Many of you have been following the race here in the Central Valley to succeed retiring member of Congress George Radanovich, in California’s 19th Congressional District There are four candidates in this primary, and until now, I have been undecided about who to support. I like and respect each of the men running, and at different times have supported each of them for public office.
In sizing up the race, I would say we have the "anointed" candidate, the "farmer" candidate, the "unlikely" candidate, and the "grassroots" candidate. Let me explain as follows:
State Senator Jeff Denham was asked by George Radanovich to run to succeed him. The Central Valley’s Westside farmers and Congressman Devin Nunes jumped early on former Congressman Richard Pombo’s bandwagon, City Council Member Larry Westerlund shocked 
everyone by getting into this race as an unknown outsider, and former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson (pictured) is a product of the grassroots movement sweeping the country right now, the Tea Party.
Each candidate draws from a pretty distinct base of support. In the final analysis, after weeks of deliberation, I have concluded that former Mayor Jim Patterson is the best man for the job.
As I said earlier, I have the utmost respect for all of the candidates. I have talked to them all personally and extensively, and informed them of my endorsement. I think the candidacy of Mr. Patterson is one of the people, the small contributor, the budding Tea Party actiivist. The reason for this is simple: of all the candidates in this race, Mr. Patterson’s conservatism, I believe, is the most authentic, deeply rooted in a solid belief system that will not be co-opted by the pressures of Washington. Jim understands what happened to the GOP in 2006 and 2008. We’ve had many, many discussions about it. He won’t be a part of making those mistakes again if Republicans take back the House this year. This is critical to me and to millions of other voters. As a matter of fact, this is the most important issue to me.
The other candidates have the unfortunate position of presently serving in government or having recently served. I think this works against them greatly in this primary contest. While Mr. Pombo served as a capable warrior on water and energy issues during his time in the House from 1992-2006, he was also there while the Republican leadership squandered core conservative principals and plundered this great nation with excessive spending and earmarks, and new entitlement programs. I just cannot ignore this fact. I don’t blame Richard for being there, I just don’t think voters wan”t to return someone back to the House who was there before. I might be wrong, but this is what I believe.
Mr. Denham has served capably in the State Senate, withstood the ire of a recall attempt, and generally held the line on budget votes – except for two votes in the middle of Arnold’s second term which sent the State spending baselines into the stratosphere – creating the structural issues we have now in State government. One or two votes of many? Can’t we forgive and forget? I cannot at this time when I have another choice that didn’t contribute to the Sacramento mess. Those votes had enormous consequences that reverberate today.
Mr. Westerlund’s has, most of the time, been a conservatve vote on the Fresno City Council, but his vote to enable the City to guarantee a $15 million dollar loan to fund a museum renovation has helped to cripple the General Fund and imperiled important City services. His unlikely candidacy will serve mostly to pull a few Fresno area votes away from Mr. Patterson. He doesn’t have much of a chance, and his campaign is not a serious one. Most of his campaign contributors are local developers with bone to pick with Mr. Patterson over lingering issues from when he ran the City.
That leaves Jim Patterson. His two terms as Mayor of Fresno returned Fresno to All American City status. He’s been a consistent, clear voice for conservative ideas since I have known him – for 17 years. Yes, he made some people angry in Fresno – but on those issues, his conservatism was what made people angry, and he’s since been vindicated on almost every issue that was controversial during his term. I know that the difference between his rhetoric and his actions will be at the most, infinitesimal. I trust him to do the right thing 100% of the time. I think he is the candidate the people are looking for in these times. Conservative before Republican, and true to his values without exception. This is the election year when most candidates on our side all sound the same. The key issue we need to decide for ourselves is: who do we believe the most to be committed t returning the GOP to the Party of Reagan?
I plan on spending the next several weeks as his advocate and will help him be competitive. No matter what the outcome, I want to make sure people understand that he’s authentic, experienced, and ready to serve.
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