All Politics are Local/ VOTE

In all my 68 years, I had never known a local candidate for public office well enough to offer my support for his or her candidacy. That was until I met Tim Sheridan, the California Democratic Party's endorsed candidate for the 42nd Congressional District. I ran into Tim several times during the last couple of years as we participated in many events, doing our small part to try to improve our communities and nation.

When I heard that Tim had decided to challenge Ken Calvert in the 2014 election, I knew that I had to do what I could to help him. Defeating Rep. Calvert is going to be an uphill struggle since Calvert has the money and the political machine behind him. At the very least, I thought, Tim will force Calvert, after 20 years in office, finally to address the issues facing our community. New to the political game, I didn’t realize how difficult even that would be.

Thursday evening I attended a forum sponsored by the Lake Elsinore Citizen’s Committee at the Tuscany Hills Clubhouse (http://lakeelsinore-wildomar.patch.com/groups/lake-elsinore-citizens-committee/p/elsinore-citizens-host-42nd-district-congressional-candidates-forum-7pm-may-29th). The Committee had invited the candidates for the 42nd Congressional District to answer questions so that the candidates could clarify their positions on the issues for the voters who attended the meeting. Present were Tim Sheridan and two of the other contenders, including a certified write-in candidate. Ken Calvert did not attend but sent a video in his place.

I suspect that, after the primary, we will not see much of Mr. Calvert either. The point that Tim Sheridan made repeatedly was that, when sent to Washington as our elected representative, he would come back to hear his constituents’ views. He realizes that we will not always agree with him but respects that our views are valid and should be considered.

I am writing for those of you who choose not to vote and I’m pleading that you make your feelings known by exercising our powerful right to vote. It does matter who is in office! Had a different party been in office would we today have Social Security? or Medicare? a minimum wage law? unemployment compensation? a GI bill? Operation Head Start? You see all of these were accomplished under a Democratic President. With a different Congress during the last few years, we might have solved the problem of the uninsured with Medicare for All. We might have passed a jobs program that would have brought our crumbling infrastructure into the 21st Century. We might have passed reasonable gun laws so that the Second Amendment rights would have been protected for only the mentally healthy. Weapons and ammunition capable of mass murder would have been banned.

There was a time when I could say that if a Republican were the best person for the job, he or she could have my vote. The Republican Party of another era (1940) called for ending racial discrimination in the military but today’s Republican Party wouldn’t call for ending discrimination against gays in the military. Republicans established the Federal Highway System but today’s Republican Party can’t get together to endorse an infrastructure bill.  

If our elective officials know that we are watching and making sure that the laws they pass serve us all, they will be forced to attentive to our needs and not those of their wealthy benefactors. Please vote this Tuesday.

Do you hear me Ken Calvert?

In full disclosure, I am Press Secretary for the Campaign to Elect Tim Sheridan to Congress. The opinions expressed in this blog are strictly my own.