Aside from the over 6,000 ballots not being printed correctly and several electronic voting machines not working (again), the primary election was uneventful.
In Supervisor District 4, Republican Hank Weston received over 60% of the vote in a rout of his Democrat challenger.
In Supervisor District 3, Republican Dan Miller knocked off a Democrat incumbent by over seven points.
In what turned out to be the most disgusting and dishonest local campaign in recent years, Cliff Newell (who was endorsed by the Nevada County Republican Party) disposed of his dishonest challenger by double digits.
In the Superintendent of Schools race and only starting his campaign in March, Paul Haas (who was also endorsed by the Nevada County Republican Party) made an incredible showing against the incumbent.
In the race for Superior Court Judge, Republican endorsed candidates garnered over 50% of the vote in the crowded five-person race. Anna Ferguson (the Republican endorsed candidate) cruised through to November.
In the assembly race, Republican Brian Dahle received nearly 70% of the vote.
In the congressional races, both Doug LaMalfa and Tom McClintock crusied to victory with well over 50% of the vote in the crowded fields.
Considering the wide margins of the victors, and absent some huge mistake by the elections official or some type of voter fraud, the likelihood that these preliminary results will change after further counting is slim to none.
Kudos to the Nevada County Republican Party for supporting our local candidates and getting out the vote. I have to say today is a good day.
Showing posts with label Doug LaMalfa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doug LaMalfa. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Thursday, June 20, 2013
2013 Farm Bill and Doug LaMalfa and John Garamendi
I have not been posting a lot on this blog lately, as I have been very busy with life. Especially in the spring and summer, life gets busy (and more fun). For the first time in a few months, I checked this blogs stats and discovered that an article about Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and farm subsidies jumped to the number one most popular blog post ever written on this blog.
If you have not been paying attention, Doug LaMalfa has been getting a lot of ink nationally in connection with the 2013 Farm Bill.
On June 14, 2013, the Wall Street Journal wrote about Japonica rice which is the formal name for medium- and short-grain rice strains commonly called sticky rice. Doug LaMalfa is a fourth-generation Japonica Rice farmer whose farm has received over $5.1 million in farm subsidies since 1995.
While congressmen who receive this subsidy tout that they are ending direct payments, they are replacing direct payments with "guarantees against drops in commodity prices that are in some ways replacing the much-maligned direct payments to farmers Congress is seeking to end" - A huge corporate give away including guaranteed prices.
"The sticky-rice provision won strong support from, among others, two Northern California lawmakers from neighboring districts, according to congressional aides and people working with the rice industry: Freshman Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a fourth-generation Japonica Rice farmer who sits on the House agriculture committee; and Democratic Rep. John Garamendi, a rancher and pear farmer" (incidentally Dan Logue announced yesterday that he will be running against Garamendi in 2014).
"'What industry would have the temerity to demand that the government guarantee a price?' said Scott Faber, a vice president at EWG, which opposes such price programs. 'Sushi rice costs more to produce, but it yields more per acre, and costs more to buy,' he said. 'This is like guaranteeing a price for the iPhone 5.'"
Also on June 14, 2013, the Los Angeles Times wrote about the hypocrisy between cutting Food Stamps but at the same time dramatically increasing payments to corporate farms.
"As a member of Congress, Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) is proud to stand up for the principles of limited government and individual responsibility."
"The first-term congressman expresses skepticism about such safety-net programs as food stamps, regarding them as the handiwork of an 'oppressive' government that snatches wages from the hands of working people. Helping the poor is better left to individuals and churches, he said at a recent committee hearing in Washington, because then 'it comes from the heart, not from a badge or from a mandate.'"
"As a rice farmer from California's fertile Central Valley, however, this same Doug LaMalfa has done pretty well by the 'oppressive' federal government," as his farm has collected over $5.1 million in government crop subsidies.
Yesterday on the floor of Congress, Doug LaMalfa stated that he wanted the Farm Bill to pass already. If I were in that hot seat, I would likely want the bill to pass quickly too.
Proponents of the farm bill claim the bill will reduce the deficit, but it is actually a 56 percent increase from the 2008 farm bill, which was projected to cost $604 billion, but not surprisingly, the 2008 farm bill actually ended up costing much more.
I urge you to read the articles above by the Wall Street Journal and the LA Times, and form your own opinion about the farm bill and our local proponents.
If you have not been paying attention, Doug LaMalfa has been getting a lot of ink nationally in connection with the 2013 Farm Bill.
On June 14, 2013, the Wall Street Journal wrote about Japonica rice which is the formal name for medium- and short-grain rice strains commonly called sticky rice. Doug LaMalfa is a fourth-generation Japonica Rice farmer whose farm has received over $5.1 million in farm subsidies since 1995.
While congressmen who receive this subsidy tout that they are ending direct payments, they are replacing direct payments with "guarantees against drops in commodity prices that are in some ways replacing the much-maligned direct payments to farmers Congress is seeking to end" - A huge corporate give away including guaranteed prices.
"The sticky-rice provision won strong support from, among others, two Northern California lawmakers from neighboring districts, according to congressional aides and people working with the rice industry: Freshman Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a fourth-generation Japonica Rice farmer who sits on the House agriculture committee; and Democratic Rep. John Garamendi, a rancher and pear farmer" (incidentally Dan Logue announced yesterday that he will be running against Garamendi in 2014).
