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Editorial: The 24th: Gallegly
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Democrat Marta Jorgensen, 54, of Solvang, who is running against Republican incumbent, Elton Gallegly, 64, of Simi Valley, in the 24th Congressional District, owes her primary opponents — Mary Pallant and Jill Martinez — an apology.
They lost to Ms. Jorgensen in the June 3 Democratic primary, leaving her to run against the 11-term Republican congressman in Tuesday's general election.
That Ms. Jorgensen even won the primary was a surprise since she had not raised any money and even dropped out of the race April 23. She returned to the race May 19, after most of the campaign forums had been held. Now, in her race against Mr. Gallegly, she has raised all of $2,600 — far less than her opponents had in the primary. She is being sued by a former campaign manager for allegedly not paying her.
No doubt running against a popular congressman, who has never lost a congressional election and has an $800,000 campaign war chest, is an uphill battle. However, there are important issues worth airing in the district, which covers most of Ventura County and inland Santa Barbara County.
Rep. Gallegly has taken a hard stand against illegal immigration, which many Ventura County voters support. He opposed the Bush administration's immigration-reform plan, saying it granted amnesty to illegal immigrants.
He also opposed the $700 billion financial bailout plan, stating in an Oct. 3 press release: "The underlying reason for our economic problem is that people are in homes they can't afford and for which they never should have qualified. This was only compounded by tens of thousands of people, including illegal immigrants, who were given loans without proper scrutiny and often put no money down and made few payments, if any at all. Add to that greedy Wall Street scoundrels, unscrupulous mortgage brokers, and an ocean of consumer debt and it is easier to understand how we got into this mess." The bailout bill, he said, did not address those problems.
Rep. Gallegly supported President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq and he is opposed to pulling out now.
He is in favor of offshore oil drilling and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
After more than two decades in Congress, Mr. Gallegly serves on the Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, Natural Resources and Intelligence committees. He takes constituent service seriously and has the experience and seniority to continue to ably represent Ventura County voters.
Posted by hemlock1262 on October 28, 2008 at 5:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
But with Bush gone, and McCain and Palin a sorry footnote in electoral history (how often do you think of Bob Dole's running mate in '96 or Gerald Ford's in '76?), who's Gallegly going to rubber-stamp for now?
He's never been able to get legislation passed even at the height of Republican dominance -- except for that all-important renaming of the Channel Islands Visitors Center for campaign contributor Robert Lagomarsino.
He'll be worse than irrelevant in the next Congress. Talk about your welfare state -- Gallegly's going to get paid for not even phoning it in, since no one's going to be on the other end of the line.
Posted by cassandra2 on October 28, 2008 at 7:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This seems like a strange endorsement, if that's what it is. I guess it is. It contrasts certainly with the Capps headline above it which is clearly pro Capps and not who's-the-other-candidate again?
Posted by cassandra2 on October 28, 2008 at 2:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, he never was any smarter and they sent him.
Posted by Zannos on October 30, 2008 at 2:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The notion that the winner in a primary race owes an apology to the defeated candidates may not be the silliest thing I've ever heard, but it's certainly right close to the top. But the real delight in the Star's endorsement of Gallegly is that all one has to do to demonstrate that Gallegly is a spineless rubber-stamping party hack is to mention any aspect of his voting record--which the "endorsement" was kind enough to do.
This is our representative! He voted for every measure funding the Iraq War, but against any measure that would fund assistance for returning veterans. He voted against health care for children, but for tax exemptions for big oil corporations. He voted for increasing electronic surveillance of American citizens, but against banning torture...Oh, here, read the infamous list of Gallegly's votes yourself:
Posted by rjlebeck on November 2, 2008 at 7:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Marta Jorgensen doesn't owe an apology to the other candidates, she owes an apology to the people of the 24th CD for her lame and amateurish efforts towards unseating incumbent Elton Gallegly. Gallegly's success can be attributed to his strategy of not rocking the party boat and serving as a road apple to any meaningful reform in Congress, whether it be on healthcare, immigration, taxation, or energy.
There is lot of antipathy toward Gallegly, as citizens like Zarros and cassandra2 demonstrate. There are certainly enough political bullets that could have been fired at the 22-year congressman to really have made the race interesting. I volunteered and worked to get Mary Pallant elected and hoped to give a real voice to those opposed to endless war and greed and corruption on Wall Street and in Washington, D.C. She would have been a credible candidate but was thwarted by media inattention and dizzy Democrats with the political attention span of a fruit fly. Though Gallegly makes for a large political target, political bullets fired from a pea-shooter are hardly capable of doing any real damage.
If the Star regrets their less than glowing endorsement for our arguably "do-nothing" congressman, the Star needs to do a better job in reporting and investigating the candidates running for office. The people also need to do a better job discovering the histories and personalities of the candidates.
Finally, the local Democratic party structure is ineffective because it is rife with petty schisms and lacking common purpose and community. It is in serious need of a transfusion and real vision.
Democrats best hope lies in a YES vote for Proposition 11 and a better redistricting in the 2010 census.
Posted by samuals on November 3, 2008 at 11:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Dear Star -
In rebuttal to the paragraphs regarding the Jorgensen Campaign -
The lawsuit has been resolved awhile back so why are all the right wing newspapers bringing it up? Is because they don't have anything else to say? We have been running a campaign and actually more actively than Gallegly's, who has not really been campaigning because he relies on unwitting people like you to do it for him. We have seen this done in past elections. How about really reporting a candidate's stands on issues? Instead you do the dog and pony show to please your incumbant who really does not have your interests at heart.
For your more intelligent readers
they can go to:
www.jorgensenforcongress.com
and learn about the campaign you don't seem to know about.
Best Regards,
The volunteer staff from
Jorgensen For Congress
Posted by samuals on November 3, 2008 at 11:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Joe, as you can see the backlash from your cowardly and shortsighted endorsement of this man is coming.
We in the Progressive Democrats of America are fed up with it and the wind is shifting. We agree with the following -
Gallegly did not lead - for decades
To: Joe Howry -VenturaCountyStar
November 3, 2008
Dear Joe,
Re: your praise for Elton Gallegly. During Rep. Gallegly's long
congressional service, his party's right wing strengthened and
fomented the very divisive political climate you deride. There must
be accountability in our lives. Mr. Gallegly, by ommission and
commission, enabled this climate and did nothing to rebuke or
challenge an Administration that declared an unecessary "preventive"
war which caused thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions
of innocent civilians. Nor did he oppose his party's massive expansion
of Executive Privilege, a dictatorial usurpation of Congressional
powers that Mr. Gallegly, a conservative legislator, should have
fought to conserve. He may be personally honorable and popular, but as a politician and statesman, Elton Gallegly has failed. He did not
lead, but stood by, a his party did tremendous damage to our
Constitution, our standing in the world, and our once-proud economy.
Marta Jorgensen will be part of the change people demand. The moral
compass she'll bring to Washington, if not infallible, will at least
not be damaged by the fog of war.
Mimi Kennedy
Van Nuys, CA 91406
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