• CA-26,  David Cruz Thayne,  Julia Brownley

    CA-26: Julia Brownley Flip Flops on Support for Israel?

    Screenshot from DavidCruzThayne2012

    According to the press release from fellow Democrat David Cruz Thayne:

    Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica), a candidate in the Congressional District 26 race, asserted at a Monday night candidates’ forum: “As I said once, I’ll say it twice, and I’ll say it again, I will defend Israel and oppose nuclear proliferation…and will work hard in Congress to protect [the relationship between the United States and Israel].”

    But in recorded remarks when speaking with Democratic Party activists just last month, Brownley repeatedly stated that she “would not support Israel” if it determined to use force in its attempts to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon.

    “The duplicity and double-talk of career politicians like Julia Brownley on this issue should concern all voters in the district,” said Alex Thompson, campaign manager for Democratic candidate David Cruz Thayne. “She is playing the same old political games of telling different groups of voters what they want to hear instead of what she really believes. And since she has lived in Santa Monica the past 25 years, how are Ventura County voters supposed to know which is the real Julia Brownley? The voters of Ventura County deserve better.”

    Here is the video:

    Unless this video is widely disseminated, I see a very limited impact on this race.

    In the meantime, California Assemblywoman Julia Brownley has been racking up the endorsements of national and state Democrats.

    If there was ever much doubt that Assemblywoman Julia Brownley is the choice of national Democratic leaders for an open Ventura County congressional seat, recent campaign developments should have pretty much erased it.

    Late last week, the House Majority PAC, which is raising and spending money to elect Democrats to Congress, began running a cable television ad supporting Brownley, a Democrat who moved from Santa Monica to Oak Park for the race.  The group spent about $156,000 on the ads, which are scheduled to run for a week.

    On Tuesday, California’s two U.S. senators, both Democrats, announced they were endorsing Brownley.  Sen. Dianne Feinstein called Brownley “a champion for education in California.”  Sen. Barbara Boxer said Brownley  could be counted on “to protect California’s environment, women’s health and Medicare for our seniors, which have been under unprecedented attack by the extreme right.”

    There are three other Democrats in the race—Realtor/entrepreneur/CEO Albert Maxwell Goldberg, Oxnard Harbor Commissioner Jess Herrera and independent small businessman David Cruz Thayne.

    Now, all Brownley has to do is make sure that David Cruz Thayne does not siphon off enough votes from Democrats to enable NPP Linda Parks to sneak into second place.

  • CA-26,  David Cruz Thayne,  Linda Parks,  Tony Strickland

    CA-26 Video: David Cruz Thayne Releases First Online Ad

    Daivd Cruz Thayne is up with his first online web ad.

    I have embedded the video below:

    It is pretty much a biography and tells of his early years as a South American immigrant to the United States.

    Thayne is one of four Democrats running for two spots against Republican State Senator Tony Strickland and NPP (No Party Preference) Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks.

    Thayne’s campaign website is here.

  • Alan Werbalowsky,  CA-26,  David Cruz Thayne,  David Pollock,  Jess Herrera,  Julia Brownley,  Linda Parks,  Tony Strickland

    CA-26: Democrat David Pollock Will NOT Run for Congress

    The Bad New Bears Star and Moorpark City Councilman has decided not to file tomorrow for a Congressional race.

    “I am writing to let you know that I have suspended my campaign for Congress,” Pollock said in prepared statement emailed to supporters. “This was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make, and I want to assure you that my campaign team and consultants considered every possible path forward.

    “Because of the way the candidate field formed, there was a strong possibility of an unfavorable outcome not only for me but the other Democrats in the race. From the beginning, this race was not about me; it was about bringing real change to our representation in Ventura County and a voice of reason to Congress.”

    Obviously, Democratic Party leaders have prevailed on Pollock to get out of the race. This is to give Democratic California Assemblywoman Julia Brownley a chance at winning a top two spot in the June primary election against two better known Ventura County politicians, Tony Strickland and Linda Parks.

    I doubt the other two remaining Democrats will withdraw since they have already stated they are in for good.

    But, you never know what the Democratic Party will offer to clear a field.

    Tomorrow night at 5 PM, the filing deadline we will be able to examine the field of candidates.