"'What industry would have the temerity to demand that the government guarantee a price?' said Scott Faber, a vice president at EWG, which opposes such price programs. 'Sushi rice costs more to produce, but it yields more per acre, and costs more to buy,' he said. 'This is like guaranteeing a price for the iPhone 5.'"
Also on June 14, 2013, the Los Angeles Times wrote about the hypocrisy between cutting Food Stamps but at the same time dramatically increasing payments to corporate farms.
"As a member of Congress, Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) is proud to stand up for the principles of limited government and individual responsibility."
"The first-term congressman expresses skepticism about such safety-net programs as food stamps, regarding them as the handiwork of an 'oppressive' government that snatches wages from the hands of working people. Helping the poor is better left to individuals and churches, he said at a recent committee hearing in Washington, because then 'it comes from the heart, not from a badge or from a mandate.'"
"As a rice farmer from California's fertile Central Valley, however, this same Doug LaMalfa has done pretty well by the 'oppressive' federal government," as his farm has collected over $5.1 million in government crop subsidies.
Yesterday on the floor of Congress, Doug LaMalfa stated that he wanted the Farm Bill to pass already. If I were in that hot seat, I would likely want the bill to pass quickly too.
Proponents of the farm bill claim the bill will reduce the deficit, but it is actually a 56 percent increase from the 2008 farm bill, which was projected to cost $604 billion, but not surprisingly, the 2008 farm bill actually ended up costing much more.
I urge you to read the articles above by the Wall Street Journal and the LA Times, and form your own opinion about the farm bill and our local proponents.
Friday, August 31, 2012
State Senator Doug LaMalfa Resigns
"Northstate State Senator Doug LaMalfa will resign from the State Senate at the end of Friday’s session. LaMalfa will leave office and focus on his race for Congress in November."
"In a news release, LaMalfa said his resignation will allow the special primary election to fill his seat to be consolidated with the November General Election, saving taxpayers an estimated $2 million."
The rest of the article is here.
Okay. Let's get down to brass tacks. Herger resigned in January 2012 and annoited LaMalfa as is heir apparent. If LaMalfa really cared about saving the taxpayers money, he would have resigned in January 2012 when he accepted the heir apparent status and saved us the expense of a special election.
We would have had an open primary election in June 2012 and a run off in November 2012. Now, we will have an open primary election in November 2012 and a run off in 2013 - an extra election for which the taxpayers will have to pay.
This situation is political spin at its best.
Is it possible that polling indicates that north state folks intend on voting for Jim Reed (D) as a result of the election costs to fill LaMalfa's vacant seat if LaMalfa wins and LaMalfa is responding to such polling?
Or, is it possible that LaMalfa thinks that he will skate into Congress and wants to make sure that his guy (Gentleman Jim) gets in before the FPPC completes its investigation of Jim Nielsen - the heir apparent as appointed by LaMalfa?
The story about the investigation of Nielsen is here.
It is alleged that Nielsen contributed $32,000 to the Tehama County Republican Central Committee which was then passed on to assembly candidate Bob Williams. Nielsen, who supported Williams in the primary, had already contributed $3,900, the maximum allowed by campaign finance rules.
In summary, LaMalfa is being investigated by the Federal Elections Commission for alleged campaign finance violations (and he is not even a federal office holder yet) and Nielsen is being investigated by the Fair Political Practices Commission for the same reason?!
Why do I feel like I died and woke up back in Chicago?
"In a news release, LaMalfa said his resignation will allow the special primary election to fill his seat to be consolidated with the November General Election, saving taxpayers an estimated $2 million."
The rest of the article is here.
Okay. Let's get down to brass tacks. Herger resigned in January 2012 and annoited LaMalfa as is heir apparent. If LaMalfa really cared about saving the taxpayers money, he would have resigned in January 2012 when he accepted the heir apparent status and saved us the expense of a special election.
We would have had an open primary election in June 2012 and a run off in November 2012. Now, we will have an open primary election in November 2012 and a run off in 2013 - an extra election for which the taxpayers will have to pay.
This situation is political spin at its best.
Is it possible that polling indicates that north state folks intend on voting for Jim Reed (D) as a result of the election costs to fill LaMalfa's vacant seat if LaMalfa wins and LaMalfa is responding to such polling?
Or, is it possible that LaMalfa thinks that he will skate into Congress and wants to make sure that his guy (Gentleman Jim) gets in before the FPPC completes its investigation of Jim Nielsen - the heir apparent as appointed by LaMalfa?
The story about the investigation of Nielsen is here.
It is alleged that Nielsen contributed $32,000 to the Tehama County Republican Central Committee which was then passed on to assembly candidate Bob Williams. Nielsen, who supported Williams in the primary, had already contributed $3,900, the maximum allowed by campaign finance rules.
In summary, LaMalfa is being investigated by the Federal Elections Commission for alleged campaign finance violations (and he is not even a federal office holder yet) and Nielsen is being investigated by the Fair Political Practices Commission for the same reason?!
Why do I feel like I died and woke up back in Chicago?
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