Stockton, Calif. – Congressman Jerry McNerney, who is running for reelection in the 9^th Congressional District, has received the endorsement of Vice-Chair of the Port of Stockton, Stephen Griffen, a longshoreman and business owner.

“This area has faced a lot of struggles: unemployment, the foreclosure crisis, a high crime rate, and more. Jerry McNerney has been standing with us every step of the way in addressing these challenges, and I am proud to endorse him in this year’s election. He will continue to stand with us and work on the biggest challenges we are facing,” said Griffen.

According to the Port’s website, “Mr. Griffen has worked as a longshoreman since 1977. A lifelong resident of Stockton,

Griffen

Mr. Griffen is the owner of Country Club Service and Bob’s Lube since 1984 and also owner of Country Club Smog. Appointed by the Stockton City Council in 2009.”

“I welcome the support of Stephen Griffen from the Port of Stockton.  We have tremendous potential at the Port of Stockton, and I have been proud to partner with them over the last six years.  We have been able to create local jobs and invest in our infrastructure – both key to getting our economy back on track.  I look forward to continuing my work to benefit local infrastructure and the Port,” said McNerney.

This adds to a growing list of local public figures and elected Democrat officials who have endorsed Congressman Jerry McNerney, also a Democrat. To view the entire list click here.

The new 9^th district is significantly Democratic, with a voter registration that is D+10.  The new 9^th includes the majority of San Joaquin County and portions of Contra Costa County.  The district voted decidedly in favor of President Obama in 2008.

Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton) was first inspired to run for office by his son, Michael, who volunteered for the armed services after 9/11.  He has served the area for nearly six years, getting to know the people and issues of the region. He is the Ranking Member of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, a post he has used to champion veterans’ issues, bringing back a brand new veterans’ medical facility that is creating 900 local jobs.  He authored the bill to help veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries and has fought tirelessly to create local jobs, prevent American jobs from being sent overseas, and to restore fiscal responsibility to our government while protecting Medicare and Social Security. He is facing challenger Ricky Gill, a Republican from Lodi.

Stockton, Calif. – Congressman Jerry McNerney has received the endorsement of Jim Frazier, former Mayor and current City Council Member, City of Oakley and the Democrat candidate in the race for the 11^th State Assembly District.

“I know Jerry personally, and it gives me great satisfaction to say that I can also support him in his re-election. Jerry McNerney understands East Contra Costa County, and has shown over the last six years that he will be an independent voice representing us in Congress. We’re facing some tough times, and we need Jerry McNerney to continue fighting for us,” said Jim Frazier, former Mayor and Current City Council Member, City of Oakley.

“I am proud to have the support of Jim Frazier.  He has been serving our community for a long time and understands what we need to accomplish here.  I look forward to continuing to work with him and everyone in our region to create a better future and get our economy back on track,” said Congressman McNerney.

Earlier this year, McNerney received the endorsement of the Contra Costa Times.  The paper noted that Congressman McNerney “focuses on policy issues and…has proved to be a centrist who thoughtfully discusses the nuances of the country’s complex problems.”

This adds to a growing list of local elected Democrat officials who have endorsed Congressman Jerry McNerney, also a Democrat:

-Susan Eggman, City Council Member, City of Stockton, and Candidate for State Assembly

-Mark DeSaulnier, State Senator, 7^th District

-Susan Bonilla, Assemblymember, 11^th District

-Ann Johnston, Mayor, City of Stockton

-Cathleen Galgiani, Assemblymember, 17^th District

-Federal Glover, Supervisor, Contra Costa County

-George Neely, Board Member, Lodi Unified School District

The new 9^th district is significantly Democratic, with a voter registration that is D+10.  The new 9^th includes the majority of San Joaquin County and portions of Contra Costa County.  The district voted decidedly in favor of President Obama in 2008.

Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton) was first inspired to run for office by his son, Michael, who volunteered in the armed services after 9/11.  He has served the area for nearly six years, getting to know the people and issues of the region. He is the Chair of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, a post he has used to champion veterans’ issues, bringing back a brand new veterans’ medical facility that is creating 900 local jobs.  He authored the bill to help veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries and has fought tirelessly to create local jobs, prevent American jobs from being sent overseas, and to restore fiscal responsibility to our government while protecting Medicare and Social Security.

Democrats Look to Win Battleground California

Sacramento – New registration numbers give Democrats a commanding lead in the newly-drawn ninth congressional district (CD-9), putting Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton) in a commanding position as Election Day draws near.

The new CD-9 has 132,235 registered Democrats to the Republicans’ 103,560 – a commanding ten percentage point lead, with 45% Democratic voters to 35% Republicans.  Moreover, in a district that Barack Obama would have won by 58% in 2008, turnout will be key.  Historically, turnout in presidential election years mirrors the voter registration of the district.

“With these strong registration numbers and California Democrats working to turn out voters, Jerry McNerney will win his election, providing a platform for Democrats to pick up other seats in California,” said California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton. “We are going to make real strides this year – people are tired of the misguided, extreme-right leadership they’ve seen for the past two years that Republicans have been in charge of the House.  Strong Democratic candidates like Jerry McNerney will be leading the charge in California and we’re going to make sure Democrats turn out this election.”

Of importance is the fact that the new CD-9 has a significant amount of Decline to State (DTS) voters who historically vote for Democratic candidates.  These voters – undecided or independent voters – actually vote with a loyalty to one party or the other.  In Contra Costa County, these voters consistently vote Democratic 16-20% more than they do Republican. In San Joaquin County, 6-10% more of these voters are loyal to Democrats than are to Republicans.

McNerney’s old district, which he held for three cycles, actually had a Republican registration advantage just shy of one percentage point.

