• Claudia Bill-de la Pena,  HonestyCounts.org,  Jeff Gorell,  Linda Parks,  Nora Aidukas

    Who is Responsible for the Honesty Counts Website?

     

    Will the mainstream media investigate why a Ventura County Supervisor and her Planning Commissioner are hiding behind a supposed fact-checking website and Twitter account (@HonestyCounts4U)? In addition, is this advocacy considered a reportable California Campaign contribution?

    Flap will be watching the campaign filings – as others already have.

  • CA-26,  Linda Parks,  Mitt Romney,  Paul Ryan,  Tony Strickland

    CA-26: Tony Strickland Says NO to Paul Ryan Budget

    DCCC attacks Parks 2 CA 26: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Hits Linda Parks in Republican Framing Mailer

    The DCCC has released its first attack mailer (for the June 2012 primary election) and it is not against the Republican, Tony Strickland, but against NPP (No Party Prefeerence) Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks

    Tony Strickland, the Republican candidate for my Congressional District is not taking the bait and opening himself up on defending Paul Ryan and his controversial stand on Medicare.

    You can read Strickland’s quotes over at my colleague, Timm Herdt’s blog over at the Ventura County Star newspaper.

    As most in Ventura County know, Strickland is close to Mitt Romney and has been for years. He, like, Romney, will not be trapped like Linda Parks was in June by reaining silent or defending Paul Ryan’s proposal, which is dead in the Congress anyway.

    He is aware of the mailers used against Parks, like above and this piece below:

    There is no need to open himself up for these types of “strawman” attacks. Strickland knows they are coming, but his defense is that he would have voted “No”. Let’s move along….

    Then, like Romney, he will pivot and talk about the Romney Plans to save Medicare, oppose ObamaCare and reduce government spending in order to improve employment and the economy.

    Score 1 for Strickland for avoiding the Democratic trap.

    But, don’t be surprised to not see Paul Ryan, but Mitt Romney or his wife, Ann, to be in Ventura County for a “big” fundraiser for Tony.

  • CA-26,  Julia Brownley,  Linda Parks,  Tony Strickland

    CA-26: Strickland Continues to Lead in Fundraising

    Parks and Strickland CA 26: Handicapping Linda Parks and Tony Strickland

    Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks (NP) and California State Senator Tony Strickland (R)

    Timm Herdt over at the Ventura County Star has the poop on the fundraising numbers – Republican California State Senator Tony Strickland leads far and away.

    Strickland had a pretty good week at fundraising last week, FEC reports show.

    He took in more than $70,000, most in the form of contributions from members of Congress and conservative PACs, including House Speaker John Boehner ($4,000) and Rep. Paul Ryan’s Prosperity PAC ($2,500).

    Meanwhile, Democrat Julia Brownley took in slightly over $20,000, led by contributions from AFSCME ($2,500), House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer ($2,000) and $2,000 each from county Democratic clubs in the Conejo Valley, Oxnard and Ojai.

    The reports show that independent Linda Parks boosted her campaign with a $10,000 contribution to the campaign from her personal funds on May 2.

    Ventura County Supervisor and No Party Preference candidate, Linda Parks, has been widely outspent by Strickland and Brownley. She accepts no contributions from PACS, although an independent SuperPAC has run some ads for her.

    Will Parks approach work in the new top two format?

    Will Republicans “GAME” the voting system and vote for Linda Parks to eliminate the Democrat, Brownley?

    Well. stay tuned…..the election is tomorrow.

  • CA-26,  Julia Brownley,  Linda Parks

    CA-26 Linda Parks Moans About Democrat and Julia Brownley Attacks


    This is almost laughable since Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks (of No Party Preference fame) would dish it out, if you she had the campaign cash to do so.

    But, she had only enough money to run those inane cable television ads, where she says she likes “rocky road” ice cream and talks with her mouth half open.

    Please…..

    The Democrats have done what they have had to do and expose Parks as the unprincipled POL that she is.

    But, will Parks edge out Democrat Assemblywoman Julia Brownley in next Tuesday’s election?

    Hold on, it WILL be close.

