An Open Letter to
Sportsmen from the Rifle Assoc.?
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the Letter
What really caused
our current economic meltdown?
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Headquarters Phone Numbers Explained
The California Republican Party issued cell phones for
use at our Antelope Valley/Lancaster Headquarters with "714"
area code numbers. Sorry for the inconvenience. The
Official AV HQ Phone# is (714) 507-8611
and is answered in the Lancaster HQ office. Our HQ
chairman is Matt Smith and his personal cell phone# is (661)
609-0190. The Republican Central Committee Chairman is
Dean Henderson and his office phone is (661) 729-5000.
Click Here for
Official GOP Voter Guide
AV GOP Headquarters
in Now Open!
The AV Republican
Headquarters is located at 705 West Lancaster Blvd. in Lancaster.
Stop by to volunteer, get campaign literature, bumper stickers,
signs, and more. Open M-F Noon to 8pm and Saturday 10am to
1pm.
For more information click on
Headquarters Press Release
Talking About
Governor Sarah Palin On Lake Minnetonka (2008 RNC Convention)
By Richard Loa
Last
night the California
delegation attended a barbecue and boat excursion on Lake
Minnetonka near Excelsior Minnesota. What struck me most as we
floated past fabulous homes and unforgettable scenery was the
excitement caused by John McCain's selection of Governor Sarah
Palin to be the Vice President nominee of the Republican Party.
Everywhere people spoke excitedly about how they felt about
Sarah. Complete strangers would ask, "how do you feel about
Sarah?" universally answered with "just great, she is just
great! Lou Sheldon Chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition
said, "I felt like I had died and gone to heaven." Rosario
Marin, a national Latino Coalition for McCain said that what
resonated with her was that they share several things: They are
both married women who have a child with a serious disability,
and they have both been mayors of a city." Then smiling wryly
and a with a wink Rosario said that they had also both been
selected as "Miss Congeniality" of their communities. Even after
returning to our hotel a woman stopped me to ask where she could
get a "Unidos Con Mc Cain" button I had on my shirt. We
discussed Latinos who are supporting McCain and she asked, "What
do you think about Sarah?" I laughed because it was the
umpteenth time I had heard the question. I said, she's great,
just great! I gave her the "Unidos" button.
McCain VP pick
surprises GOP
Mixed reaction to Alaska Gov.
Sarah Palin
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley
Press
Saturday, August 30, 2008
By JAMES RUFUS KOREN, Valley Press
Staff Writer
| PALMDALE - Presumptive
Republican presidential nominee John McCain announced
little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice
presidential candidate Friday morning, surprising
Republican and Democratic observers alike.
Palin, who was born in Idaho and first
held elected office between 1996 and 2002 as mayor of
tiny Wasilla, Alaska, had been mentioned as a possible
vice presidential candidate, but was not thought to be a
serious contender, local Republicans said.
"I was surprised," said Assemblywoman
Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster. "I knew she was on the short
list, but there were a lot of people on that list."
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield,
who represents much of the Antelope Valley in Congress,
said he thought McCain would select former Massachusetts
Gov. Mitt Romney, who he defeated in the Republican
presidential primary, or Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
But surprise aside, local Republican
leaders said Palin's knowledge of energy issues, her
reputation as a corruption fighter and her status as the
Republican Party's first female vice-presidential
nominee, make her a knockout choice.
Local Democrats, though, see McCain's
pick as either a craven political move, a big mistake or
both.
Republicans have touted Palin's
experience as Alaska's governor, pointing out she is the
only presidential or vice presidential nominee with
executive experience.
"Everyone else is senators," McCarthy
said. "Governors have to manage a whole state and work
across party lines. Senators only manage their own
offices."
McCarthy met Palin earlier this year
on a trip to Alaska to discuss oil drilling and U.S.
energy policy. He described her as genuine, smart and,
like McCain, a maverick who has bucked her own party.
"She's not a person who played the
party role," he said. "She defeated an incumbent
governor. She was frustrated with some of the state's
ethical challenges. And now she's been there two years
and they give her an 80% approval rating."
Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon agreed,
saying McCain's choice proves he is committed "to real
change and reforming the way Washington works."
Drew Mercy, a member of the local
Republican Party committee and an aide to state Sen.
George Runner, said Palin's expertise on energy issues
will be a boon for the McCain-Palin ticket.
"Alaska is a state that requires a
strong knowledge of and a great deal of experience in
energy," he said. "That is going to be extremely
important."
Runner, meanwhile, said Palin will
help draw independent women voters to McCain.
"The economy is the No. 1 issue for
women," Runner said. "How do I provide for my family? …
It's those hardworking families. For independents, it
will be huge - the women who supported Reagan and left
during (George H. W.) Bush."
And Mercy said Palin will attract some
supporters of former presidential candidate Hillary
Clinton.
"Clinton supporters are not enamored
with (Democratic nominee Barack) Obama," he said. "She's
the first woman to be on a presidential ticket for the
Republican Party. There's a desire to see that diversity
of background and life experience."
Perhaps the most emphatic praise for
Palin, though, came from local National Rife Association
member and gun-shop owner Jeff Storm.
"She's great," Storm said. "She's an
NRA member, she's a hunter, she fishes, she's
good-looking - I think I'm in love."
Storm said Palin, a mother of five, is
a top-notch choice for vice president and also a good
spokeswoman for gun ownership.
"It shows that it isn't just some
backwards Billy Bob wearing overalls out there getting
himself a deer," he said.
"There are people who are very
intelligent, very well-spoken who really believe in and
relish their hunting heritage."
Storm said he has heard Palin had
bagged a moose on her last hunting trip.
"What's there not to love?" he said.