    So far, this is what we have:

    • Republican California State Senator Tony Strickland
    • Independent/No Party Preference Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks
    • Democrat California Assemblywoman Julia Brownley
    • Democrat Oxnard Harbor Commissioner Jess Herrera
    • Democrat Westlake Village businessman David Cruz Thayne
    • Libertarian/Republican Akiva Werbalowsky

    Stay tuned….

  • CA-26,  David Cruz Thayne,  David Pollock,  Jess Herrera,  Julia Brownley,  Linda Parks,  Tony Strickland

    CA-26: Democrats Attacking Democrats Over Julia Brownley Carpetbagging Issue

    Well, I said it would be an issue and some of the Democrats in this congressional race cannot help themselves from piling on Democratic California Assemblywoman Julia Brownley.

    Democrats David Pollock, David Cruz Thayne, Jess Herrera and Assemblywoman Julia Brownley are all vying for the democratic vote after county supervisor and front-runner Steve Bennett backed out of the race on the verge of receiving an endorsement at the party’s state convention on Feb. 11.

    Here is the action:

    “This is about stating the facts,” said Alex Thompson, campaign manager for Thayne. “The matter is, Brownley has said she represents 50,000 people in Ventura County. The matter is, she represents them but doesn’t have an office here. She is trying to hide the fact she is from Santa Monica.” Thompson said there is “absolutely not a chance” for Thayne to pull out of the race.

    Candidate and Oxnard Harbor District Commissioner Herrera said the district needs somebody who was born and raised in the area to rightly understand its constituents. The fact that Brownley recently moved here from Santa Monica doesn’t sit well with Herrera.

    “When have you seen someone from Oxnard or Camarillo represent L.A. County or Santa Barbara?” asked Herrera, who said he also has no intention of backing out of the race.

    In the meantime, Republican State Senator Tony Strickland and independent Ventura county Supervisor Linda Parks will sit back and let the numerous Democrats divide up the vote and portray the one Democrat who could possible beat them as a carpetbagger.

    The filing deadline is tomorrow at 5 PM.

    Wonder if any of these candidates will be persuaded by the Democratic Party to withdraw.

    We will see.

  • CA-26,  David Cruz Thayne,  Julia Brownley,  Tony Strickland

    CA-26: Democrat David Cruz Thayne Mocks Assemblywoman Julia Brownley – Imported From Santa Monica

    California Assemblywoman Julia Brownley’s residence in Santa Monica, California

    In a little Democrat upon Democrat warfare. Congressional candidate David Cruz Thayne mocks Assemblywoman Julia Brownley as being an import from Santa Monica.

    Democrats, let’s think this one through carefully.  In the 2008 Ventura County-based state Senate race, right-wing Tony Strickland beat former Assemblymember Hannah Beth Jackson in a race that Democrats should have won given the millions that were poured into the campaign on her behalf.  How did he do it?  Partly by painting Jackson as a creature of Santa Barbara, where she has long lived, and which her voting record in the Assembly reflected, and making her out to be out of touch with Ventura County.

    Strickland, the GOP’s endorsed candidate for Congress and its most likely run-off candidate, already has the playbook on a race like this one.  Do we really want to watch a replay of that movie by serving up a Santa Monica Democrat to him and the national Republican attack machine?

    Well, this is a weak argument, since there is no federal law requirement that a Congressional candidate live in the Congressional District which they represent. Plus, Brownley presently represents Oak Park, Westlake Village, Oxnard and Port Hueneme in the California Assembly. But, as I said it is an issue.

    But, what distinguishes candidate Thayne from Brownley? I have been involved in Ventura County politics for decades and have never seen him involved in any issue or race. At least Brownley, who presumably has moved to Oak Park, since that is what she said she was going to do, represents part of CA-26 as an elected office holder.

    The carpetbagger argument is not one Republican Tony Strickland will use against Brownley. Her liberal voting record on the Santa Monica School Board and in the California Assembly and being out of touch with the majority of voters in the more conservative Ventura County will be sufficient enough.

    Tony Strickland will allow the Democrats to beat up on one another. As the front-runner who will command most all of the Republican voters in CA-26, he can sit back and watch the Dems attack each other.

