Hispanic GOP back Sharon Runner bid

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press December 25, 2001.

By LISA WAHLA
Valley Press Staff Writer

PALMDALE - The 8-month-old local chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly is endorsing Sharon Runner in her bid to replace her husband George in the state Legislature.

Sharon Runner is one of four Republican candidates vying for the 36th Assembly District seat in the March primary election. George Runner has represented the district since his 1996 election and will be forced out by term limits at the end of 2002.

"We all know George, but we all know Sharon as well, and not necessarily because of George," club member Isaac Barcelona said after last week's forum. "She established herself in her own way because of how hard she works."

Runner has been active in Republican politics, working as a regional director for President George W. Bush's campaign last year. She said she would focus on three "E's" - education, energy and the economy - adding that she has the experience to accomplish her goals. The first bill she would sponsor would deal with equalizing funding for the state's school districts, she said.

The Antelope Valley chapter of the Hispanic group, holding its first endorsement forum, chose Runner over Ollie McCaulley, Phil Wyman and Mike Dispenza. Runner and McCaulley, a Palmdale businessman, attended the meeting; Wyman of Tehachapi, assemblyman from the 34th district, and Dispenza, a Palmdale city councilman, had prior commitments and sent representatives.

Richard Loa, interim chairman of the group, said Runner's support for the Latin American Club, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Hispanic candidates in local races helped tip the scale in her favor.

Runner supported Loa's recent successful election campaign for the Palmdale City Council, as well as supporting Hispanic club member Shawny Barcelona's November election to the Palmdale School District board.

Each candidate and representative addressed the group, as did supporters of the candidates, before Loa opened the floor for questions.

All pledged support for a four-year university in the Antelope Valley, additional transportation dollars for local roads and the quest for a veterans home in Lancaster. Funding for the veterans home was included in a March 2000 bond election, but Gov. Gray Davis has twice vetoed legislation that would have allocated the money.

McCaulley suggested a new approach for the veterans home: a nonprofit organization could be established to collect donations of materials from major manufacturing businesses looking for a tax write-off. Supporters of the home could then approach the governor, materials in hand, to request funding for the labor to build the home.

McCaulley also acknowledged that legal action, an idea suggested by George Runner after Davis' latest veto, could be the best option for the home's supporters.

"I'd like to see us sue the governor," McCaulley said. "I'd love to sue the governor; I don't like him anyway."