The LA Times had an article recently about the state senate race between Hannah-Beth Jackson and Tony Strickland. Click here to read it for yourself.

The thesis of the article is that both sides are trying to reach out to voters who are not members of either party.

Here are some notable lines:

To partisans, they are "Phony Tony" and "Taxin' Jackson."

( About Tony Strickland's company ) The company doesn't have any employees, services or products because it's still waiting for its permit to be approved, he said.

But Strickland says his change of heart is real. Like T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire oil man now advocating cleaner energy sources, he has decided that America must "get off foreign oil," Strickland said.

And Hannah-Beth Jackson? The 58-year-old Democrat is so liberal that she's never seen a tax she didn't like, according to Strickland's supporters. Voters couldn't have a clearer choice, both sides say.

I am curious. If elected, would Tony Strickland be expected to sell off his interest in his alternative energy company being that he would be voting on issues related to it very often, or would he be expected to abstain on votes concerning energy policy?

Maybe he would be more effective in the private sector if he isn't going to be voting on the policies that are really important to him. I would expect he would sell his portion of the company to another willing investor.

Tell me if you think my analysis is missing something.

( A few videos from SBTV21 in Santa Barbara showing Tony Strickland and Hannah-Beth Jackson. Have you seen either of these on television? Click here to see more videos about other candidates.)

The Santa Barbara Independent has endorsed Hannah-Beth Jackson for state senate.

Click here for the endorsements from the Santa Barbara Independent.

I don't read the Santa Barbara Independent much because I live in Simi Valley. What is the reputation of the paper? Many alternative weekly papers lean far to the left. The Independent endorsements clearly favor Democrats ( They endorsed Marta Jorgenson, Pedro Nava, and Lois Capps.) but their news coverage seems to be equitable. If you live in a community that reads the Independent, what do you think of their reputation with readers?

Anyways, in the coming weeks more newspapers are going to make endorsements. What do you think they are worth? Feel free to preemptively spin if you don't think your candidate will earn a particular paper's endorsement.

In a campaign with low name ID they would seem helpful. I would be curious what % of district voters are following this campaign. If they didn't mean anything at all or it was already obvious who they were going to endorse. rival candidates wouldn't waste their time trying to explain themselves to the community advisory group that The Star puts in charge of their endorsements.

Click here for their recent articles about this campaign.

Click here to see Ventura County Star Editor Joe Howry's explanation of the endorsement process.

The video is an animated version of the mailer that I have already written about. Click here to see the printed version. What do you think? Does it cut through the media clutter? Have you see it on television. Leave a comment with what channel you saw it on and how often have you seen it.

I think it is odd enough to draw in attention. Again, connecting the donations from tobacco money to votes is powerful, but the other issues seem not as clear cut to me. What do you think about the other issues? Have you heard about the car buyer's bill of rights before this advertisement ? I must have missed this issue entirely. I know there are certain laws that protect car buyers but I don't know much about how they have been altered in recent years.

Click here for the DMV's page on the Car Buyer's Bill of Rights.

Am I expected to care about a car buyer's bill of rights when the economy is in crisis and the state budget is in deficit even though it was only passed a few weeks ago?

I know she has talked about economic issues on her website, at debates, and in other places too, but it should be the major focus of both campaigns.

This part of her recent mailer, tying Tony Strickland to the subprime mortgage disaster, seems to be a very effective criticism of his record:

Tony Strickland's support ( even though he is very vague about actual policies ) for alternative energy allows him to talk about national security, the environment, and jobs all at the same time. Has Hannah-Beth Jackson's campaign sent anything out attacking what his critics call his greenwashing about his actual policies?

The above ad attacks his environmental record. Have you seen it on the air or only online? Click here to see all of Hannah-Beth Jackson's ads on her youtube channel. It doesn't include IE's of course. I know there are many ads from both campaigns I miss. Feel free to send them to me or leave a comment describing them.

If you see any mailer, video, or other campaigning you want me to post all you need to do is send me an email.

If you scan a mailer and send it to me I will post it.

UPDATED: I altered some of the writing here to reflect the accurate criticisms from my readers, that were both posted and emailed in. Especially pointing out the earlier mailer I had already posted! Thanks for the feedback.

With Democrats outnumbering Republicans in Ventura County and other GOP strongholds about to fall, the tensions are running high between the paid staff people in the streets that are getting paid per signature or registration for their party they collect.

Recently, there has been more allegations that Republicans have been using subterfuge to trick people into becoming Republicans. There have been stories of lying to voters or changing forms after they have been turned in. Click here to read more about that.

The Republicans are now claiming that Democrats are the group behind dirty ticks across Southern California. They have sent out a threatening letter to the Democrats to get them to back off.

Because of the contested senate campaign both parties are using paid staff to register voters. This use of party resources doesn't appear on the state senate candidates' campaign finance disclosure forms, so we don't really know how many people are working across the district or how much money is being spent.

