I haven't followed this story enough to make sense of it. State Assembly Candidate Patricia McKeon was attacked by an anonymous website that she apparently complained was set up by her rival Scott Wilk. I saw the website a few times. Sometimes it was interesting but I didn't want to post from it because it included personal attacks and comments on physical appearances.

Now, Scott Wilk's team is arguing they caught Patricia McKeon in a blatant lie and they have a letter from the District Attorney and the audio to support their claim.

http://westranchbeacon.com/2012/03/patricia-mckeon-can-we-believe-anything-she-says/comment-page-1/#comment-496822

The 38th Assembly District primary election is going to get nastier as the election gets closer.

Who do you believe?

You don't need to register to comment. Please keep it classy.

I agree with Ventura County Star Reporter Timm Herdt that Simi Valley politics will be much more interesting because of redistricting.

There is a State Assembly race that involves two influential Republicans from Santa Clarita. Scott Wilk and Patricia McKeon both have support from Republican Party activists. The district leans Republican but I expect moderate Democrat Edward Headington to make the top two.

Republicans don't have a declared candidate for the State Senate seat yet but many people think Cameron Smyth will declare soon. Democrats have incumbent State Senator Fran Pavley running and she will be campaigning in Simi Valley soon.

A small part of Simi Valley is in the Ventura based Congressional district that has many strong candidates running for it including Steve Bennett, Tony Strickland, David cruz Thayne, David Pollock, and Linda Parks.

The House seat that includes Simi Valley and Santa Clarita so far has incumbent Republican Howard "Buck" McKeon running for it and a new challenger Dr. Lee Rogers. A major issue in that campaign has been the Countrywide VIP loan program that Rep. Buck McKeon allegedly benefited from. Buck McKeon has denied all wrongdoing.

All of this brings me to Simi Valley City Council Member Glen Becerra. When Rep. Elton Gallegly announced his retirement he was quoted as saying:

Simi Valley City Councilman Glen Becerra said he also will take a serious look at entering the race. "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.

I wonder if Glen Becerra might consider running for any one of these positions.

House 26th:
I doubt he would run against Tony Strickland. Tony Strickland has quickly united the Republican Party behind him.

House 25th:
Buck McKeon will be weakened from attacks on paying his wife to run work on his campaigns and benefiting from the Countrywide VIP Home Loan program. The attacks on Patricia McKeon from her opponents will hurt Buck McKeon. Could Glen Becerra be tempted to run for what is considered a safe Republican seat because of the growing charges against Buck McKeon and Patricia McKeon from their opponents?

State Senate 27th District:
If Cameron Smyth runs I don't think Glen Becerra would challenge him. Smyth hasn't declared his intentions. I assumed he was going to run but I am not so sure. Cameron Smyth is holding a fundraiser for State Assembly candidate Scott Wilk. That might be a sign that he isn't worried about upsetting special interest groups that are supporting Patricia McKeon. Now that it looks like State Senator Fran Pavley will be the only Democrat running Republicans will consider that challenging her is going to tougher. Fran Pavely is popular with Democratic activists and she has the ability to raise money. She has represented much of the area and was a popular teacher in Moorpark.

Assembly District 38:
If Glen Becerra ran for the State Assembly seat he could have had a decent chance. With the two Santa Clarita based Republicans dividing support from that area he could have joined the Democrat in the top two based on his base of support in Simi Valley. He has already endorsed Scott Wilk though so that would be pretty surprising. Claiming the endorsement of your opponent would make a great mailer. He isn't going to run against Scott Wilk.

Glen Becerra has won four elections to the Simi Valley City Council, including his first when he beat a more conservative incumbent.

The deadline to file is in March. He might not see opportunities like this again for a long time.

On Thursday nights I interview candidates, activists, and other interesting political figures.

This Thursday Night I am interviewing State Assembly candidate Diana Shaw. To read about her background go to her website.

Click on continue reading to see the interview.

( Democratic nominees for State Assembly Ferial Masry and Carole Lutness)

On another entry the Democratic nominee, Carole Lutness, to take on Cameron Smyth ( R- Santa Clarita) in the 38th State Assembly district agreed to take questions from readers. Read through her website and then leave some questions or comments for her.

Carole, I have a few questions for you:

1. Do you have a Myspace or Facebook account? If you do please post the links to them.
2. Do you have any plans to work with the Hannah-Beth Jackson campaign in the precincts that overlap between you two?
3. I saw your pictures with Dennis Kucinich. Do you support his move to start the impeachment process against the Bush Administration?
4. Who is more conservative, Tony Strickland or Cameron Smyth?
5. How do you think Cameron Smyth did when he was on the Santa Clarita City Council?
6. When is the next time you plan to attend or hold an event in Simi Valley?
7. Who did you support in the Democratic primaries?
8. What do you think of the overall level of taxation in California?
9. What do you think about the role of faith in politics?
10. Do you support Same Sex Marriage?
11. During the debate over our Constitution would you have been a Federalist or Anti-Federalist. ( Okay, fine, I am out of questions. )

Carole, answer the questions when you get a chance that I posted and more importantly that my readers will post. There isn't a need to rush so if you don't do it everyday, don't worry about it. You don't need to register to post comments.

( The above video is from her campaign explaining more about why she is running.)

