Endorsement shows growing strength for Nance Campaign in Contra Costa portion of 9th Congressional District

Police officer and 9th District Congressional Candidate Kathryn Nance announced that her campaign for Congress has been endorsed by the Republican Party of Contra Costa County. This latest endorsement, coupled with endorsements from the Contra Costa Deputy Sheriffs Association and the Antioch Police Officers Association, shows growing strength for Nance in the Contra Costa County portion of the 9th Congressional District, and area that incumbent Jerry McNerney has always counted on in past elections.

“Kathryn Nance is exactly the kind of candidate we need to take back the 9th Congressional District of California. Her 19 years as a Police Officer for the City of Stockton shows that she not only has the toughness to get things done in Congress, but a commitment to our community that has been lacking from our current representative”, said Rohit Joy, Chairman of the Republican Party of Contra Costa County. “Unlike Jerry McNerney, Kathryn Nance will give us a Representative who will protect our borders and work towards a sensible immigration policy that puts American workers first, will not shrink from the fight against Radical Islamic Terror, and won’t vote to spend our hard earned tax dollars on a disastrous train to nowhere. The Republican Party of Contra Costa County gives its enthusiastic endorsement to Kathryn Nance for the 9th Congressional District.”

“I’m honored that the Republican Party of Contra Costa County have placed their faith and trust in my campaign”, said Nance. “Every day our campaign continues to gain more and more momentum. The people of the 9th Congressional District know it’s time for a member of Congress they can count on.”

The 9th Congressional District encompasses the majority of San Joaquin County, as well as parts of Contra Costa and the City of Galt in Sacramento County.

Born and raised in the Stockton area, Kathryn Nance is a 19-year veteran of the Stockton Police Department, currently serving as a Sergeant with the Department’s AB109 Task Force and as President of the Stockton Police Officers Association.  She has previously served as a Field Training Officer and as a member of the Department’s Gang and Homicide units.  She is married to her husband of 10 years, James Nance, who also serves as an officer with the Stockton Police Department.  Together, they have a blended family of four children, ranging in ages of 16 to 24.  Kathryn is an avid outdoors enthusiast and enjoys activities such as hiking, cycling, kayaking and CrossFit.  Kathryn also serves as the Chairwoman of Stockton’s annual “Strides Against Cancer” relay.

To learn more about Kathryn Nance for Congress, visit us online at www.Nance2016.com, like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KathrynNanceForCongress and follow us on Twitter @Nance2016.

Today, candidate for County Supervisor in District 3, Doug Hardcastle announced he has received the endorsement of former State Senator and Contra Costa County Sheriff Richard Rainey and his wife Sue Rainey, former Mayor of both Walnut Creek and Moraga.

Richard served in the California State Assembly from 1992 until 1996 and then served in the State Senate from 1996 until 2000. In 1995, Mr. Rainey was named Legislator of the Year by the California Probation & Parole Correctional Association. Also, during the 1995-96 legislative session, Mr. Rainey served as Chairman of the Assembly Local Government Committee.

“We need a leader on the Board of Supervisors who knows that public safety must be the county’s top priority and is committed to being responsible with the use of our tax dollars. Doug Hardcastle has demonstrated that in his elected positions on the Oakley City Council and sanitary board. That’s why we support him for County Supervisor and encourage you to do the same,” the Raineys said.

Sue Rainey is a former Walnut Creek City Council Member and Mayor. Before moving to Walnut Creek. Rainey worked on the effort to incorporate the Town of Moraga and was on that town’s first council and served as Mayor. She was also a former elected director of the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District, is founder and president of the Contra Costa Sewer and Water Agency, and was a member of the Contra Costa County Local Agency Formation Commission.

Richard Rainey was hired by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s department in 1964 and he was promoted through the ranks as a deputy sheriff, sergeant, lieutenant, and captain before he was elected County Sheriff in 1978. Mr. Rainey was appointed by Governor George Deukmejian during the 1980’s to the State Board of Corrections and the Board of Trustees of the Robert Presley Institute of Corrections. He served until 1992 when he was elected to the Assembly.

Following his service in the state legislature, Richard served as Director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for Region 9 for both the Bush and Obama Admininstrations. Region 9 covers California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, the Territory of Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.

“Having Dick and Sue Rainey’s endorsements means a lot,” Hardcastle said. “Their service to our county provided the strong leadership we needed in Contra Costa. I appreciate their support in my campaign for Supervisor.”

