In case you did not see this press release from Mike Stoker, please read on...

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From: Mike Stoker for Assembly 2010
Re: Endorsement of Hanna Beth Jackson of Das Williams
Date: June 24, 2009
Contact; Mike Stoker (805) 478-4975


The following is a statement Mike Stoker released today commenting on the endorsement of Hanna Beth Jackson of SB City Councilman Das Williams:

"I congratulate Das on his endorsement by Hanna Beth Jackson. However it should be noted that Hanna Beth has been dubbed the Queen of Taxes and hence the nickname Taxin Jackson. has picked up the endorsement form the Queen of Taxes herself, Taxin Jackson. And Das has been following in her footsteps ever since his first job for Hanna Beth as one of her field representatives.

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This is exactly why I decided to run for office so the voters would have a choice of more of the same by politicians who want to keep taking money out of our pocketbook's which is what Das and Hanna Beth believe we should do vs. getting a reality check and pursuing policies that will require the state to live within its means. (I issued a statement last month expressing specifying what real solutions the state should pursue at this time and will provide to you upon request to mikestoker@aol.com.)

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Bottom line, me and the vast majority of people in the 35th Assembly District get it and we all voted no to Prop. 1A-1E last month in the special election. (67% voted NO!) Taxin Jackson and her young protege Das Williams didn't get, and still don't, and voted yes. Should we be surprised that Das has teamed up with Taxin Jackson to make his run for the Assembly seat? Absolutely not. I would have been shocked if Taxin Jackson supported anyone other than Das. The race really comes down to two choices....more of the same that got our state into this mess or real solutions requiring fiscal restraint and spending caps as to restore California to the prosperous state it once was?"

Labels: 35th Assembly District, Mike Stoker

PlanetSantaBarbara.com has two half hour interviews with Das and Mike Stoker. Take the following link and then go to the section "Politics":

Williams - Stoker Videos

Labels: 35th Assembly District, Mike Stoker

Mike Stoker, Republican contender for the 35th Assembly District seat, thinks... his low-tax, less-government, pro-business, “100 percent economic agenda” will hold strong crossover appeal for independents and moderate Democrats in the district.

... Stoker’s betting on a stars-are-aligned political calculus to beat the odds and pull off an upset in 2010. For starters, there is a contested primary on the other side, which will require both [Susan] Jordan and [Das] Williams to spend money and other resources to get to the general election, an obstacle course Stoker likely will be spared.

Because 2010 is not a presidential election year, when voter turnout peaks, he believes he’ll also benefit from low vote totals in the liberal districts around Isla Vista and UCSB, giving the overall electorate a more centrist cast. Finally, he points to 2004, the last contested election race for an open seat in the 35th district, when Republican Bob Pohl made a competitive run, eventually losing 52.8-47.2 percent to Nava. In that race, Pohl’s final percentage was more than 15 points higher than GOP registration that year, while Nava ran about eight points ahead of his party on the Democratic side; from Stoker’s perspective, this means that Pohl captured about twice as many independent/decline-to-state voters as his rival.

... The problem for the Republican, however, is that since the 2004 race, the gap in partisan registration has accelerated even more, with the GOP’s registration level falling further behind the Democrats’ in just six years. But Stoker believes that the results of the May 19 special election, in which voters overwhelmingly defeated five state budget ballot initiatives sponsored by Gov. Schwarzenegger and the Democratic leadership of the Legislature, clearly signal a political sea change... Armed with this political prognosis, Stoker will try to position himself as the agent of change, portraying either Jordan or Williams as the status quo candidate of Democratic legislative leaders...

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For the full text, images and comments, please go to:

-- "Blue Dog Republican - Mike Stoker Seeks Democratic Votes in GOP Assembly Bid," By Jerry Roberts, SB INDEPENDENT, June 2, 2009

Labels: 35th Assembly District, Mike Stoker

... Mike Stoker has embraced [Tony Strickland's] spending cap scheme and intends to hammer it after he launches his candidacy for the 35th District, which he planned to formally announce May 29. Democrat Nava is termed out and has announced plans to vie for state attorney general, and his wife, Susan Jordan, is running for his seat.

Jordan faces a Democratic primary challenge from Das Williams, a Santa Barbara city council member who jumped in the race after state regulators reversed an offshore drilling compromise between environmentalists and an oil firm after Nava – and Jordan – raised objections.

Stoker told the Business Times he sees an opportunity to take the 35th District into the GOP column.

“There’s a big split in the Democratic party between the labor wing and the environmental wing,” he said. “The labor wing likes jobs. The labor wing doesn’t support [economically costly environmental] policies, and the labor wing is what you find in Ventura.”

-- "Assembly fights get serious," by Stephen Nellis, PACIC COAST BUSINESS TIMES, May 29, 2009

Labels: 35th Assembly District, Mike Stoker

Former Santa Barbara County Supervisor Mike Stoker has enterred the race for the 35th District Assembly seat...

KEYT Video:



See, also:

the DAILY SOUND: Stoker Announces Bid

the SB INDEPENDENT: Stoker

VENTURA COUNTY STAR: 35th

The following is from: "Mike Stoker Joins the Race for 35th District Assembly Seat - The former county supervisor says he represents the change needed to get the state back on track," By Lara Cooper, Noozhawk, 05.29.2009

Former Santa Barbara County Supervisor Mike Stoker announced Friday that he’s entering the race for the 35th District Assembly seat...

With Friday’s announcement, Stoker joins the race with activist and environmentalist Susan Jordan and City Councilmember Das Williams, whom Stoker said “stand for more of the same and business as usual.”

He served on the Board of Supervisors from 1986-94, when he said he was instrumental in turning a $20 million deficit into a $10 million surplus, through cost-cutting measures such as laying off nonessential employees...

When Stoker was asked about his alignment with Greka, a South Coast oil company that has made headlines in the past from uncontained spills, Stoker made no apologies. He said the company owner brought him in, along with a new president, when the company decided they wanted to be a “responsible corporate citizen.”

He said he’s expecting his opponents to bring up the issue, but said that the company has made huge improvements since he began working with them. “We haven’t had one spill out of containment since January of 2008. I’m proud of that,” he said. Stoker said he also supported PXP, and he welcomes discourse about environmental issues...

Labels: 35th Assembly District, Greka, Mike Stoker