Update: Not only have all the county school superintendents endorsed Hannah-Beth Jackson, but so have the Ventura County Star and the Los Angeles Times, along with the Ventura County Reporter and Santa Barbara Independent (the newspaper with the greatest circulation in Santa Barbara County.)
From the Ventura County Star: "The Star endorses Hannah-Beth Jackson based on her superior record of achievement in the Assembly and her ideas for moving the state forward."
From the Los Angeles Times: "The Times has no problem making its choice. We wholeheartedly back Jackson. The environmental and education credentials she built up as a member of the Assembly will be put to good use in the Senate, and we're counting on her to help work through California's budget mess."
IN AN UNPRECEDENTED SHOW of support, all 19 of Ventura County's school superintendents have endorsed State Senate District 19 candidate Hannah-Beth Jackson. The announcement was made at a press conference held at the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Office on Monday.
"She has walked the talk consistently in the eyes of the superintendents of this county," Ventura Unified School District Superintendent Trudy Arriaga said. "We know that the health and well being of this nation is based on how well our children are doing. Hannah-Beth Jackson has most certainly shown that she also understands that and cares consistently about the education and well being of the children of this state."
A county-wide endorsement of this nature has never been done for a candidate before, Arriaga said. It demonstrates the incredible support Jackson has within the education community.
As her constituent when she was in the Assembly, I often saw Jackson at local school events and she is also a long-time member of the Ventura Education Partnership's honorary board. She authored legislation to give teachers a tax credit to help with their numerous out-of-pocket expenses and, as I mentioned in an earlier entry, she passed several pieces of legislation to help keep students safe. She has widespread support from school boards across the district and has won numerous awards from the education community.
Her opponent in the race, Tony Strickland, has received very few endorsements from the education community.
EDUCATION IS THE CORNERSTONE of all Jackson's stump speeches in this race and she correctly points out it is one of the keys to building our economy.
"We need to make sure we're giving students a 21st century education because they're going to be competing in a global marketplace," Jackson said. "And if we educate our children properly we're going to be able to reduce the number of young people who end up in a life of crime. We spend $45,000 a year incarcerating people in prison; we spend $7,800 educating them. This is wrong and we need to do better."
Debbie Golden, Ventura Unified School District Board of Trustees member, had high praise for our local legislator.
"When Hannah-Beth was in the Assembly, I had reason to call many times and ask for help. She always returned my calls. Not only would she return my calls, she would work with us so that we could make sure we were doing the best for the children of our community. That's just one reason why all five board members of the Ventura Unified School District are supporting Hannah-Beth Jackson," Golden said.
"I also called Mr. Strickland's phone many times. He never returned my phone calls."
I remember Hannah Beth came to the opening of Foothill High School in Ventura. We saw her here often and really felt she was looking out for us. I am really worried about our education budgets in this terrible economy. I hope we don't have to cut too much. She's right. Our kids deserve better than this.
This endorsement is unprecedented. The Superintendents are not part of the teachers Union. Their only interest is the best education of our children. To have unanimous support from every School District's leader is unbelievable.
I had never met Hannah-Beth Jackson until this election. After talking to her for about an hour, my mind was made up. She is extremely well educated, a very tenacious fighter for the causes that are dear to her heart, and will get things done in Sacto for the benefit of her constituents. My respect for her has only grown over the months.
When given the choice of a candidate endorsed by educators, fire fighters, police officers and environmental advocates, vs. a candidate endorsed by tobacco, gambling, petrochemical and insurance, there is no question in my mind that Hannah-Beth is the best candidate for the 19th Senate District. It has been said "follow the money". In the case of Hannah-Beth, the money trail leads to very acceptable sources.
God Bless Hannah-Beth Jackson.
Parents in the 19th need to know of this fantastic event. Gig and I are in shock. Never before have Superintendents come together like this. They usually shy away from politics. Their action is proof positive that Hannah-Beth Jackson will work to improve our educational system. Come to think of it, what better use is there for our tax dollars other than education and public safety.
Gig and I will bring along an extra tandem board in the morning. We hope to ride a few with Hannah-Beth and her husband, very charming according to Gig, George.
Best wishes in the election. Gig and I will see you at the victory party, Marie.
This is another reason why voters in the 19th will be sending Hannah-Beth Jackson to Sacramento. We applaud the endorsement of the public school superintendents of Ventura County who are dedicated to the education of our children.
Wow, this is a heck of endorsement because I know the superindentents are not of one political persuasian or another. Talk about the embracement of education not politics!!!
But, let's get real for a second now. One would have to assume that the sup's are looking out for their budgets next year, right?
I'm voting for HBJ so it's great to see the support that she's getting. BUT...I have to respond to Mr. Pandolfi's comment that the "Superintendents are not part of the teacher's union. Their only interest is in the best interest of our children." What benefits teachers, benefits students. We went into teaching to serve children and passive aggressive comments like the one cited above only diminishes our good intentions.
Thanks Marie for the good coverage.