Doug Hardcastle was elected to the Oakley City Council in 2012 and recently completed a year as Mayor. From 2000 to 2012 he served as a Director on the Ironhouse Sanitary District Board, for which he served as President in 2010-2011. He currently serves on both the Transplan Committee and the Tri Delta Transit Board of Directors. Doug and his wife Lyn own Hardcastle’s RV in Oakley and have for over 40 years. Doug was selected Oakley Business Person of the Year in 2006. He’s a life-long resident of Contra Costa County. For more information visit www.doughardcastle.com.

Supervisor District 3 includes Oakley, Brentwood, Discovery Bay, Blackhawk, Diablo, Camino Tassajara, Bethel Island, Byron, Knightsen and a portion of Antioch. The election is on June 7, 2016.

The nomination period for those interested in running for office began, Tuesday, February 16th. They have until March 11th to file or March 16th for those offices in which the incumbent is not seeking reelection.

The first step on the road to the June 7th Presidential Primary Election begins this week, as Contra Costa residents are invited to start filling out nomination papers if they plan to run for certain elected offices.

OFFICES NOMINATED UNDER THE “TOP TWO” PRIMARY SYSTEM – In these races, the top two vote getters advance to the November election.

UNITED STATES SENATOR

UNITED STATES CONGRESS

5^th District

9^th District

11^th District

15^th District

STATE SENATE

3^rd District

7^th District

9^th District

STATE ASSEMBLY

11^th District

14^th District

15^th District

16^th District

COUNTY OFFICES (4 Year Term) – Candidates win in June if they receive 50% plus one of the vote. If no candidate receives 50%+1, the top two will have a run off in November.

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

2^nd Supervisorial District

3^rd Supervisorial District

5^th Supervisorial District

The nomination period closes 5:00 pm, Friday, March 11, 2016.

Our office will provide updates throughout the nomination period via Twitter and Facebook about who has pulled papers to run for office and when candidates signatures have been verified.

The Contra Costa Elections Division staff recommends that interested candidates read through the 2016 Candidate Guide for more information about the process, including the necessary number of signatures for nomination, candidate statements, ordering campaign resources, maps and filing fees.

A Contra Costa Board of Supervisor candidate, for example, must pay a $1,044 filing fee and collect 20 signatures to be on the ballot.

The Candidate Guide can be found online at: www.cocovote.us/wp-content/uploads/2016_CandidateGuide_Combined_Updated-12-30-15.pdf.

For those interested in seeking local political offices in November, the nomination period for the November 8^th General Election starts in mid-July.

For more information, call 925-335-7874 or visit our website at www.cocovote.us.

By Allen Payton

In a letter to the editor to the Herald, responding to my column about Lamar Thorpe needing to be removed from his position on the Antioch Economic Development Commission, over his leadership of the card room initiative, Thorpe claimed that one of the Antioch Council Members signed the petition to place the initiative on the ballot.

In response to an email question to each of the council members, only one of the Council Members, Monica Wilson admitted to signing the petition, through the spokesman for her campaign for Supervisor, Jon Colmenares.

In an email from Colmenares, he wrote “wanted to answer your question regarding petition signatures for cardroom initiative. Monica signed the petition, and along with the rest of the Council and Mayor, voted to put it on the June ballot.”

Mayor Pro Tem Lori Ogorchock was first to respond to the email with a brief, “Not I.”

Mayor Wade Harper was the next, also denying he signed it.

“I did not sign the petition,” he said. “I would be interested to know if any Councilmember signed the petition.”

In a phone conversation with Council Member Tony Tiscareno, he said he did not sign it, either.

When reached for comment, Council Member Mary Rocha stated “I wouldn’t have signed that petition.”

Wilson did respond later to the questions of why she signed the petition and didn’t inform the public of that during the council meeting, and why she didn’t make a motion to adopt the initiative language as a an ordinance.

“I believe in organizing a community when it needs something,” she stated. “I do believe that the voters should have a voice and I do not believe in imposing ordinances on them. I believe in involving voters for what affects them directly. That for me includes laws that are as high profile as the cardroom initiative and why I signed it. I joined the Mayor and council because I felt that this was an important issue to be put forth to voters.”

One additional email was sent asking Wilson to clarify whether or not she supports the ballot initiative language and what she thinks a council member’s job is if the doesn’t believe in imposing ordinances on the public. Please check back later for her response.

The card room measure will be on the June 7th ballot. It requires a majority vote to pass and become law in the city. If it fails, the current city ordinance of allowing two card rooms in town, down from the previous five prior to 2013, will remain in force, with only one currently operating in Antioch.

