Blog: 23rd District Requires Scrutiny of Constituents

Statement

The 23rd U.S. Congressional District of California stretches from Port Hueneme in Ventura County to north of Paso Robles. It is a narrow strip, about 100 miles long and typically about 20 miles wide, covering sections of Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

Presently, the two main contenders are Democrat Lois Capps, the incumbent, and Republican Tom Watson. In addition, two other candidates -- J. Hager, an independent, and Darrell Stafford, a libertarian -- have entered the race.

Two months before the election, many voters have not yet made a final decision, and therefore it would benefit the community if these candidates would agree to attend a public forum in each county. A question-and-answer format with a moderator would allow the candidates to state their positions at a critical time for a large percentage of their constituents.

Currently, we have important issues involving the economy, housing, health care, employment, illegal immigration, the environment and others -- all of which are strongly affected by federal government policies. Any candidate hoping to represent the people of the 23rd District should be responsible enough to face the voters in an open and unbiased forum and clearly state his or her position on most of these issues.

The nation's present political climate indicates that the individuals who aspire to represent their districts in Washington would be well-advised to show primary allegiance to their constituents over and above that to their political party. The job of a U.S. representative is to represent the people of the district in Washington, not to represent Washington to the people in the district.

The voters are very concerned that politicians are more loyal to their parties than they are to the people they represent. Voters are trending toward those candidates who show they can effectively transmit the needs and desires of the people of their districts to Washington.

The three counties within the 23rd District are donor counties; that is, they contribute more taxes to Washington than benefits they receive from the federal government, and for each dollar sent to Washington, only about 70 cents comes back to the county. Under these conditions, it is especially important that the people elect the most qualified candidate, who not only can reflect the needs of the district but also can effectively fight for every cent that belongs to the district.

I was the foreman of the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 2006-2007. One of the main functions of the Grand Jury is to ensure all elected and appointed public officials perform their duties according to the law. As the foreman, one of my functions was to act as the spokesman with news media, as well as the general public and organizations. During most of my presentations, I would ask for feedback from audiences regarding their knowledge of their public officials, all the way from police chief, sheriff, City Council, county supervisors, and state and federal representatives.

I was extremely surprised to find the least well-known by the public were perhaps the most important elected official, namely, the district representative to the U.S. Congress. And when I inquired about positive accomplishments by their public officials, the trend remained the same.

The political and economic situation of the entire country has greatly changed in the last three or four years, so the people must now demand that they really know something about those who represent them and reassure themselves that those representatives are effective, regardless of their political affiliation.

The new standard should be to demand that elected officials make themselves known to their constituents and to remember that past incumbency offers no proof of future performance. When a team is continuously winning, a weak player can hide from reproach, but if the team starts to lose, no one is safe.

The country is on a losing streak, so every individual who thinks he or she is the best candidate must clearly show it by engaging constituents seriously and often. All candidates need to clearly present their plans and convince the public that they deserve support.

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