I'm going to describe the recent drama unfolding in CA-24, which contains portions of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, north west of Los Angeles.
Well, here's the play so far:
- Rep Elton Gallegly announced withdrawl from the race for CA-24, on Mar 10,2006, at the very last `minute' for filing candidacy papers.
- Brett Wagner, the Dem candidate from 2004,with 34% of the vote, withdrew from the race the day after being cleared and vindicated by the state party officials who were looking into `allegations' against him, this on Mar 3, 2006.
- Mary Pallant has emailed people that she is out, not filed,quit, as of Mar 12, 2006. See hekebolo's diary on it.
- Questions:
Who filed in time?
Are the two announced Democratic Party candidates filed and running?
What's the buzz?
Inquiring minds want to know!
Read on for more facts, links, rumor, speculation and raw career ruining innuendo...
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According to the
Ventura County Star(free sub req'd) when Rep. Elton Gallegly decided to withdraw from the race at the last minute literally, he apparently thought there would automatically be a five day extension to allow some preordained candidates to run. Clever way of subverting the primary/ best candidate process, but he was wrong, and as we speculated in this
diary on Friday, there was regulation 8809 that said he would have to die but couldn't withdraw. The 5 day extension would be maybe for state contests, but never the less, there was another Republican candidate, Atty Michael Tenenbaum, an unexperienced candidate with no record (as yet) who filed on Thursday.
At least three potential Republican successors were given some advance notice of Gallegly's decision, but each decided not to run. Two of those were Simi Valley City Councilman Glen Becerra and Gallegly aide Brian Miller. A source close to Gallegly said a third potential candidate was also tipped off but would not reveal the person's identity.
Everybody else was in the dark, creating a situation in which some potential candidates are feeling angry and left out.
Well, according to the Santa Barbara News supPress, another candidate might have been Santa Maria's Mike Stoker, a right wing ex-County Supervisor. His older doppleganger is Brooks Firestone, whose recall is 2004 candidate Brett Wagner's next project as he announced his (Wagner's)withdrawl from the race, see my diary here. Brett's and everybody else's problem with Firestone now ,and in the past Stoker, was his anti-environmentalismo. Stoker is bad news if he tries to run.
Still in Ventura County Star article, the local and State Republican officials are bugged, and the writer suggests Gallegly did this intentionally, yet ineptly, possibly in an attempt to block rivals and allow his protege a chance, who then decided not to file.
Eliminating the competition?
Republicans statewide believe that one of Gallegly's potential motives was to shut out former Assemblyman Tony Strickland of Moorpark and Sen. Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks. The congressman has not had a good relationship with either, and since both were already committed to statewide campaigns, this was an opportunity to create an opening at a time when neither could take advantage.
"It looked like a brilliant political maneuver, but it turned out he didn't have his facts straight," said GOP strategist Kevin Spillane of Sacramento.
For giggles, another take on it from freepertown:
Strickland hosed
by Jon Fleischman - Publisher(editor of the winger blog "Flashreport')
3-10-2006 5:28 pm
Elton Gallegly can chuckle over a beer tonight at his apparently successful effort to thwart our representative democracy. Despite a last minute scramble by Strickland and his supporters to get him filed - there was not enough time. So on the ballot is Gallegly (who has filed but announced he is retiring and will not be waging any campaign) and some obscure fellow named Tannenbaum. Strickland has a few days to consider whether he will try to mount a write-in effort, or keep his eye on the State Controller's seat. In the meantime, if anyone sees Elton Gallegly around town, avert your glance. He has brought shame on himself and the GOP today...
Another attempt to " correct" the problem,(get an insider from the backroom to run) would be for the `Party' to push to get Gallegly reelected, since he's on the ballot anyway and will stay there. Then, when elected, he resigns and there is a special election where the insiders' guy can run the way the insiders want him to. Of course, I wonder, what if he retires right now before the primary, and the special election would likely be the primary or at least the general, and we the suffering taxpayers won't have to freaking PAY FOR IT! And speaking of money, one commentor says opensecrets.org says Gallegly has $1million in his campaign fund. What happens to that? Does he reimburse the Counties for the maybe special election? Does he have to send it back?
The Ventura County Star's politcal blogger, Brian Denner has been writing about these candidates and issues and is a good #1 source for Ventura County political yak.
According to Denner, Mary Pallant has not filed and is out. On Dennert's blog is this letter toMary Pallant from a supporter, and it's pretty positive. This, and her now taken down website led me to think she would have been a good candidate and Representative, like my favorite, Lois Capps, (who BTW is also here on dkos signed on with the other 30 Reps on HR 365, the impeachment Resolution, yowser!)
Reading Denner's blog and the comments (go ahead and leave the repubs some tough love) , it seems that Jill Martinez's campaign may not be playing nice, or the supporters of the dropouts are bitterly recriminating in concert about their tactics. This thread on Denner's blog seems most cogent on all these issues.I know only from sources noted here and my other diary and the one on Friday.
It looks like the allegations that were made about Wagner's campaign money and credentials, were repeated in the thread in Denner's blog comments, after the March 2 announcement. This announcement was that there was nothing credible there and that the complainers hadn't the authority to officially complain to the State Dem Party was announced on Mar 2, 2006. Wagner dropped out and announced Mar 3, 2006. Either it was a deal: he quit and gets vindicated, or he didn't want to fight those tactics through the primary and through the general.....or both. Forced? That's my opinion, probably forced by people in the Martinez camp. Notice the mention of Barney Frank in the comments, and that `Freya' gets a smackdown later on. Politics can be fun! Who knew?
Now we get to Mary Pallant. Besides hekebolos' diary, there is revealing info on Denner's site in those comments as well. There are remarks about Mary Pallant and pay issues, and staff dissatisfaction. Maybe true, maybe not. Mary Pallant seemed to me to have the best collection of positioning, endorsements, and progressive views that she was my uninformed pick.
Jill Martinez references as found on the net (by me so far) are a couple of newspaper articles and an unfinished website. One comment on Denner's blog mentions 'newsletters'. It's not impressing me at all, and considering that the March 10 filing date was a big moment likely to bring lots of attention, it's inept, and shows no appreciation for any netroots. I hope my pessism is totally unfounded, but her letter in hekebolos' diary isn't making me happy.
Somebody better send her Kos's book.
That's all for now, those links may be updated by the time you read this, and I will try to update at noonish tomorrow, for the record, although this diary will bounce by sunup!
Cheers!