But Democrats said McCain's selection
of a young and relatively inexperienced candidate - at
44, she is more than three years younger than Obama and
she was elected governor not quite two years ago - will
force McCain to stop attacking Obama for his relatively
short résumé.
"In terms of experience, she doesn't
measure up," said Linda Jones, a Westside school board
member and the Democratic candidate for the 36th
District State Assembly seat. "I think what it does is
take away the argument that the (Republican) party has
been using against Barack. (McCain) has kind of tied his
hands on that one."
Palin was chosen because she comes
from an oil-producing state and because she's a woman,
Jones said, calling it a purely political move.
"I commend her on being a wife and a
mom of five and the challenges she has, but I think
she's way over her head," Jones said. "And I'm not sure
the public is going to buy that."
Sandy Corrales-Eneix, a prominent
Antelope Valley Democrat, said McCain's pick should take
any question of Obama's qualifications out of the
Republican playbook.
"He has taken experience and foreign
relations accomplishments off the table as means to
attack Barack Obama," she said. "He may as well have
picked the mayor of Baker, Calif."
Corrales-Eneix said she hated to
"bring up McCain's health record," but that Palin would
be "one heartbeat away from the presidency."
But Darren Parker, a vice chairman of
the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, said he was
happy to see Republicans put a woman in the No. 2 spot.
"It's wonderful for America to have a
woman there," he said.
But Parker and other Democrats agreed
that Palin was likely chosen as a reaction to Obama's
ground- and barrier-breaking candidacy.
"They did something they may not have
otherwise," Parker said.
Corrales-Eneix called it an emotional
response: "responding to one historic nomination with
another."
And Democratic leader Robert Alvarado
said the move showed McCain is grasping at straws.
"This is a desperate mistake to match
the democratic ticket," he said. "There's an African
American running at the top of the ticket. (McCain)
said, 'Well, let's bring a female aboard.' That's called
desperation in anyone's book."
Regardless, Democrats remain confident
that women, a big voting block for the Democratic Party,
will stick with Obama.
"Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton,"
Corrales-Eneix said. "When women find out what her
record is, her stance on being pro-life … I think she's
on the wrong side of women's issues and I don't think
women will respond in the way McCain thought they might
have." |
Rookie, vet join
city's Planning Commission
This story appeared in the Antelope
Valley Press on Monday, June 11, 2007.
By BOB WILSON Valley Press Staff Writer
PALMDALE - After interviewing
eight applicants, the City Council on Wednesday seated one
newcomer and one veteran to the Planning Commission.
In separate unanimous votes, the council chose
Kathryn MacLaren(D) to fill a seat representing District No. 3
and Dean Henderson(R) for the at-large post.
MacLaren, a homemaker, replaces Lori
Ontiveros(D), and Henderson, a mortgage broker, replaces John
Mayfield(R).
Ontiveros stepped aside after three years on
the panel. Mayfield chose not to seek another term after working
more than 20 years on the commission, primarily as chairman.
MacLaren said she applied for the post
because, with her husband deceased and her children in college,
"I want to give back to my community. … This city means a lot to
me."
Where MacLaren comes to the job with no
experience, Henderson had four years' service on the commission.
Henderson was removed from the panel in June 2004, along with
three other members, after the council approved an ordinance
requiring four of the five commission members come from specific
geographic districts of the city.
The change left only one person with any
experience - Mayfield - on the panel. With Mayfield gone,
Henderson - despite a three-year absence - will have the most
experience.
Continuing commission member Spencer Berg(D),
of District 1, and Fred Thompson(D), of District 2, each have
served 28 months, while member Vincent Dino(D), District 4, has
served 17 months.
Henderson said he would not have sought
appointment if Mayfield had reapplied.
Mayfield has served "with great honor and
dignity and calm, fair-minded leadership, and one can look
around the city to see the legacy he has created," Henderson
said.
His goal would be to press for "high
standards, and lushly landscaped projects" from builders,
Henderson said.
While MacLaren's selection brought no
controversy, Henderson drew pointed questions from Mayor Jim
Ledford, who has faced political opposition on the council from
those Henderson has helped elect in the past. Henderson,
chairman of the 36th Assembly District Republican Central
Committee(Republican Party), is supporting the election of
Shawny Barcelona(R), who is running against council incumbents
Steve Hofbauer(R) and Mike Dispenza(R).
"You're highly engaged in partisan politics,"
Ledford said. "Tell me how you can bring unity to a council and
a planning commission with this partisan bent. … Can you give me
some comfort that this (commission post) is not a divisive
interest?"
Henderson said the land-use decisions made by
the commission were not politically partisan in nature.
"So tell me which one of these two
(incumbents) you don't want on the City Council?" Ledford
continued.
"I like them both," Henderson said. "When
people come to me and ask me to help them, I pretty much say
'yes' to everybody."
Henderson acknowledged he used to be highly
partisan in his support of conservative Republicans seeking
nonpartisan local offices, "but I have a lot different
perspective these days."
At one point during the exchange, Councilman
Tom Lackey(R) jumped in to defend Henderson, saying there was no
evidence Henderson incited divisiveness as a commission member.
Lackey also opined that Ledford's questions were "unfair."
"When I am serving (in office), I make a much
greater effort to be equal … so being in the position takes me
out of the fight," Henderson said.
Despite Henderson's involvement in Barcelona's
campaign, Hofbauer said he would vote in favor of Henderson's
appointment because he proved to be a good planning
commissioner.
"Whether I'm up here next December or not, I
know you will do a good job," Hofbauer told Henderson.
Each commissioner serves a term of two years
and is paid $100 per meeting, for a maximum of two meetings per
month.
Property owners, typically builders, come to
the commission seeking, among other things, conditional-use
permits, subdivision maps, zone changes, zoning-ordinance
interpretations, specific-plan approvals, variances and General
Plan amendments. |