If you see a signature gatherer they are bound by law to tell you if they are getting paid for signature. Ask them who is paying them and post here the details.

This is from a long comic book style mailer sent to a DTS voter from the Hannah-Beth Jackson campaign. To see the full mailer click on continue reading. Thanks to my reader that scanned it and emailed it to me. I appreciate you trying to get more information out to voters.

A Few Quick thoughts:

1. Why is Tony Strickland so short? You consultants must know he is really tall and played Basketball for Royal High School.
2. Is this a collector's edition, or will there be more coming out?
3. For both campaigns: if you are proud of all your campaign mailers, why not post them on your own website? It will also be helpful if there was bill numbers on them to make it easier to do our own research. Without bill numbers I am not going to back up the veracity of the claims in this. or most ads.
4. People always complain about "big" tobacco and "big" oil but what about medium and small tobacco or oil?
5. I don't have a number 5 but 4 seems like an odd place to end.

Overall, it is an effective add. The most hard hitting part for me is the tobacco donations. Say what you want about tobacco companies being a legal industry, but voters tend to have many reasons to distrust them. Any of my readers want tobacco companies to have more influence on the legislature?

This appears to be the next attack from an IE directed at Tony Strickland. Check out the funders of it at the end. I don't know if it has been officially released or if it is on television but someone found it and leaked me the URL. Thanks!

If you see a mailer you want posted, please scan it at high quality and save it is a .jpeg file. Then email it to me to post. It doesn't matter if it is a major or minor candidate, send them in and create some coverage for your candidates.

As an added bonus mention if it was sent to a Republican, Democratic, DTS, or other party voter.

If you have photos of signs around your town you want me to post, send in those photos too.

(Republican Sheriff Bill Brown w/ Hannah-Beth Jackson)

The Hannah-Beth Jackson campaign announced some more law enforcement endorsements to show that she is tough on crime. The latest is from The Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs.

Click on continue reading for more details.

Here in Simi Valley our police chief stays neutral during partisan campaigns as far as I remember. Am I wrong? I think I like it this way. I do think they should speak out about issues, policies, and the like but there is something to be said for neutrality. I haven't thought of the ramifications or issues involved much on this and I am open to your arguments. Should police chiefs endorse candidates?

I guess if it was an occasional campaign, something that is really important, I get it.

What important endorsements are left in the district?

Besides Mickey Jones of course. Hannah-Beth Jackson should reach out to him soon. If she got that endorsement I would be impressed.

Any word on what issues are important to him?

Tony Strickland's campaign is going after Hannah-Beth Jackson for attending a meeting where some Democrats debated holding up the budget in an effort to make political gain from a stand off. Oh, and someone forgot to turn off a microphone that broadcast the meeting across the capitol building.

The first time I heard the charge I thought it was in reference to this year's budget. I knew that the entire budget wasn't being held up to benefit Hannah-Beth Jackson.

But the charge was that while she was in the state assembly she attended a meeting where holding up the budget was discussed. It would be interesting to know what she said at the meeting. Was she against the ploy? Did she speak out in support of it? Was she picking up some free snacks at the meeting or trying to lobby someone for a bill?

Click on continue reading for the press release with newspaper clippings from the Tony Strickland Campaign. The original version including mast heads that showed what paper they were from. It looked really sharp, but importing the graphics was taking too long.

Three new stories on the State Senate Campaign.

1. Criminal complaint being referred to the state attorney general. Local DA might have a conflict of interest. Maybe it is time to get DA's to stay out of more elections?

Key quotes:
"Certainly someone could say there is an appearance of a conflict," said Chief Assistant District Attorney Jim Ellison.

Ellison said law enforcement agencies typically do not send files to his office unless they believe charges should be filed.

2. There was a debate last night between the two candidates. I wasn't there. Did you go? Click here to read an article about it.

After months of talking about alternative energy:

Strickland said he would like to have incentives, rewards and credits for people who promote and use alternative energy, while his opponent "wants fees, fines and penalties."

3. Lots of money flowing into the campaigns, including more tobacco money. Have fun arguing about cigarette company money again. Maybe Mr. Butt will be making more appearances ? Click here to read the story.

( The latest ad from the Hannah-Beth Jackson campaign)

The Hannah-Beth Jackson campaign are inviting supporters to come watch the VP presidential debate at their offices across the district.

This debate is going to be very well watched for many reasons, but most of all the lingering question if Sarah Palin will pull it off.

I am going to guess if she doesn't make large factual errors, insult any allies ( McCain might not meet with leaders from Spain?), or do anything that is worthy of a parody it will be declared a victory. Will she talk about being able to see Russia from Alaska? Will she continue to lie about being for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it?