    Have fun.

  • California Citizens Redistricting Commission,  California State Senate,  David Cruz Thayne,  Elton Gallegly,  Flap's California Morning Collection,  Jerry Brown

    Flap’s California Morning Collection: August 18, 2011

    A morning collection of links and comments about my home, California.

    Westlake Village man announces plans to run for new 26th Congressional District

    David Cruz Thayne, a former professional tennis player from Westlake Village, on Wednesday became the second Democrat to announce plans to run in the newly drawn 26th Congressional District, which covers most of Ventura County.

    Thayne, 40, is a tennis coach and the producer of two tennis-themed documentary films. He joins Moorpark City Councilman David Pollock as the only announced candidates in a district that is expected to attract considerable national attention. It is home to no incumbent and the partisan leanings of its voters are such that the candidates in last fall’s governor’s race were separated by only 1 percentage point.

    The district includes all of Ventura County except for most of the city of Simi Valley and a small slice of the city of Ventura. The city of Westlake Village is the only area of Los Angeles County in the district.

    It is likely the district in which incumbent Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Simi Valley, will run if he chooses to seek re-election. Although his home is a few blocks outside the district boundary, Gallegly has represented much of the area for the last two decades.

    The incumbent congressman has made no announcement about his plans for 2012.

    California governor not interested in Prop 13 reforms

    Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday turned down a challenge from the mayor of Los Angeles to reform Proposition 13, saying he would prefer to focus his attention on bringing financial stability to California.

    Brown was responding to comments by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who called on the governor and state lawmakers to think big in solving California’s ongoing fiscal problems. The mayor suggested the Prop 13 property tax cap be lifted for businesses and left in place for homeowners.

    Prop 13, however, is seen as untouchable by many politicians in the state because it is so popular with the electorate.

    During a speech Tuesday before the Sacramento Press Club, Villaraigosa urged the governor to convene a commission on tax reform and estimated that gradually lifting the Prop 13 cap for businesses could raise between $2.1 billion and $8 billion a year money the state could invest in education and lower property taxes for homeowners.

    Brown rejected the idea after making a luncheon address at Maddy Institute in Fresno.

    “I’m not planning to join (Villaraigosa), but I certainly welcome the debate,” Brown said. “I will focus my attention on ensuring financial stability and making the state more efficient.”

    Brown did not offer specifics beyond saying he plans to support a ballot initiative next year for new revenue. He also said jobs would come by generating confidence that California is on stable footing.

    One way he might do that is through infrastructure investment.

    Republicans take first step toward overturning new Senate districts

    A group of Republicans has taken the first step toward putting a referendum on the ballot that they hope will lead to the overturning of new Senate districts drawn by a state panel.

    Republican attorney Charles Bell asked the state attorney general in writing to prepare the title and summary of the referendum so that a petition drive can begin to qualify the measure for the ballot. The campaign needs to collect more than 504,000 signatures in 90 days.

    “The belief is that at least a number of the districts were not drawn in accordance with the [federal] Voting Rights Act and some provisions of the state Constitution concerning compactness and avoiding county splits,” said Bell, who is an attorney for the California Republican Party and the new campaign committee Fairness and Accountability in Redistricting.

    Bell said Wednesday he submitted the request on behalf of the campaign committee, which includes Orange County businesswoman Julie Vandermost. The referendum drive is being supported by the state party as well as the Senate Republican Caucus.

    Common Cause blasts referendum targeting new Senate districts

    The head of California Common Cause said Wednesday that a Republican-backed referendum drive to overturn new Senate districts is the work of “partisan insiders” and is attacking a plan that reflects the will of voters who approved an independent redistricting process.

    “This referendum is motivated by pure party politics, funded by incumbents who did not get the safe districts that they wanted,” said Kathay Feng, executive director of California Common Cause.

    Her organization was one of several that supported a 2008 ballot measure that created the 14-member Citizens Redistricting Commission, taking the job of redrawing legislative districts away from lawmakers.

    A referendum drive supported by the California Republican Party and Senate Republican Caucus has filed papers required before groups can begin collecting signatures to put the new districts before the voters.

    Enjoy your morning!