  • CA-26,  Julia Brownley,  Linda Parks,  Tony Strickland

    CA-26: Handicapping Linda Parks Independent Challenge

    dcccattacks CA 26: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Hits Linda Parks in Republican Framing Mailer

    Democratic Attack Mailer against No Party Preference candidate Linda Parks

    The chances of Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks winning a top two spot in the June 5th California Primary election is not looking so good. Timm Herdt over at the Ventura County Star has the analysis.

    First, lets look a the early balloting (California allows early by mail voting):

    Here’s what we know, based on information compiled by Political Data Inc. and Redistricting Partners: In the 26th Congressional District, 7 percent of the ballots sent to the district’s 151,515 permanent mail-in voters have already been returned. Of them, 40 percent have come from Democrats, 45 percent from Republicans and 11 percent from nonpartisans.

    Although CA-26 has a plurality of registered Democrats, the preponderance of early returned ballots, speaks to more enthusiastic voting by Republicans. And, these Republicans, are probably NOT voting for Linda Parks (who changed her registration from Republican to No Party Preference at the beginning of this campaign).

    Note, also the non-partisan or Declined to State returned mail ballots are ONLY at 11%.

    Herdt says that Linda Parks must capture 35 per cent of the Republican and non-partisan vote, plus 22 per cent of Democratic votes in order to beat Democrat Assemblywoman Julia Brownley for second place. I don’t see how she gets there.

    With the blistering Democratic direct mail attacks on Parks and the preference for GOP primary voters to vote for one of their own, Parks will likely come in a close third to Brownley.

    Republican California State Senator Tony Strickland has run a very smart race. His low-key campaign, while raining tons of campaign cash for November has been the winning strategy.

    Watch your mailbox for more Democratic attacks on Parks as Brownley closes out the campaign.

  • CA-26,  Linda Parks

    CA-26: Is Linda Parks a Republican?

    From LindaParksRepublican.com

    The new Linda Parks, Republican website certainly makes the case.

    Linda Parks is a Ventura County Supervisor running for Congress in in California’s 26th district as an “independent.” But Linda was a Republican for 16 years before switching to become an “independent” just in time to run for office. Sixteen years as a Republican. Really?

    Linda Parks claims to hate all things partisan. But that’s funny.

    You see, Linda became a Republican during Newt Gingrich’s hyperpartisan assault on democracy and good government.

    She stayed a Republican during the politically motivated partisan impeachment of Bill Clinton.

    She remained a Republican for the election of George W. Bush, an election decided by the nakedly partisan decision of the Supreme Court’s conservative bloc. She was still a Republican throughout the Bush Administration–arguably the most partisan Republican conservative administration in history.

    She remained a loyal partisan Republican during the invasion of Iraq.

    When Republicans swift-boated war hero John Kerry and wore purple-heart band-aids to mock Kerry’s military service during their convention, she still stayed a Republican. She didn’t change her registration when being a Republican meant endorsing Dick Cheney and Karl Rove.

    And when the Republican economics of reckless Wall Street deregulation crashed the economy even as the Republican Party threatened to put Sarah Palin, of all hyperpartisans, one heartbeat away from the Presidency, there was Linda Parks. An unwavering Republican.

    But now that she’s switched to “independent” in order to run for Congress, she claims to hate partisanship and declares independence from party loyalty. Not so fast.

    I have known Linda Parks for many years and watched her rise with the Thousand Oaks based “Slow Growth” movement. Her mentors were former Thousand Oaks City Council members Eloise Zeanah (a Republican) and Jaime Zukowski (a Democrat).

    Parks knew that if she was to have a political future in Thousand Oaks that she must be registered a Republican. Almost all of the POLS in this town since the 1980’s have been. The vast majority of voters and especially the ones that show up to vote are Republicans.

    Registering as a Republican was a no-brainer, if she wanted a political career.

    The better question is: will Linda Parks be a Republican partisan in the Congress?

    The answer to this question is NO and she won’t vote for the Democratic Party line either – especially since they are so desperate to defeat her with Democrat Assemblywoman Julia Brownley.

    This attack website is nothing but HOT AIR and I suppose created by the very LEFT leaning Democrats in Ventura County who so want a Brownley vs. Republican Tony Strickland race in November.

