Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Nielsen and Harrington: A Crook versus an Honest Laborer


Fake Rancher, Jim Nielsen with his never worn before cowboy hat. Hey, it helps get votes in Northeastern California.

To tell you the truth, I've been rather frightened to read any of the local papers the past couple of days. Day after day, the stories just seemed to get weirder and weirder. Depressing to read about such louts who would turn a flag upside down at Obama's election. Or read about those who oppose bike trails as part of a UN plot to take over the world. In a sense, I didn't think I could stand to read any more of the stupid exploits of my fellow citizens of Northeastern California.

What to do?

I drove down to my place of employment and am working a stretch. Took the time to read a couple of the local papers. The Marysville Appeal Democrat had the standard diatribe against carbon taxes and the like. The Chico ER did manage to take a swipe at both Doug La Malfa (our Congressman elect) and Jim Nielsen (La Malfa's heir apparent in the Senate).

To describe the antics of these two guys is to signal what is absolutely the worst of North State politics. La Malfa resigned his seat early in the State Senate so that he could run for Congress. Nielsen, La Malfa's buddy, signed up for the special election and had his signs ready to go the day La Malfa resigned. In fact, La Malfa and Nielsen's signs were nearly identical; both signs featured a white cowboy hat and called them "Conservative Ranchers". Both these guys have their piggy faces firmly  planted in the government trough. La Malfa, by capitalizing on cheap state water and rice subsidies and Nielsen by being a career politician privy to sweet heart deals and phony per diem submissions. They both provide ample evidence on why people should be cynical about politics.

Jim Nielsen doesn't even live in the district. His real home is a mansion outside the district where he has a history of collecting the per diem pay while the State Government is in session to finance his monstrous house. To add insult to injury, his wife collects the same sort of per diem pay. State spending at its worst. His home in the district is a manufactured home in Gerber--where he isn't seen very often. Like never. He calls himself a "rancher" but he only owns a couple of acres of land. Guess that makes me a rancher too.

But people keep voting for this kind of corruption even though fine alternative candidates were, and are, available. Because Nielsen didn't clear the 50 percent plus one rule in the quickly staged general election, there will be a special "run off" election. Nielsen will be opposed by Mickey Harrington in a special election the second week of January.

I was actually with Mickey the day that La Malfa quit and the special Senate election was announced. We were working a booth at a festival registering hippies and stoned Concowites to vote. I told him about the special election and Mickey decided that he would run as we were talking. He felt that some Democrat should throw his hat in the ring--so Mickey did just that. Mickey is a fine gentleman. He represents a cherished and dying sect in America: the union worker of a non-governmental organization. Mickey is now retired. He has been a tireless advocate for the Democratic Party.

To me, the choice is easy this January. Why would I want to vote for a crook when there is a perfectly responsible, honest man running? Easy choice. Go for the Union guy.

2 comments:

  1. Allan, you seem quite knowledgeable and experienced in helping Democratic candidates. Can you tell me why the following suggestion has or has not already been explored?
    Shouldn't Harrington win by default, since Nielsen lied again (see http://blogs.redding.com/bross/archives/IsJimNielsenAFraud.pdf) about his home address and still doesn't actually live in the district he wants to represent? Just because neither Governor Brown nor Tehama County District Attorney Gregg Cohen (see http://www.newsreview.com/chico/how-special-it-is/content?oid=8461189) have chosen to look into that fraud doesn't mean an attorney from another of the 4th Senate District's counties won't if pressured enough, does it? Considering the huge amount of money that would save those counties in avoiding a Special Election in January, why haven't the local Democrats approached Butte County Attorney Mike Ramsey, for example? Ramsey has shown he's not afraid to stand up to even good-old-boy Republican lawbreakers. Since redistricting in 2011, the California 4th State Senate District now includes all of Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Sutter, Tehama, and Yuba counties, 37.1% of Placer County, and 21.8% of Sacramento County. Though in the minority, aren't there active Democratic parties in all of those counties which might be persuaded to contact their members to show a lot of public support for getting rid of Nielsen?

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    Replies
    1. Hey Cedar,

      Sorry for my lack of a reply. I'm told the reason Nielsen gets away with it is that no DA will pick up the case. Plus I'm told that Jerry Brown and Nielsen have a buddy/buddy relationship. In short, nobody of consequence thinks it is important enough to pursue a case against him. Bob Speer of the Chico News and Review does keep the pressure up on Nielsen. Just this last week he wrote (again) about the fake address thing. Thanks for your comment.

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