Dave Harmer (Republican)
Education- opposes government supported public education declaring that the money received was ‘not worth the strings attached’.
Social Security- opposes its structure wants privatization along the lines of a 401K fund that restricts your benefits based on what you put in,
Health Care- opposes government involvement wants a voucher like system, prefers a system of three major insurance companies dominating the national market than one government system
Environment- Sees nothing wrong with CO2 and is opposed to any efforts to curb it in the atmosphere.
Debt- decried the national debt and stimulus saying we need to stop the growth of government
Blame Game- blames the economic recession on Franks and the Federal Government.
John Garamendi (Democrat)
Education- we need to strengthen public education and the government has a role there.
Social Security- reminded the audience the reason that it came about was the failure of the banks and the private sector to provide for the mass of the people in their retirement. Had a good line on that a 401K approach would have left people with not even a 201K recently and more likely a Zero 1K retirement fund.
Health Care- made it clear that he supports a Medicare system for all and a public option
Environment- sees global warming as real and action needed. A modification of the way we operate needs to take place.
Debt-supported the stimulus as necessary
Size of Government- reminded the audience that when he was assistant Interior Secretary he reduced the size from 90,000 to 72,000.
Blame Game-put the economic mess at the foot of Bush’s financially disasterous Iraq War, tax cuts for the rich, the lack of regulation and enforcement
Mary McIlroy (Peace and Freedom)
Education- supports public education by Oil Drilling Tax and changing the commercial side of Prop 13. Basically lost the entire audience on the opening statement declaring her party as the only socialist party and talking about supporting the working class.
Jeremy Cloward (The Greens)
Suggested massive cuts in the military budget by upwards of 190 Billion Dollars to fund college and graduate school education as well as make payments on the deficit. As with the Peace and Freedom Party wants an immediate withdraw from Afghanistan.
Jerry Denham (American Independent Party)
Wants a 90% reduction in the size of the Federal Government and perpetually responded to questions that the Constitution does not provide authority for the government to get involved in Health Care, Education, Banking, Insurance etc. He ended with a final plea that we need more God in our lives. In fact it felt that the entire role of the Denham participation was to show that there was still some room to the extreme right of the Harmer positions.
There was an overlap of common ground only on the opposition to the Peripheral Canal and the request that if elected there be more forums and town hall meetings.
The audience of about 200 was clearly fitted out with a majority of the Republican Harmer supporters who resonated with his views that would be considered extreme in many other places in the district. However, Harmer’s constant theme was selling the current government as the bad guy seemed to over ride all other aspects of his platform with the audience.
The most extreme shock though for this commentator was reserved for the moderator’s closing comments. She said that in her conversation that morning with the Election Clerk for Contra Costa County, the turnout was trending towards 22% turnout much lower than the September open primary. Such a turnout plays into the extremes that tend to vote on such occasions, something that got plenty of applause in Moraga.
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Harmer LIED during the Forum
Toward the end of the event he said that he never turned down an opportunity to share a forum with his democratic rivals.
As I recall he was the very first one to say that he would NOT participate in the Alameda County Republican Party sponsored All Party Forum in which both democratic, republican, green, PFP, and AIP candidates participated.
HARMER either LIED, or should grow a memory and make better decisions about blindly following what his inexperienced campaign brain trust tells him what to do (like not having a candidate statement on the ballot—D’Oh!).
Happily, it is rookie mistakes like these that indicate how big of a loser Harmer and the CRP are to let Garamendi walk away with the district without a credible fight.
Outrageously high is the unemployment rate in California. The official California unemployment rate is currently 12.2 percent, the highest since 1940.
The unofficial rate in California is 20 percent (The New York Times, July 15, 2009).
To get back to fill employment, the corporate income tax should be abolished. Corporate profits that are reinvested in hiring new workers, developing new products, and buying productivity-enhancing equipment like computers, should not be taxed.
Corporate profits distributed to an owner should be paid by the owner as part of his personal income tax.
The size and scope of government is too large. Limited government, as proposed by Thomas Jefferson, can preserve both personal and economic liberty.