  • CA-26,  Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee,  Julia Brownley,  Linda Parks

    CA-26: Democrats Continue to Pound Linda Parks

    Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Mailer

    The Democrats (Democratic Congressional Campaign Commitee)  are sliming Ventura County Supervisor  and NPP (No Party Preference) Linda Parks again.

    You remember the last time.

    Timm Herdt over at the Ventura County Star has the ridiculousness of the mailers.

    The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has flooded the mailboxes of Ventura County Democratic voters with another cartoonish mailer that seeks to portray independent congressional candidate Linda Parks as a tea party-style Republican extremist.

    The first showed Parks’ face on campaign buttons paired with George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin. The cover of this one shows an open closet with GOP paraphernalia, including a cardboard cutout of Palin and a Bush-Cheney placard, spilling out. The implication is that Parks has been trying to keep her true political leanings in the closet. The headline says, “Republican Linda Parks has a secret…”

    On the flip side it says that “Washington Republicans and Linda Parks would end Medicare as we know it” and that “a vote for Parks and the national Republicans is a vote for the Tea Pary.”

    Truthful?

    Not really. Linda Parks is NO conservative and is a RINO at best.

    But, the Democrats are desperate and will pound Parks, trying to drive up her negatives, so that their annointed Democratic candidate, Assemblywoman Julia Brownley can win second place against favorite, Republican Tony Strickland.

    I received a call from a political fact check organization the other day while I was traveling, inquiring about the first mail piece with Sarah Palin. This ad, like that one,  is blatantly false and misleading – so place it in the pile with the other one and ones to come from the DCCC.

    Doesn’t the DCCC remember that all of those negative mailers from Tony Strickland’s wife, Audra, backfired and made Linda Parks a sympathetic figure?

    I don’t think this appraach will curry favor with Ventura County Democrats for Brownley – but then again, maybe their polling already shows this.

  • CA-26,  Linda Parks

    CA-26: Linda Parks Again Refuses to Say With Which Party She Will Caucus If Elected to Congress

    Linda Parks TV CA 26: Linda Parks and Her Cable Television ONLY Campaign Strategy

    Screenshot from Linda Park’s latest television ad

    In a puff piece interview Timm Herdt tries to discover with whom Linda Park’s will align in the Congress – either Democrat Rep. Nancy Pelosi or Republican Speaker John Boehner. Parks previously refused to say with whom she would caucus and elect as Speaker.

    In her campaign thus far, Parks has sought to straddle questions about her partisan leanings. Originally a Democrat, she changed her registration to Republican in 1996, then switched again to “no party preference” just before entering the race for Congress.

    She has declined to say which party she would caucus with if elected, who would get her vote for speaker, and even which presidential candidate she will support in the fall.

    “I might caucus with Republicans. I might caucus with Democrats. I might caucus with both. I might caucus with neither,” she said in her remarks at University Village. “I will have the ability to choose, based on the issue. What we have right now isn’t working.”

    In other words, I don’t know, and won’t tell you until I am elected and then I will decide.

    This will not play well with Ventura County voters.

    Congress is a partisan place and Congressional voters base their vote on issues and ideology – not the political whims of a Democrat turned Republican turned No Party Preference POL.

  • CA-26,  Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee,  Linda Parks

    CA-26: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Hits Linda Parks in Republican Framing Mailer

    The DCCC has released its first attack mailer and it is not against the Republican, Tony Strickland, but against NPP (No Party Prefeerence) Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks. Timm Herdt over at the Ventura County Star has more of the story.

    The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee yesterday posted on its website this attack mailer against independent candidate Linda Parks in the 26th Congressional District.

    As you can see, it’s a fairly heavy-handed piece that seeks to link Parks with “Washington Republicans” and urges Democrats to “stop the Tea Party. Vote No on Linda Parks and the Republicans.” It features campaign buttons that show her paired with George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin.

    A spokeswoman for the DCCC said Tuesday that the piece is in the mail, but I have received no reports as yet from anyone in the district who has received it.

    A very interesting framing of Linda Parks as a Republican.

    She is anything but a partisan GOP’er and would be considered a RINO at best. Many in GOP circles actually like Democratic Assemblywoman Julia Brownley better – as Brownley would be vulnerable in future elections due to the swing demographics of this Congressional District.

    I, especially, like this part of the mailer with photos of campaign buttons of Linda Parks and Sarah Palin.