Why I am running, and why our district can win

By John S. Stammreich

My plans upon becoming a Central Committee Member will be to focus our attentions on doing what it takes to get out the vote for our Republican candidates.

Ever since President Reagan created numerous improvements both in California & for our nation, there has been a significant block of voters calling themselves "Reagan Democrats". We've all heard of them, and almost all of us know some. These Democrats state they are Democrats because their parents were or their friends are, or even their "people" are. I believe the California Republican Party needs to encourage these individuals to consider the candidates in detail this June and November. Because what we really should be focused on in the short term is getting our candidates "50% + 1"! Our mission should be to complete the rescuing of the Executive Branch, take over the Legislative Branch, and finally get Governor Schwarzenegger the support he needs to complete the reforms.

Reagan Democrats need to ignore the attempt by mainstream media to take attention away from critical state issues that will affect us far more than whether we get an invitation to go hunting with the Vice-President. These issues include eminent domain, immigration reform & protecting our children. To let the "Hollywood Nation" distract us from these and other important issues is to write off California as caring more about the national gossip than the region's future. We need to set these issues up as the priority and ask these swing-voting Democrats what they believe. Ask them "What would President Reagan believe?"

By deeming that tax revenues are themselves a "public purpose", city councils are initiating takeovers of homes where hard-working citizens (many of them senior citizens and veterans) have invested their lives' savings to purchase, make improvements & raise their children. I am opposed to all but "public use" takeovers because I believe government should not be able to dictate to a homeowner what their property is worth without fair appraisal, and should not be able to take away a homeowner's power to "walk away" from a negotiation. I intend to fight this abuse created by the Kelo decision by supporting Senator McClintock's legislation to bar eminent domain in anything but strictly "public use" projects that hold no profit, direct or through increased tax base.

Illegal immigration has been an issue ignored because Californians have been lead to believe that the free flow of illegal immigrant workers is a good thing for the state. Illegal immigration hurts many, including: 1) Union workers (Who's going to pay union wages when they can take advantage of workers who will work for far less?); 2) Medical facilities (Most illegal immigrants cannot afford medical insurance, so ER's and free clinics are getting overcrowded and being forced to close); 3) Minimum wage workers (Again, who's going to pay minimum wage if they can pay less?); and 4) Immigrants themselves. Those coming in illegally are targets for smugglers who extort money for safe passage & use people to sneak drugs into the country, employers who overwork them for meager pay, and politicians who use their plight as a platform to raise donations & take advantage of voter laws that do not permit asking for identification at polls.

We need an immigration system that makes it easier for those immigrants who legally applied for admission to be screened and admitted, while not forgetting those that are already here. We need a humane method of processing those that are here to address those working to support their families. However, citizenship is not a right for just anyone crossing the border; I believe no guest worker program should include a path to citizenship. We already have one, and thousands of immigrants each year are following it. We need to improve the system for streamlining LEGAL immigration, and add the incentives to those that use it.

Finally, I'm amazed at the partisanship that keeps career politicians from endorsing programs & legislation created to benefit our children simply because "the other party created it or endorses it." I'm talking specifically about Southern California schools not using services available under the No Child Left Behind Act, and the legislation known as Jessica's Law. Whether you are a Democrat, Republican, Green, American Independent or "Decline to State", I find it hard to believe anyone would have an issue securing more funds for tutoring children or with a law that will keep sexual predators away from our children's schools.

Regardless of what party Californians are, I hope voters think extremely hard about these three issues and decide that they are critical ones for the future of California. Regardless of the outcome in June, I plan to walk the neighborhoods of San Pedro and Palos Verdes to muster support for candidates, including Michael A. Jackson for the Assembly, Tom McClintock for Lt. Governor, and for the re-election of our great Governor. We can debate all day with Democrats about Iraq, abortion and who could have done more for Katrina victims. But I suspect most Californians know the right side of the three issues I've discussed. The primary question for Reagan Democrats in the upcoming elections is "Do the candidates you're considering know which side is right?" I believe if we pose these questions to them and keep national issues separated from the state issues, the California Republican Party will win more state seats, including the executive branch positions supporting our Governor, and then be able to show all Californians why they should not only support, but should register and become, Republicans.

I sincerely thank you for this opportunity and respectfully request your vote on June 6th for the L.A. County Republican Central Committee representing the 54th AD.