Unfortunately, the candidates for Congress in California’s Tenth Congessional District have not given enough emphasis to personal and econonomc freedom.
Richard S. Colman
Orinda, CA
Oct. 29, 2009
While serving in office as elected city council member and Mayor of Lafayette in the mid-90′s,I had a convenient mantra: “There are no votes in Paris.”
This was my jocular response when people asked why I didn’t travel and always seemed to be working and networking. I believed that time away from politics was politically unproductive. Political life has an all-consuming tendency where other pursuits from travel to leisure to friendships are viewed through a political lens.
Fast forward to now. After leaving politics (unopposed for reelection and successfully completing my term in office) in the mid-90’s I went into TV News and had the chance to live in several interesting places across the country. Then came grad school at Harvard and a chance to take a breath and travel to distant lands.
After returning to reality stateside, I moved to Washington DC teaching and working in higher education. While these aspects made my life richer it made me politically poorer as a potential candidate for office.
My main interests in running for the 10th Congressional District focused on improving higher education, curbing excessive federal spending and supporting sensible efforts to help save our environment. But in talking to friends and supporters, mostly in Contra Costa, and experts in Washington DC I decided not to run. This decision did not come easily and I debated even to the last minute. But three separate reasons combined in a powerful way in my decision not to:
-Personal: The personal sacrifice you need to make to run and win is overwhelming. Over my life I realize there is more to life than politics, campaigning and getting elected to office. Congress also possesses extremely low approval ratings making its job even tougher. The Rasmussen Report this past year rated the favorable views U.S. citizens have of Congress at less than nine percent. Ouch. To enter than lions den of diminished respect and support takes chutzpah for sure. We should give credit and respect to those who run and offer to serve the public.
-Money: Having a message is not enough. Having a vision is not enough. Wanting to serve is not enough. You need money to get your message out and convince people of your merits. Before I served in politics I worked in fundraising. Even so, the sums needed for a Congressional race are daunting even in a shortened special election. PACS, labor unions, developers and other specialized interests will contribute to the candidate that will best serve their interests. But for those running that wont be enough as the totals necessary to compete will be well into the six figures just to be competitive. Fundraising will consume more of a candidate’s time and focus instead of communicating to voters and the media.
-Two Party ‘Choice’: In a country built on freedom of choice it is surprising that we are limited with just two main political parties to choose from on Election Day. Running as an independent is challenging enough but doing so in an off-year election makes it even more so as activist party members tend to dominate. This is especially true in the California 10th Congressional District which, like almost all others, has been created to favor one party over another. This is why the 10th District ranges over 4 counties and 2 dozen cities stretching all the way up to the Sacramento Valley. There have been only a handful of Independent candidates who have been elected to office in California and ever fewer to Congress.
Truly competitive Congressional elections are rare as Nate Silver points out in fivethirtyeight.com. Silver’s research shows there are very few cases of close congressional elections anymore. Since 2000 there have been 2,175 elections to the US House and less than 2 percent of them have been close with a percentage point or two making the difference. All of this means less choice for voters. We have dozens of choices in everything from the toothpaste we brush with to the cars we drive and the movies we watch. But in politics it’s either party R or party D.
California is in deep trouble right now and needs to elect talented public officials who will perform at a consistently superior level in office. California also needs friends wherever it can find them. Whomever gets elected next week I’ll be glad to welcome our new Congressional member, most likely John Garamendi or David Harmer, to DC and show them around town. There is more to Washington than just Capitol Hill. It’s a great place to live.
My father always said “you can never have enough education”. But there are many ways to learn and I I’d suggest the winning candidate buy and read ‘The Waxman Report’ so they can get a quick briefing on how to best make an impact while in office. In the end that’s what really matters: being able to say what you accomplished in helping improve the lives and opportunities of those you represent. If you just run to have a new political title, move up the electoral ladder, or cap your career, that is a wonderful opportunity that should not be wasted. California and the 10th District can’t afford anything but the best and deserves nothing less.
Scott R. Talan, MPA
Former Mayor & City Council Member of Lafayette
Web Bio & Career Profile
http://www.careerhandlers.com/ScottTalan/