Local Politics Summary

Election season in Nevada County is starting up again.  Let's take a look at the local races and see how things are shaping up.

Congress
With Tom McClintock, who won this congressional district by a huge margin in 2008, running in the newly created district just south of here, Wally Herger is a possibility to be our congressman again. This race is proving to be very interesting. As of September 30, 2011, Herger only has a little over $200,000 on hand. There has been a long-standing rumor that Herger will not run again, and Democrat candidates, sensing an opportunity, are lining up to run for the seat. Should Herger decide not to run, we will likely see a Republican scrum for the congressional seat in this very conservative and very Republican district. Stay tuned on this one!

California Assembly
Dan Logue is our current assemblyman. Logue is a Nevada County resident and works tirelessly to preserve and protect our north state conservative values. The National Federation of Independent Business has awarded Logue a perfect score based on his voting record and support of small business. His widespread efforts have also drawn the attention of media outlets across the nation, including the New York Times, FOX News, and the Los Angeles Times. He is being challenged, but none of the challengers are serious contenders.

Nevada County Supervisor
In District One thus far, we have lifelong resident Sue McGuire running against Nate Beason. It is pretty clear that the local hard-left will also run a leftwing environmentalist candidate. Sue McGuire is a lifelong Nevada County resident, and Beason is running for an unprecedented third term (I think that the last three term supervisor was Eric Rood). As a former supervisor told me recently, two terms are plenty for anyone as, over the terms, a supervisor starts to become less a representative of the people and more an employee of the county.  While I have my own opinions, I will leave it up to the reader and the District One voter to decide whether two terms are enough for Beason.

Ted Owens, who is likely running for an unprecedented third term, would have a challenger from the very far-left in the name of Michael Rogers. He is an relatively unknown in Truckee, as lifelong residents do not even know who he is. Should he declare a third run at supervisor, the widely popular Owens will likely have a fairly easy race.