This story was reported for the San Diego News Network on April 27, 2010.
In a perfect world, politicians would choose their own punishments for their shady dealings, right? Well, these politicians have yet to enter the Hall of Shame, but if they ever should, they’ve answered (well, somewhat answered) the winning question in the last edition of Campaign Corral.
Here’s your weekly round-up of what’s happening with local campaigns, starting with supervisor-hopefuls and their answers to our punishment question.
Featured race – San Diego County District 5:
In last week’s CC, readers decided they wanted me to ask the candidates of the San Diego County District 5 race the following question: If you were punished for a crime, what type of punishment would you choose?
Unfortunately, we don’t have responses from Steve Gronke, William Haynor or Tom Bumgardner. But three candidates — Fabio Marchi, John Van Doorn and Supervisor Bill Horn — fearlessly chose to answer the tough question. Here are their responses:
Marchi: Dostoevsky wrote a whole novel about this subject of crime and punishment! However, as requested, I will synthesize my answer in a few words: My Italian parents taught me the value of hard work and education, which helped me stay out of trouble. As County Supervisor, my focus will be on crime deterrence and ensuring that the branches of law enforcement, such as the S.D. County Sheriff’s Department, Probation Department and District Attorney, have the tools and equipment necessary to protect our citizens and keep our streets safe. Crime is preventable, if we allocate the resources necessary toward achieving that goal.
Doorn: We’d all like to think we deserve favorable treatment and I do believe in allowing for leniency for certain first-time offenders. But that is not the question here.
There is the Biblical standard (eye for an eye), and I do believe we would be better off as a society if it were followed more often. Unfortunately, our current court system is a joke. Our judges allow all sorts of mischief in their courtrooms (perjury and such), and they themselves do not follow the rules that we as citizens are mandated to follow. Sit in on courtrooms as I have and you will soon find that the guilty often get off easy while the innocent are abused by the process.
But if I broke a law worthy of incarceration? Well, to be fair, I would expect to be incarcerated for a period of time commensurate with the crime.
Horn: This question reminds me of one of my heroes in history, Nathan Hale. He was an American soldier during the Revolutionary War and widely considered America’s first spy. The 21-year-old was caught by the British and charged with espionage during the Battle of Long Island. In those days, punishment was swift. The Redcoats marched him to the hangman’s noose following the battle, but before they could silence this patriot, he gave an eloquent speech that included one of the most famous quotes in the history of the United States.
The patriot stared down his captors and said, “I only regret that I have but one life to give for this country.”
Next month is Memorial Day, when we honor those who have died serving our country. If I were to be punished for a crime, I would hope it would be for the same reason. Any punishment would be worth enduring if I knew I was standing up for my country.
Other campaigns:
Tracy Emblem and Francine Busby — both Democrats running for Rep. Brian Bilbray’s seat in Congressional District 51 — seem to be raking in the endorsements.
Recently, Emblem was endorsed by the California School Employees Association, while Busby was endorsed by the California Teachers Association. Split votes from the education sector? Well, SDNN staffer Steven Bartholow (who wrote his first “Political Sense” piece last Friday) said: “Those two are so similar, even the educators can’t tell the difference.” On the other hand, local Democratic leaders have noted the differences between the two candidates…check out what they said in this past SDNN article.
In other endorsement news, San Diego Councilmember Ben Hueso, who is running for State Assembly District 79, received the endorsement from the Equality California campaign.
Stephen Whitburn, who is running against Supervisor Ron Roberts in District 4, is turning Craigslist on Facebook. The former candidate for San Diego City Council posted on Facebook that he is in need of a second “phone banking location for most evenings” and anyone who can help can call Whitburn directly.
San Diego’s “Math Teacher of the Year” Kevin Beiser — who is running for the San Diego Unified School Board District B seat against Katherine Nakamura and Steve Rosen — is having a “SuperWalk” Saturday. The Superwalk will begin at his campaign headquarters at 10 a.m. and will be followed by a good ol’ BBQ.
Also on Saturday is the Asian Heritage Coalition Candidate Forum, featuring a bevy of Republican candidates for office including: Larry Breitfelder, who is running for Chula Vista City Council; Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox, who is seeking a second term; Ed Gallo, who is running for Escondido City Council; all four candidates running for San Diego County Sheriff and many more! No seriously, many more. Check out the group’s website for details.
Assemblymember Mary Salas who is running for State Senate is teaming up with former San Diego Councilmember Toni Atkins who is running for State Assembly Saturday. The Democratic duo will have a precinct walk in Azalea Park at 10 a.m.
What you may have missed on SDNN:
Jason Everitt, who is running for Escondido City Council, had his first SDNN blog as a candidate published Monday. In the blog, Everitt writes that the “heart of Escondido” is on life support and proposes his ideas for revamping the city’s downtown area.
The San Diego County Republican Party joined its National Committee and the State Party in asking the Supreme Court to raise unlimited contributions from political parties.
Next week I’ll focus on one of three races listed in the poll below. And, for candidates and campaign managers — please keep me up-to-date by sending any new info to Politics(a)SDNN.com or start blogging for us!
Hoa Quach is the political editor for the San Diego News Network.