 

Today, candidate for County Supervisor in District 3, Doug Hardcastle announced he has received the endorsement of former State Assemblywoman Lynne Leach.

While in the Assembly for six years, Leach represented almost all of what makes up District 3, including the East County communities of Oakley, Brentwood, Discovery Bay, Bethel Island, Knightsen, Byron and parts of Antioch, as well as Blackhawk, Diablo and Camino Tassajara, in the San Ramon Valley portion of the Supervisor district.

“What impressed me about Doug is that he has taken so many of the necessary steps, both as a member of the Ironhouse Satinary District Board and Oakley City Council, and is now well prepared to be a member of the Board of Supervisors,” said Leach. “Plus, his small business experience and community service, it just makes a lot of sense.”

“He is one of the best, well-rounded candidates you could imagine,” she added. “That’s why I’m supporting him for County Supervisor.”

A leader in the Assembly, Leach served as Vice Chair of the Assembly Education Committee in her second and third terms. She also served on a variety of committees, including Transportation, Insurance, Business and Professions, Jobs and Economic Development, Aging and Long Term Care, Joint Legislative Audit and the Master Plan for California Education (Kindergarten through Higher Education).

“I appreciate Lynne’s endorsement, and her time and counsel in my campaign,” Hardcastle said. “Plus, her great experience serving the same communities that I will be serving as Supervisor.”

Doug Hardcastle was elected to the Oakley City Council in 2012 and recently completed a year as Mayor. From 2000 to 2012 he served as a Director on the Ironhouse Sanitary District Board, for which he served as President in 2010-2011. He currently serves on both the Transplan Committee and the Tri Delta Transit Board of Directors. Doug and his wife Lyn own Hardcastle’s RV in Oakley and have for over 40 years. Doug was selected Oakley Business Person of the Year in 2006. He’s a life-long resident of Contra Costa County. For more information visit www.doughardcastle.com and follow the Hardcastle campaign on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @doughardcastle.

Supervisor District 3 includes Oakley, Brentwood, Discovery Bay, Blackhawk, Diablo, Camino Tassajara, Bethel Island, Byron, Knightsen and a portion of Antioch. The election is on June 7, 2016.

Today, Wednesday, February 10, 2016, Brentwood Councilmember Steve Barr announced his intent to run for Contra Costa County Supervisor District 3.

“After careful consideration I have decided to seek the office of Supervisor and represent the residents of Far East County and the communities of Blackhawk and Diablo,” Barr said. “I feel it is the right time for me to use the experience I have gained serving the Brentwood residents for the last five years on the city council and make a positive contribution to the Board of Supervisors on behalf of District 3 residents.”

In 2005 Steve was appointed to the Liberty Union High School District Board of directors and was elected to the board in 2006. He served as President of the Board in 2008 and completed his term on the school board in 2010.

Steve was elected to the Brentwood City Council in 2010 and served as Vice-Mayor in 2011 and 2012. In 2012 he ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Brentwood against Bob Taylor. In 2014 Barr was re-elected to the council in an uncontested election.

While on the City Council he has served on the following city committees: Operating and Capital improvement Budgets, 10 Year Fiscal Model Plan, Downtown Specific Plan, General Plan Implementation, Sewer/Water/Solid Waste rates, School Inter-agency Council, and Land Use and Development.

He was appointed to the East Contra Costa Fire District Board of Directors in 2011 – 2014 and was recently reappointed in 2016.

Steve has been active in the Brentwood community in various roles including coaching youth sports, soccer, CYO basketball and Pony baseball, has chaired community events such as the 1996 Brentwood Cornfest, the 2014 Harvest Time Festival and co-chaired the Brentwood Art Wine and Jazz Festival for three years. He served as President of the Liberty High School Athletic Boosters and Liberty High School site council from 2002- 2005.

Steve is a third generation Contra Costan and lived in Pleasant Hill from 1956 to 1978, Martinez from 1978 to 1981 and in Brentwood since 1981. He has been a licensed contractor for 35 years specializing in structural concrete and custom pools, and currently is providing contracted construction management services for a processing plant in Ripon California.

Steve and his wife Kathy have lived in Brentwood for 35 years. They have a daughter Kristin age 32 of Yuba City and son Paul age 29 of Walnut Creek.

