(In particular…Thoughts About The 3rd Dist. Assembly Election)
by Jack Lee
Thoughts About The 3rd Dist. Assembly Election)
by Jack Lee
It’s no secret that after due investigation and consideration I decided to back Sue Horne-R for Assembly District 3. I did it because she is the best choice and for no other reason.
This assembly district represents most of Chico and over half of Butte County and many key counties that overlap into Sam Aanested’s Senate District. Sams is termed out soon, hold that thought. The assembly seat here is currently occupied by Rick Keene-R. Rick who is also being termed out and hold that thought too, this will all become clear soon.
Rick, the incumbent, and Sue the candidate are closely aligned on many issues and that’s the good part for us conservatives. We know who she is and what she stands for and Ricks done a good job in the Assembly too.
Rick Keene and Sue Horne look like a winning pair, but then you have to wonder, so why is Rick backing Dan Logue from the Oliverhurst area? Logue and Keene seem like an odd pair? Logue is a big shot real estate developer. He was also the first candidate to go on the attack early in this campaign to destroy his rival, Sue Horne. So, why would Keene be hanging with a guy who is pulling all sorts of tricks to win this election? It was Dan Logue who was trying to manipulate Republican Central Committees to get early endorsements. Why would
Keene go along with that, its wrong and violated the rules (see follow up comments about the rules in Post Scripts). Why would Rick support a guy who got caught up a lawsuit for trying to use [eminent domain] to take away a farmers land? And this garbage is almost minor when you look at the overall picture of Dan Logue, aka “Dirty Dan” as he’s been called, … so why, why, why would Rick support him? Answer: FOR HIS OWN PERSONAL GAIN VIA AN EXTENDED POLITICAL CAREER!
Rick is now termed out of office, but there is this local Senate seat available soon. With the right moves, the right backing, say with the help of an [Assemblyman Logue], well, then Rick will no doubt have a lock on becoming the next state Senator to replace Sen. Sam Aanested. it’s legal, but it’s a little too Machiavelli for me. This sets a bad precedent and it almost forces anyone who wishes to be a credible contender to do the same sort of thing. Is this how we want to go? I don’t think so. All candidates should just run on their own merits..period. I wish we had a law that said elected politicians have to stay out of other people’s races. If that happened we voters would get to see more of the REAL candidate. I say, let them (new candidates) sink or swim all on their own, using their own words, their own supporters and their own ideas! What is the downside of that one?
Digressing a bit and back to Dan Logue…I personally observed a Republican Central Committee meeting in Paradise where candidate Dan Logue gave a brief but uninspiring speech and then the Chairman (John Byrnes) and several of his key allies (including a Keene staffer) jumped up and endorsed Logue on the spot. I was stunned because this was a major breech of past practice and what I saw as good ethics. It was so unlike our local group to take such an action. This move for an endorsement was long before we even knew who was running for the assembly, heck the final filing date was still months away! This brings up another thing, I don’t think it’s a good idea for politicians to place their staff on our Central Committees to influence outcome, do you think that is wise?
This endorsement ploy backfired when the CRP heard about it. These people were breaking the CRP rules. The CRP said no endorsements of competing republican candidates before the primaryperiod! Unfortunately, the damage was done and I believe this was all planned out well ahead of time. This tactic to control or heavily influence the election was repeated at other GOP central committees in other counties until the CRP finally put a stop to it.
This is one dirty tactic among many that are employed by underhanded politicians who are willing to win at all costs. Mostly these characters rely on a stealthy tangle of alliances that lead to an early endorsement. This brings in the big money long before most normal candidates even begin to run! The [ordained] candidate, like a made-man in the mob, gets the backing of the big boss, that would be the incumbent and then they both go out and lockup all the support they need to shut down the competition before anyone else can get started. This closes doors and insures only the anointed candidate has a chance of winning or at least thats the plan.
Between you and me, that is pathetic and this is not how a healthy democracy should work. This is the exactly opposite of what Central Committees are supposed to do, that is to encourage republican candidates and help them run for office.
What I see happening in this assembly race is disturbing. It is an attempt by Dan Logue with the help of his incumbent pal to steal a victory in June through a carefully crafted [selection and ordaining process] that involves too many good ol boys aka their special interest supporters and of course those expecting favors down the road.
Voters rarely know this stuff goes on. Instead the would-be voters only see the end result, like the blitz of advertising and lots of big money being spent. From that they might wrongly assume a candidate, like Logue, must be real popular among his fellow republicans, when in reality it’s another story, an abusive story of dynasty building going on. These unethical tactics are all about keeping political careers going among a group folks with many hidden agendas. Sadly, this discourages free and open competition and competition is something we need more of in elections, not less!
So venturing back to the question, why Assemblyman Rick Keene might enter into an agreement with Dan Logue, years before this election. The ugly answer is because this was just another [quid pro quo] deal made in the backrooms, beyond the view of the voters. The end result: Dan Logue succeeds Rick Keene and in return for Keene handing over his job, his supporters and his power base to Mr. Logue, he will later get Logue’s support when he seeks a Senate seat. Legal… you bet! Unethical…you tell me?
People, you have no idea how bad this is, people resort to all kinds of tricks to get elected and this is bad on so many levels. Just wait until you actually try run for an election and face many closed doors and you’ll find out. That was my personal experience until I had to drop out of the race. Then if you start linking the dots and the true picture is formed….well, let’s just say this election has all been arranged for the [chosen] successor, someone that will run on the successes of the incumbent, someone who will be gifted all the deep pockets money, who will get support from people already connected to the incumbent and assured a win. This [made man] candidate will be handed the election and all outsiders, that is anyone else running for office, will be shunned and undermined by this huge political machine made up of many self-serving alliances!
Well enough is enough. Lets stand up for democracy and don’t let the crowning of a successor to the throne take place. Upset this political machine and send them a strong message…not here you dont… not in this election…not in my town! Let’s vote for a real honest candidate, vote for Sue Horne-R. I trust her and I know in my heart she will do a good job if elected.