This story was reported for the San Diego News Network on April 13, 2010.
In an effort to allow voters to see a more personable side of candidates rather than the side that’s already advertised on their Web sites, I’ve decided to feature one race in each edition of Campaign Corral and ask the candidates in the particular race a nonpolitical question.
On tap this Tuesday is Chula Vista City Council Seat 2 race. Of course, this CC will be complete with other happenings in the San Diego races. There could be more than what is listed here but I’m relying on candidates/campaign managers to email/call with info. With that said, you snooze… you’re not included.
Featured race: Chula Vista City Council Seat 2
In the race to snag the seat of deployed Councilmember John McCann is Humberto Peraza, Jill Galvez, Larry Breitfelder and Pat Aguilar.
I asked the four candidates over email: What was one of the happiest moments of your life? Here are their answers:
Peraza: My family has always been the most important thing in my life, and the love and support of my parents made me into the person I am today. The proudest and happiest moments of my life were the births of my two sons, Ben and Dylan. I work every day to give them the same support that my parents gave me, so that they will be able to achieve their dreams
Galvez: I remember this moment very clearly and thank you for helping me to recall the memory. It was September 1996. I was sitting with my husband in the soft grass of our front lawn, under a shady tree, our infant son in my arms, watching our one-year-old daughter picking blades of grass. She had a full head of Shirley Temple curls by that time, and her curls would bounce up and down with each step that she took. I remember thinking how special that moment was and committing it to memory. It’s difficult to explain, but starting at that moment, I was conscious of the fact that we were good parents, we were a new family with beautiful and healthy children, we loved our neighborhood in Chula Vista and knew we were here to stay, and it was wonderful to relax and enjoy the experience.
Breitfelder: I have to admit, there’s a big part of me that will always look back at the times when I was very young and in love as my happiest times. However, as we get older, our values change. We start to get more satisfaction and happiness out of doing meaningful things for others. Some people describe it as knowing in your heart that you’re living a life worth living. I’ve never had more of that deeper sort of happiness than the time I spent as a volunteer tutor for the Chula Vista Adult Literacy Center.
Aguilar: The happiest moment of my life is when I discovered my relationship with God.
Other happenings:
Fed up with taxes? County Supervisor Bill Horn who is seeing competition from five others will hold a “Had Enough!” anti-tax rally alongside Sen. Barbara Boxer’s opponent Carly Fiorina.
In a statement, Horn said the rally will send their message to the federal government.
“Together with Carly Fiorina, we will send a clear message to Washington, that Californians are overtaxed and can’t afford liberal spenders like Barbara Boxer,” he said.
The rally will be hosted on April 15 at Tuna Harbor Park at 10 a.m.
Also, on tax day, San Diego Councilmember Carl DeMaio who is heading the “Competition and Transparency in City Contracting Initiative” will hold an event at Vin De Syrah at 5:30 p.m.
DeMaio, whose initiative will require the city to use competitive bidding in an effort to save money, is hopeful the initiative will garner the 100,000 signatures to get on the ballot.
In more tax day events, Riverside Supervisor Jeff Stone — who is running for Senate District 36 against Assemblymember Joel Anderson (R-El Cajon) and three others — is attending two womanly events Thursday. First, he’ll be talking up the La Jolla Republican Women Federated group at 11:30 a.m. Later, that evening, he’ll move head northeast to the Fallbrook Republican Women Federated Candidate fair at 6 p.m.
Finally, Mike Paster – the Libertarian nominee for the race against Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) – will participate at a tax-related booth in Oceanside Pier on Thursday from 4:30 to 7 p.m.
San Diego Councilmember Donna Frye’s chief-of-staff Steve Hadley – who is attempting to snag his boss’ seat against five other candidates – will join the Catfish Club for lunch Friday to talk education. Hadley will be joined by candidates from Council Districts 2,4,6 and 8. The lunch is free to Catfish members, $10 for students and $20 for non-members, and is held at noon at the San Diego Hall of Champions.
C. Mason Weaver – who is in the race against Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.) and seven others – presented a proposed bill he would bring to Congress with him should he be elected. The drafted bill titled “The Return American to Financial Freedom Act,” would change the way TARP money is spent. Weaver’s office said he has drafted two other bills though they are not available to the public yet. The bill is one page long. According to Slate magazine, the average length of bills runs around 15 pages long.
Stephen Whitburn – contending for Supervisor Ron Roberts seat against three other Democrats – posted a 35-second campaign video Monday about his announcement. It focused on Google searches that exposed potential negative information and possible gifts given to Roberts. It received seven “likes” on Facebook as of Tuesday morning.
Latest SDNN election stories:
Last week, Khari Johnson wrote about the battle for the Chula Vista mayoral seat between Mayor Cheryl Cox, Councilmember Steve Castaneda and Board Trustee Jorge Dominguez. If you didn’t read it yet, be sure to check it out, even if you don’t live in Chula Vista . There’s some serious finger-pointing going on that would be good for you to know about.
On Wednesday, SDNN will publish my Q&A with “Mayor Maker” Tom Shepard, a political consultant with a whopping 90 percent success rate. We talked about his image, the state of the city and this year’s elections and candidates.
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.