This brings the number of candidates for County Supervisor in District 3 to six, including Oakley City Council Doug Hardcastle, NAACP East County Branch President Odessa Lefrancois, East Bay Regional Parks District Board Member Diane Burgis, Antioch Mayor Wade Harper and Antioch Councilwoman Monica Wilson.  The Primary Election is on June 7th and if no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two candidates with the most votes will face off in the General Election in November.

Stockton police officer challenging incumbent Congressman Jerry McNerney vows to oppose the President’s plan which would hurt working families by adding 25 cents to every gallon of gas to fund pork barrel projects for campaign donors

(Stockton) – Congressional candidate for the 9th District, Kathryn Nance announced her strong opposition to President Obama’s plan to raise gas taxes at the pump that would take money out of the pockets of every American family.  His plan would also hit Central Valley farmers hard and threaten their ability to compete internationally.  The plan is designed to give handouts to the President’s campaign donors in an industry with a history of wasting billions of taxpayer dollars.

“Jerry McNerney needs to state his position on this issue immediately and let us know where he stands,” stated Nance.  “This plan is nothing more than a Robin Hood in reverse that takes money away from working families to give to Washington special interests that have funded my opponent’s campaign for years.  If McNerney refuses to take a position or supports the President’s plan he will have clearly chosen special interest campaign donations over the people of the 9th District and the nation.”

Recent drops in gas prices are currently giving working families a break in paying their monthly energy bills and keeping the weak economy from going into recession.  By raising taxes on energy, McNerney and Obama will kill thousands of good paying jobs in the energy industry while wasting billions on taxpayer funded projects that will be given out to those with political connections and take money straight out of the pockets of working families, seniors and farmers.

“The lower prices on gasoline are helping our families and farmers make ends meet in this weak economy,” continued Nance.  “I am running for Congress to replace the McNerney/Obama agenda and will fight every day to protect our families from the hidden taxes, fees and regulations that McNerney has supported.

Kathryn Nance is a Sergeant with the Stockton Police Department and a candidate for the 9th Congressional District which includes San Joaquin, Contra Costa and Sacramento counties.   To learn more about Kathryn, go to www.Nance2016.com.

By Allen Payton

The committee formed to place an initiative to limit card rooms, on the June Primary Election ballot in Antioch, has raised $145,100 and spent $89,718.23 as of December 31, 2015. All of the funds were contributed by the California Grand Casino in Pacheco.

Known as the Antioch Coalition Against the Expansion of Gambling, the committee is based in Tiburon, California at the office of its Treasurer, attorney David M. Fried, according to the required financial report submitted on Monday, February 1st.

However, the proponents are Antioch Economic Development Commission Member Lamar Thorpe and his wife Patrice Guillory, and LaTonya Harman, all Antioch residents. Thorpe unsuccessfully ran for the Antioch City Council in 2014 and according to his Facebook page appears he might be considering another run, this year with the comment “2016 is here… another election year. Decisions, decisions…” ending in a smiley face emoji with a wink.

The three filed a “Notice of Intent to Circulate Petition” with the statement:

“We are proposing the Citizens Initiative Against Gambling Expansion in order to Preserve, maintain and protect the City and the People of Antioch by requiring a public vote before there is an expansion of gambling, to ensure card rooms do not expand into larger Casinos without voter approval and to clarify and strengthen the laws governing card rooms and their location.”

However, in January, 2015, the Antioch City Council had already voted to decrease the number of card room licenses allowed in the city from five to two, and currently there is only one in operation. That one has six tables for card games. Other forms of gambling, such as slot machines and roulette tables, are not allowed. In addition, there’s generally a state moratorium on new card rooms in the state through January, 2020, but does allow for up to a 25% expansion in the number of gambling tables, hours of operation, etc., if approved by the City Council.

The funds spent by the committee have gone to pay $29,000 to Mosher/Whitehurst, a San Francisco-based campaign consulting firm, and Tulare, California-based Olson & Associates, another campaign consulting firm with a specialty in qualifying initiatives for the ballot. That company paid individuals who gathered over 9,000 signatures at grocery stores throughout Antioch.

Since enough signatures of registered Antioch voters were gathered, the initiative qualifies for the June Primary Election ballot. The City Council, at their Tuesday night regular meeting, will have the opportunity to either adopt the proposed ordinance, or let it go to the ballot. If the measure goes to the ballot, it will cost the city’s General Fund between $132,771 and $177,028, according to Antioch City Clerk Arne Simonsen. It has already cost the city over $3,000 in payment to the County Elections Department to verify the signatures.

To view the committee’s entire financial report, click here: Form 460 – Antioch Coalition Against Gambling Expansion 7-1 to 12-31-15