For Joe Biden it is going to be tough. If he is too hard, he will be called a sexist somehow. The expectations for Palin are so low what is he supposed to do? Her own campaign is leaking that she was only able to discuss a single US Supreme Court case in a recent interview that hasn't been televised yet. The pundits will say she did better than expected and that Joe Biden was rude or dismissive towards her.

That's my guess.

Will you be watching the debate? What are you looking forward to the most about it?

Ventura County Star reporter Timm Herdt wrote an article that says the campaign between Hannah-Beth Jackson and T. Strickland is between a candidate from the liberal wing of her party and a candidate from the conservative wing of his party.

The contest is going to be a battle to see which candidate proves their ability to work with people from the other party and which candidate has the ability to connect with people regardless of their party.

( He even has a green shirt! Way to stay on message!)

The Tony Strickland campaign has spent resources and time to introduce West County and Santa Barabra voters to Tony Strickland as an environmentalist in an effort to look more moderate. He has also put "independent" leadership on his campaign signs. I am curious. If he is independent of his party, how has he also been a leader in his party? If he is not a partisan in his party, who is a partisan in the Republican Party locally or at the state level?

But will it work? Will a leader of The Club for Growth, which has often gone after moderate Republicans really be able to show he has the record to share the same vision with moderate voters?

( Hannah-Beth Jackson with the Santa Barbara Sheriff, Bill Brown. I think a testimonial from a criminal she helped locked up would be great. If the criminal attacks her that makes her look great. If he talks about her helping to lock him up and how he has reformed that looks great too. Start researching Team Jackson. Maybe win a Poli Award?)

On the other side we have Hannah-Beth Jackson. She has been trying to show that her top priority isn't social issues but the basic local issues that matter to people of either party. For example, in Simi Valley she is pushing her record of legislation related to Rocketdyne/SSFL, her opposition to the expansion of the Simi Valley area landfill/dump, and her past support in successfully keeping Ahmanson Ranch as open space. She has also been fighting the stereotype that liberals are soft on crime by bragging about her past as a prosecutor, her legislation dealing with crime, and her endorsements from people or groups involved with public safety.

But will she be overwhelmed by attacks calling her "Taxin' Jackson" when budget problems are the top issue Sacramento has been dealing with? With bank failures, massive government bail outs being proposed, and a budget passed that legislative Democrats, Republicans, or the governor aren't proud of could any candidate win while being the target of ad after ad that says they will raise your taxes without cutting spending?

I am a Democrat but I realize there are major problems in Sacramento. I want to elect a Democrat that knows that big money doesn't just influence the Republican Party and recognizes that Californians are willing to pay for our government if we are assured that the money is being used wisely. I also don't believe that the closing tax loopholes on yachts will make a real impact on the budget. I am bored with Democrats bringing up an imaginary flotilla of minimally taxed yachts that could make a major improvement in our budget.

Is Hannah-Beth Jackson a different type of Democrat?

What do you think? Has the branding of the candidates started to work?

Which candidate is able to connect on issues that motivates voters in the middle?

Sidenote: If you write a political blog about Ventura County politics but you don't know her name is Hannah-Beth Jackson are you really staying informed? We all make typos from time to time but you have been getting her name wrong for weeks. You should correct your errors.

If you see a typo, misspelling, or grammatical error on my blog I'd appreciate an email from my readers before it goes into google cache. Thanks!

The Hannah-Beth Jackson campaign has announced another Republican elected official has endorsed her.

With Linda Parks on board that is 4/5 of the county supervisors supporting her campaign.

Tony Strickland has been raising money and campaigning hard but so far there isn't a group of Democrats or any high profile Democrats supporting him. Is it because he is too conservative?

What big names are left in the county? A few mayors here or there?

Click here to see Timm Herdt's post about it. Is his story in the print edition?

Click on continue reading to see the press release.

( This photo was from Hannah-Beth Jackson's Simi valley days group. If you have more Simi Valley Days photos that you want posted send them in.)

Both campaigns have more endorsements to announce.

For Hannah-Beth Jackson's endorsements click here.

For Tony Strickland's endorsement page click here. It isn't currently updated but look at the press releases for details.

Tony Strickland has a press release detailing the former Sheriff of Santa Barbara endorsing him, whereas on Hannah-Beth Jackson's page she lists the current Sheriff as a supporter. I don't follow Santa Barbara's politics enough to know which sheriff is more widely known and/or respected. Fill us in with that you know if you have something to share.

I did notice that the former sheriff mentions Tony Strickland's independent leadership. How has he been independent? To my knowledge he has been a long time supporter of the Republican Party, a career politician or political professional, and holds conservative Republican values. In addition, many of his allies or supporters run the local central committee. He has supported and worked for Tom McClintock, who hasn't worked well at times with his party's leadership including when he ran against the current governor in the recall election.

It is obvious he just doesn't want the word Republican associated with his name.

To see his press release click on continue reading.