CA 11: Tri-Valley Dem club candidates forum

Friday, March 24, 2006

A couple of folks have asked me how the forum went so I thought I would list my notes on each candidate.

McNerney:

A.J. Carillo took on tough duty while substituting for Jerry due to a death in Jerry's family

Jerry is a "Barbara Boxer Democrat"
responding to a question about what his first authored bill would be if elected:
"support John Murtha's bill on withdrawl from Iraq"
CA-11 should not pursue an "electibility strategy" - sited the 2004 John Kerry strategy
reiterated Jerry's vision for CA-11 to become the world leader in renewable energy businesses and technology (I REALLY like this by the way - it is a big vision but it's really worth some attention)

Thomas:

Basically delivered an amplified version of his remarks from the Lamorinda event

he effectively stepped up the pitch and in one moment he said we need to "kick ass"
responding to a question about what his first authored bill would be if elected: "fix our Delta Levee problems"
turned his "impeachment" frame into "censure" (good for him)
he ran out of time and only enumerated 2 of his 5 key platform items: 1. terrorism 2. economic bill of rights (I really wish he would have returned to this in a subsequent answer)
spoke about and handed out flyers on how a Bob Casey Jr candidacy is bad because he is a pro-lifer (I respectfully disagree - I've met Bob Casey Jr. and no matter how much I disagree with him on that issue, he's the only one who has any shot at beating Santorum)

Filson:

Stepped up his tone and pitch somewhat but essentially delivered much of the same content as the Lamorinda event

Noted that the current GOP'ers think its "every man for himself" and Democrats know that we're all in this together
responding to a question about what his first authored bill would be if elected:
"transportation bill for the district" mentioned I-205.
went on the offensive and said that in the 2004 election 30,000 voted for Boxer while at the same time voted for Pombo
spoke effectively about ESA and "critical habitats"
re-iterated several times that "the time is now" to win this race - a real sense of urgency came across

At 11:26 AM, brian said...: Tom, I really appreciate your comments. Admittedly, I'm not following the PA Senate race too closely because I'm focused on kicking my GOP congressman out of office. Since I'm a native of Kingston, PA, I've monitored the PA-Sen race from afar with interest.

On policy issues, I align more with Pennachio than Casey. If, by some magic, I could give Pennachio Bob Casey's name recognition, his campaign warchest, and his favorable poll numbers, I would do so.

In lieu of magic, we must all make choices. I've made my choice, and I surely respect yours. For me, at the end of the day, Santorum must go. I simply feel like Casey can make that happen.

I know things can change drastically in 7 months and any of the factors mentioned above can be turned on their head. So, I'm happy to continue a dialogue with you since you're so invested and informed. Feel free to shoot me developing info if you are so inclined.

A former nepa'er
Brian

mundy4@gmail.com

Oh yeah, do you think comparing Santorum v. Casey and Rendell v. Casey is a little apples to oragneish? (Dem v. Dem in a primary and a host of other factors such as Rendell's Philly base)