I'm forward it to all my contacts.
Sherry Cash
Carol:
I don't think that was what Mr. Pandolfi was trying to convey.
Ben Franklin once wrote about marriage that "if you want the blessing of a happy home keep both eyes open before marriage, and one eye closed after."
Perhaps, this is a good piece of wisdom for politics too.
Run the data....when HB was was in the Assembly she garnered a 98.8% rating from the Ca League of Conservative Voters, and TS received a whopping 1.67% rating as a Assemblymember...with zeros in 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2004. Not exactly a stellar performance.
Is he working for you ? Hard to do, when you don't show up for the job....
HB has always been a hard working public official who's conscientous and diligent in the pursuit of all interests. She represents her constituients with intelligence, dedication and hard work.
She DESERVES your vote !
Not a shocker considering the unprecedented budget cuts headed these superintendents' way.
With the GOP refusing to put tax hikes on the table, of course they are siding with the candidate with a history of raising taxes.
Jeff, your taxes were not raised when Hannah-Beth was in the Assembly. She actually voted for $26 billion in tax decreases. Strickland never mentions this because he likes to distort her record in order to lie about what she will do if elected.
I want to make this very clear: She has definitively said she will not vote to raise taxes on the middle class if elected. I have heard her say this many times. She is in favor of an oil extraction tax on oil companies, as is Sarah Palin in Alaska. This would have no impact on overall gas prices as these are set by a combination of factors in the global marketplace.
I am not impressed by campaigns which have to resort to outright lies, distortions and half-truths to win. That means they have a weak candidate who cannot stand on his own merits and record.
Did anyone see Tony's latest mailer on the Taxin' One's support of AB 489 when she was in the Assembly in 2001. This was a very weakened version of a predatory lending bill which Jackson caved into under pressure from the banking industry.
A lobbyist for Household International, Inc., a top sub-prime lender, rated the final version as a "B-" impact on lending institutions, whereas, before Jackson got her mitts on it, it was rated a "D" impact.
Good going, Hannah-Beth. Your hypocrisy is showing big-time.
Strickland's mailer was completely false and misleading, as usual. Your version of what you read is even worse.
The bill started out very tough and was watered down vote after vote until it was eviscerated in the Senate because of heavy pressure from the financial services industry. Hannah-Beth voted for the tough version and the watered down version, which was better than nothing.
Strickland, who took nearly $50,000 from the banking industry, voted against the tough version and all subsequent versions and thus helped water it down.
This happened on the federal level as well, with another bill which was designed to regulate these lenders. It was also eviscerated under heavy lobbying.
There's no excuse for this. For Strickland to distort and twist and lie later in a mailer is just proof that he is on the defense.
As I said, a weak candidate with a weak record has to resort to such tactics.
So you honestly believe all of Jackson's mailers have been straightforward and didn't include misleading tactics?
She sent a mailer insinuating that Strickland opposed safety seats for ALL children under 6 when all he did was support the current law for kids 4 and under. She also suggested that Strickland opposed birth control for women when in reality he voted against a bill that would require employers to pay for birth control for their employees. Strickland also voted for a bill that would crack down on cigarette sales to minors but voted against it when it dictated to local bar owners what tobacco products they could sell in their businesses. How did Jackson spin that? By sending mailer with a huge picture of a little girl smoking. The list goes on.
Jackson's tactics are the worst I've seen in my lifetime. I talk to people all the time that feel the same way.
Do you people actually look at and read all of the election mailers that are sent to your houses?
The only election material I ever read is my sample ballot and the Voter's Guide provided by the State. If and when I need more information I go to the web to research candidates and propositions. It is usually very easy to 'follow the money' by using the Voter's Guide and Web sites.
Other than that I don't believe (or actually read) any of those mailers. To me it is just wasted money and resources.
I'm looking at her flyer right now and it doesn't insinuate that Strickland opposed safety seats for ALL children.
Why did he vote against requiring children 5-6 to ride in cars seats? He also voted against a measure which would mandate they be in the back seat unless there were extenuating circumstances.
On the tobacco bills, he voted against a bill which would regulate face-to-face sales of tobacco products and mandate compliance to the Federal Jenkins Act; the other bill he voted against would have allowed the Department of Health Services to make sting inspections of businesses selling tobacco to minors, including phone and Internet businesses. Again, why?
Because at that period he had taken more than $70,000 from the tobacco industry?
BTW, a PAC sent that mailer with the girl smoking, not the Jackson campaign. You do realize campaigns cannot coordinate with IE PACs, right? The content was not discussed with the candidate or her consultants.
In September 1999, Strickland voted against AB 39, which would have required health plans to cover FDA-approved prescription contraceptives. The bill passed on a vote of 43-24 and was signed into law by the Governor in September 1999.
How about that illegal mailer from Strickland designed to fool voters into thinking it came from the Jackson campaign? The committee ID was left off, which is against the law.
You going to write more about this contest before Tuesday?
It would appear the Times, the Star and the schools chiefs will have to live to fight another day.