and should never do so without some overriding reason where the endorsement helps the party.
Never until a week ago when the Ventura County Republican Central Committee endorsed a candidate for my job, and I am told they did so with no candidate debate, and in fact only one candidate invited. I am termed-out of my position on the Board of Equalization and there are 4 candidates pursuing the campaign. There is no reason in the world that the Republican Party voters in the 2nd District should not be allowed to choose their own nominee without party interference. This is an insult to the Republican voters in the 2nd District.
Now Barbara Alby (whom I have endorsed), Alan Nakanishi, and Roy Ashburn will have no political choice but to go after county central committee endorsements. I regret this. It was a dumb and unnecessary move for Ventura County to change the nature of the race. As political activists and campaign law specialists know when the party does endorse then party resources can be spent on their candidate and money can be legally laundered to the party in amounts higher than would be legal for the candidate to accept personally. So the other candidates have no choice now but to go after official party endorsements in other counties. And with 34 counties in the 2nd District every county committee is going to come under pressure. Ventura has unleashed a free-for-all for legal campaign laundering.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Sadly, the party has stopped fighting the good fight, and is solely focused on their (I guess) legal money laundering schemes. Better candidate? Doesn’t matter, what and who can bring money to each local GOP is the bottom line. That is MOST assuredly going to hit them in the butt as the public starts to wake up to this insidious stacking of the deck for monetary reasons.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:00 am
The endorsement process is a mess and the Ventura County Republican Central Committee typifies all that is wrong with it. It is controlled by Tony Strickland and run by Mike Osborn. And it is a money laundering scheme. Most local candidates are sick of the bullying and buffonery that goes on and many are distancing themselves from the party. Blame Ron Neyring for allowing this to happen.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Amen Sister!
October 5th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Voting members of Ventura County Central Committee include:
Toni Strickland (Tony’s mother)
Chris Valenzano – former Strickland Employee
Deyla Valenzano – Chris’ wife
Mike Osborn
Mary Osborn – Mike’s wife
Darrin Henry – Collateral materials vendor for Stricklands
Rebecca Henry – Darrin’s wife
Tony Strickland or his Alternate
Audra Strickland or her Alternate
The Executive Director for the Ventura County Republican Party is a Strickland employee.
So much for the voice of the people!
October 5th, 2009 at 12:00 am
I think Darin Henry works for Audra Strickland. And I believe Jennifer Masterson and Samantha Harrison are also employees of the STricklands (they are listed as alternates). And wasn’t Matt Hewitt just voted off the Young Republicans because he didn’t agree with the endorsement of Poizner? Oh, that right – the meeting was stopped and no election for his replacement occurred.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:00 am
That a Southern California central committee (Ventura) would endorse
a Southern California candidate (JIM BRULTE) instead of candidates from
Northen California (Alan Nakanishi, Barbara Alby) or Central California
(Roy Ashburn) is as surprising as the famous headline “Bears Do It in
the Woods”.
Yet, somehow on this thread, the obvious decision of Ventura’s GOP to
back their well-known “neighbor” Jim Brulte, degenerates into shrill name-
calling and money laundering charges for which NO evidence is offered.
I don’t have a client in the BOE race, but believe it is unfair to slime the
good name of the Ventura Republican Party. That County is represented
in Congress, the State Senate and the Assembly by Republicans… so
maybe their critics could learn something from Ventura county!
October 5th, 2009 at 12:00 am
The current “Cash on Hand” of the 4 GOP candidates in this race is pretty
interesting. Per the Secretary of State’s website, here is how they compare
for the BOE:
JIM BRULTE………………….. $1,108,171
Alan Nakanishi……………………..195,506
Roy Ashburn………………………….80,716
Babraba Alby…………………………75,220
With 3 times the combined cash-on-hand of all his rivals, it does not look
like Mr. Jim Brulte needs much financial help from Ventura county after all.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Then I wonder what the urgency of an endorsement was. Riverside County is hardly our backyard – and in fact, we share a long border with Kern County (Ashburn’s county).
Could it be that Brulte and Strickland are coordinating donor funds to run through each others’ counties?
And, are you calling Bill Leonard shrill?
October 5th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Nice try to rationalize but the bottom line is that Republican voters come first – not individual politicians.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Why does Jim Brulte need financial help from ANYONE when he has THREE times more
cash-on-hand ($1,108,171) than Nakanishi, Alby and Ashburn combined ($353,442)?
This argument might play with a candidate incapable of raising money on their own
… but no serious person believes that about Jim Brulte.
This argument might play with a candidate incapable of raising
money on their own… but no serious person believes that about Jim Brulte.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:00 am
I can’t hear you Leslie – it is too loud and noisy…..
October 5th, 2009 at 12:00 am
James, you are missing the point. Regardless of who has more money, the question is, WHY is it so important for Ventura County to endorse in this race when, as you say, Brulte is doing so well?
And if Ventura County/Strickland and Osborn, and Riverside County/Brulte, are setting up this coordination of donor funds, the voters should be made aware. Sure, it’s in the reports, but connecting the dots can be very enlightening.
October 6th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Read with great interest the discussion on my favorite blog…but I wanted to clear up a bit of the confusion:
1. The Ventura County GOP endorsed George Runner for BOE, not Jim Brulte. Jim Brulte did not request an endorsement by Ventura County or any county GOP for that matter.
2. As a general rule, Jim Brulte does not believe the County GOP’s shold endorse in Republican Primaries in districts that are considered “safe seats”
3. Leslie, I am not sure I have ever met you, but every time my name come up on this blog, you seem to just to a very negative conclusion. Not sure why, but if I have ever done anything to offend you, please take this as a VERY public apology.
4. Since I did not request an endorsement and am not the endorsed candidate, I clearly did not “coordinate” anything with “Ventura County/Strickland and Osborn.
5. I believe that the appropriate role for County GOP’s is to register voters and turn them out to vote for our candidates.
Anyway, hope this clears up any confusion.
Senator Jim Brulte (Retired)
October 6th, 2009 at 12:00 am
James Sills was the first to invoke your name and it appears he misspoke.
George Runner is even less surprising.
Remind me again about the “safe” districts and how they came about?
October 7th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Hon. Brulte,
Sorry to jump on Mr. Sills’ comments as truth that you are running for BOE. As he was quoting stats, I believed it to be true. I do apoligize for the confusion caused.
You say “every time my name comes up” – sorry – I rarely post, and the last time was likely regarding the re-districting discussion, as I was in favor of the last re-districting initiative taking it out of the hands of those who benefit most.
Probably the last time I met you was years ago at a GOP state convention, sitting together on convention steps when you were telling me and another person of your ire that a county chairman did not spend coordinated funds the way that was expected, and that something was going to have to be done about that county chairman. I forget which county that was, but maybe the person I was with remembers.
I believe it was at the same convention where you, as minority leader were touting to all the county chairmen the great re-districting scheme of safe seats, because it was going to help keep the GOP majority in Congress. That went well.
While the names and counties have been corrected, the fact remains that Hon. Leonard is right. Pandora’s box has been opened again. And we will watch with interest the donor funds running through San Bernardino County, Ventura County, as well as others to “connect the dots” for the voters who might not understand this system.