The 19th senate district extends all the way from Santa Barbra County into Los Angeles County. Anyone want to use google maps and tell me the total drive time across the district?

This weekend State Assembly Member Cameron Smyth will be walking with Tony Strickland around Santa Clarita meeting voters. Maybe Pedro Nava and Hannah-Beth Jackson will be teaming up soon?

Click on continue reading to see the latest announcement from the Tony Strickland campaign.

( Map taken from Hannah-Beth Jackson's website.)

I am not biased in favor of Tony Strickland. If you told their campaign that they would likely start laughing. Off the record of course. I post statements and events from campaigns as they come in.

If your campaign has an event they want people to know about please send it to me.

It is apparent that Cameron Smyth is a team player for the Republicans but so much for his image as a moderate. Tony Strickland is a tough campaigner but I think everyone pretty much agrees he is very conservative. He doesn't support same sex marriage or civil unions. That seems pretty conservative for California or even this district.

But I guess Smyth did work for infamous State Senator Pete Knight years ago. Of all the Republican State Assembly Members Smyth is my favorite ( please don't quiz me, I admit I don't know many) because of his support for green proposals, but that Pete Knight background leaves me suspicious.

What would you ask either of these candidates if they came to your door?

Have you seen any other politicians out campaigning door to door recently?

( Same Smyth? Yes or no?)

Assembly Member Cameron Smyth has had his recent bill limiting the power of HOA's to stop people from installing solar panels from being installed signed by the governor. For a conservative Republican he is quickly building up a name as a legitimate environmentalist.

Do you think he is planning on running for higher office?

Click here for a snippet from the opposition to the bill.

Click on continue reading to see the press release.

On John McCain's website there is a section of campaign gear you can purchase that have an environmentalist theme to them. Even though some far right critics attacked him for it and said he would not earn green votes for his efforts ( I do know one young environmental activist that is a Republican but the environment is her focus. Being Green keeps people like her from shifting their support to candidates like Barack Obama.) I believe it is a major change in American politics.

It appears as though George W. Bush will be the last anti-environmental president. Republican and Democratic leaders agree that climate change is real and human influenced. They also agree that actions needs to be taken.

( Tony Strickland and Hannah Beth Jackson agree climate change is real and human influenced. Kind of reminds me of this odd couple.)

In our area Tony Strickland is trying to show that he is an environmentally friendly candidate. He has spoken many times about his company, GreenWave Energy Solutions, and their effort and exploring more alternative energy sources.

His critics will attempt to claim the whole thing is a greenwash attempt. That he voted against the policy preferences of all the prominent environmental groups while he was int he state assembly. They also ridicule his company because it doesn't have a product, a profit, or even revenue beyond investment capital.

All of that may or may not be true.

But what is true is more important. The day when environmental protections only came from one party are over. To be an anti-environmentalist isn't going to be effective any longer.

The new debate is over what party has better ideas on the ways in which we provide for our energy security and protect our environment. The battle of ideas has shifted over. Republicans are quickly trying to get green as many of them distance themselves from past policies and statements.

Remember this one from Ronald Regan?

Republicans will not go back to Ronald Reagan's statements that show him at odds with environmentalists, but instead they will argue that their free market solutions will be a better way of protecting the environment.

Democrats will have to make the case that Republicans are not serious in their new found devotion and that their policies will be ineffective. But the middle has shifted and the new debate has been set.

The campaigns locally have already started adapting to this new world. Tony Strickland's campaign sent out a press release touting an award from a political wing apparently of The United Chamber of Commerce to his energy company.

Expect Hannah Beth Jackson's campaign to be critical of his voting record, his plans, and his company. Expect them to be critical of the award. But don't expect the environment to be an issue that only one party attempts to win votes off anymore.

For the Republican Party as a whole it will take more than an election cycle or set of candidates to gain voter trust but they won't be giving up.

Click on continue reading to see the press release about Tony Strickland's Award.

I know Moorpark city council member Keith Millhouse has been a strong advocate of working together to address climate change but has anyone seen a statement that shows where Elton Gallegly stands on the issue?

County Supervisor Peter Foy ( Peter, if you want to clarify and extend your remarks I will post them on the front page) is isolated as a part of the old guard that denies the earth is heating up at all. In the future there will be more Republicans like Arnold Schwarzenegger ( check out the Green theme to his website as he moves beyond the Republican Party), John McCain, Newt Gingrich, and if he is successful Tony Strickland.

Put another point on the scoreboard for Team Strickland.

I reported awhile back that Steve Bennett is being targeted in the 2008 election for county supervisor. Currently the Ventura County Republican Central Committee is looking for a candidate to run against the popular Democrat in a bid to take control of the board.

Today The Star reported that robocalls are being launched against Steve Bennett although The VCRCC and their Chairman Mike Osbourn denied involvement. Osbourn is correct when he says it could be the work of a single person.

If it isn't a partisan Republican who else could it be?

Cameron Smyth has hired many staff members now that he has officially won the campaign to replace Dr. Keith Richman.

I don't know all the people, but at first glance it looks filled with mainstream people, not activists.

A person from our community is former Judy Mikels staff member Jarrod DeGonia. Jarrod, congrats on the promotion.

Any word on what the first bill will be that Smyth will introduce?