below. Mike posted his cell phone number if you have more questions. Was there a question I didn't ask that you want to see answered? Post it on the entry below.

This entry is to discuss the interview with Mike Stoker or to post your thoughts on other topics that haven't been given enough attention locally. What's on your mind?

Santa Barbara City Council Member Das Williams is also making it official by declaring next week he is running for State Assembly to replace Assembly Member Pedro Nava who is prevented from term limits from running again. Pedro Nava is running for Attorney General.

I am not going to be going to the press conferences but I will post any video that is made available.

I want someone that will stand up for the vital services the state runs but will also challenge existing orthodoxies that dominate Sacramento. I want someone that knows the issues and knows when their supporters, interest groups, and party leaders are wrong.

We need major reforms at the state level on how we create budgets and I don't want someone that needs approval from interest groups to do what they know is needed.

What do you want?

I don't know if Das Williams or Susan Jordan is that candidate yet.

The latest round of fundraising numbers is expected soon. With that data we can tell if State Senator Tony Strickland is willing to invest serious money into Mike Stoker's campaign. I haven't seen much that would make Mike Stoker have bipartisan appeal yet, but the election is a long time away.

Click on continue reading for the press release.

( Photo courtesy of Sharon Hillbrant. Sharon serves as a volunteer on too many committees to mention but they include the Ventura County Democratic Central Committee and the California Democratic Party Rules Committee.)

The Susan Jordan for Assembly in 2010 campaign announced the endorsement of State Democratic Party Vice-Chair Eric Bauman. He has been a leader of the Los Angeles Democratic Party for years and was recently elected to a leadership position in the state party. He is also a senior staff member for Lt. Governor John Garamendi.

Click on continue reading for the press release.

Click here for my interview w/ Eric Bauman when he was successfully campaigning to be Vice Chair of the California Democratic Party.

Her opponent in the primary, Santa Barbara City Council Member Das Williams, announced that former State Assembly Member and former candidate for State Senate Hannah-Beth Jackson has endorsed her former staff member for state assembly.

Hannah-Beth Jackson is very well known in much of the district after serving in the State Assembly for 6 years and running unsuccessfully against Tony Strickland for the State Senate. She has the ability to help him raise money and to add credibility to his campaign.

Here is an old ad form when Das Williams was running for city council:

Republican State Assembly candidate Mike Stoker has ridiculed this endorsement with his own press release calling Hannah-Beth Jackson "Taxin' Jackson" like Strickland supporters did during the campaign.

I don't know why her critics, like Mike Stoker, don't spell her name correctly. Is it intentional?

We will see when the fundraising reports come out if local Republicans are really getting behind Mike Stoker. He was endorsed by State Senator Tony Strickland but the real sign of commitment will be if Strickland donates a substantial amount early on.

The Republican Party has already endorsed Jeff Gorell in the primary for the 37th State Assembly district nomination. Do they have the confidence to do the same to help Mike Stoker? Large donations and an early endorsement would show they are planning to seriously campaign for this office.

To all the candidates: Let me know when you have a campaign website up or would like to be interviewed.

Here are more pictures from the annual Ventura County Democratic Party spring fling event. Keep sending in photos you want me to post.

CA 24 congressional candidate Tim Allison campaigns for the Democratic nomination. Check out how many people are wearing his stickers in the photos from the event.

Click here for past entries that mention him. Tim, when you have a website up I will link to it when you are mentioned on my blog. When is the website going up?

Santa Barbara City Council Member and Labor Union Organizer Das Williams was among the many candidates at the event meeting other elected officials and Democratic Party activists.

Das Williams and Susan Jordan are both running to earn the nomination of the Democratic Party for the 35th State Assembly District.

Click here for past entries that mention him.

Susan Jordan has her photo taken with John Ziv ,a leader of the local The Sierra Club. I have heard her campaign was very successful at rounding up endorsements at the event. I expect to see a list in a few weeks.

Click here for past entries that mention her.

In the background is Shawn Stern, a candidate for congress ( CA 24). Shawn, any news from the campaign trail to report?

Click here for past entries that mention Shawn Stern.

I am going to be interviewing a candidate for state assembly soon. Obviously the budget is the most important issue but I also want to know the positions of the candidates on education reform. Any specific questions you want me to ask?

Ever get the idea that advertisers are reading your email or website to target their message? My latest advertiser on this blog is the CIA. Something I wrote might mean that my readers are targets for recruitment into our clandestine intelligence services. For this week when you are coming up with screen names try to see if you can reference spies from history or fiction.

I thought the ad placement next to this event listed online was really funny:

Remember when some liberals were saying they were going to leave if Bush won? I guess some Canadians are now trying to recruit Republicans!

Click on the appropriate button below to share this entry on a social network like Facebook.

Republican Mike Sroker has entered the race for 35th Assembly District. The 35th Assembly District is thought to be a safe Democratic district but he is hoping to change that in the 2010 election.

Click here for an article on the subject from Ventura County Star Reporter Timm Herdt.

Timm, what is a district consultant? How much does that job pay?

He has already been endorsed by State Senator Tony Strickland, which should help to clear the primary field. I will hesitate to say State Senator Tony Strickland is supporting him until I see campaign finance reports showing he has actually donated money. As of now I don't know if Republican leaders are really going to be supporting Mike Stoker with their wallets.

Mr. Stoker said he would run on a platform to reduce the state workforce, while protecting police and fire and increasing education funding.

Click here for the story on SantaBarbarasBlog.com.

So, he wants to reduce the state work force but police, fire, and education funding won't be cut? Does he include prisons as part of police protection? Maybe he means he will increase funding but cut positions? Does that mean he wants less teachers but higher pay?

Click here for the Santa Barbara Independent story on his campaign announcement.

Does that 20% include local law enforcement? Prison workers? Teachers? Does he mean only state government employees?

When he sets up a website with clear policy positions I will post another entry.

I don't live in the district but I will support the candidate that has the most serious positions on moving forward out of our current problems.

Mr. Stoker, send me any campaign updates you want me to post.

I posted this entry in a rush getting out the door because I said I would by the end of the week. If you see any mistakes please correct me. Thanks!