By Allen Payton, Publisher

The field of candidates is set in races for Antioch Mayor, Council, Clerk and Treasurer in the November election. Following are the candidates for each office in the order that they appear in the list from the County Elections website, as well as their self-chosen ballot designations and other information

Mayor

Gary Agopian, Antioch City Councilmember, Real Estate Agent and former Antioch School Board member for four years.

Wade Harper, Police Lieutenant/Vice-Mayor, who served two years on the Antioch School Board, appointed to fill the seat of the late Joyce Seelinger, then was elected in 2010 to the City Council. He works for the City of Tracy

Donald P. “Don” Freitas, Retired Environmental Manager, worked for the county for 30 years, is Antioch’s former Mayor from 2000-2008 and Councilman from 1998 to 2000, and represented Antioch on the Contra Costa Water District Board for 16 years.

Michael Anthony Leon, Marketing Manager for a heating and air conditioning company who is a newcomer to Antioch politics. He describes himself as a “regular Joe” or “Joe the Plumber” type who was encouraged to run by his neighbors after he was featured on Channel 4 news for helping get rid of squatters and some problem Section 8 tenants from his neighborhood.

Council

Noel Pinto, Manager, he’s the Director of Parking and Enforcement for the City of Oakland with a background in engineering.

Monica Wilson, College Dean Assistant, she’s the Executive Assistant to the Dean of Student Life for Mills College in Oakland., is a member of the Antioch Economic Development Commission, Vice Chair of the Contra Costa County Democratic Party Central Committee, is the Treasurer for the California Democratic Party Women’s Caucus, and serves as the staff adviser to the Feminist Democrats (Fem Dems), the Mills College Democratic Club.

James D. Davis “Jim”, Mayor/Banker, he chose not to run for reelection as mayor but for council, instead. He was first elected to the council in 1998 and works as a Vice President for Bank of the West.

Mary Helen Rocha, Councilmember / Community Liaison, she has served on the council and as Mayor off and on, and as an Antioch School Board Trustee for the past 30 plus years. This will be her final time running, win or lose.

Walter Ruehlig, Employment Training Director, he is currently an Antioch School Board Trustee, where he has served for two terms.

Clerk

Arne Simonsen, Retired Master Chief in the Navy, but also retired Antioch small business owner of Simonsen Mechanical and a former Antioch City Councilman for two terms.

Argentina Davila-Luevano, Social Worker, who has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work with a Specialty in Child Welfare. But right now she’s the President and CEO of the California LULAC Institute also known as CLI, a 501c3 nonprofit organization. She does social work when she handles case management for families through CLI.

Treasurer

Donna Conley, Incumbent, she is running unopposed.

As a reminder, this Thursday October 4th from 7 PM – 9 PM at Antioch City Hall in the City Council Chambers, the Antioch Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a candidates’ debate for the Antioch Mayor and Antioch City Council.

The City Council candidates will debate from 7 PM- 8 PM followed by the Antioch Mayor debate from 8 PM – 9 PM.

Candidates will each have two opportunities to rebut their opponents during the debate, which should add some excitement to the format.

The Chamber apologizes but the League of Women Voters will not be participating in the debate, as was published previously, due to a difference in formats for the event.

“Come out and listen to your future leaders so that you can make an educated decision in November,” encourages Dr. Sean Wright, Executive Director of the Chamber.

Take Back Antioch (TBA) is hosting a non-partisan forum on Saturday, October 20, 2012 to allow citizens to meet and learn about the candidates running for mayor and city council of Antioch.  The forum will be held from 9:00 am to 11:30 am at the El Campanil Theatre, located at 602 W. Second Street, in the Rivertown area of Antioch.  .

Questions will be determined in advance, based on the most popular questions submitted on TBA’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TakeBackAntioch), and will cover a variety of topics, including:

·Crime and police staffing

·Blight and graffiti

·Volunteerism

·Downtown/waterfront revitalization

·Economic development

Questions with the most “likes” on TBA’s Facebook page will be asked by a panel of volunteers, and each candidate will be allowed to answer the questions within a preset time limit.  If time allows, candidates will be able to answer questions directly from the public.

For further information, or to find out how you can help, please visit the Take Back Antioch Facebook page: www.facebook.com/TakeBackAntioch or email TBA at info@takebackantioch.com.

Over Troubled Waters, a documentary about the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, will premiere in Antioch on Tuesday, October 2, at the El Campanil Theatre. Following the screening will be a question and answer session with water policy advocates. Over Troubled Waters will be the centerpiece of a public education effort to stop the building of peripheral tunnels.

In this visually rich documentary, Ed Begley Jr. narrates the story of how the people of the Delta are fighting to protect the region they love and to encourage saner, sustainable water policies for all the people of California.

“This is our chance to tell the real Delta story,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, which produced the documentary. “This film reveals how powerful forces are using fear of flooding and earthquakes to make a case for transforming a unique, beautiful, productive region into a permanent way station for water going somewhere else. They are trying to shore up an outdated water system with a massive, multi-billion dollar water transfer project that Californians will be paying for decades.”

It should be noted that, Over Troubled Waters has been designated as a participant in this year’s 9th Annual Artivist Film Festival to be held November 1-4 in Hollywood, California. “ARTIVIST” is the only Film Festival dedicated to ‘Raising Awareness for Human Rights, Children’s Advocacy, Environmental Preservation, and Animal Advocacy through International Films’. In 2012, the UNITED NATIONS officially accepted the Artivist Collective, Inc., producer of the annual Artivist Film Festival and Artivist Awards, as an NGO member of the United Nations Department of Public Information (UN-DPI). For more information go to www.Artivist.com.

Tickets are sponsored by Assembly candidate Jim Frazier. For information on additional screenings, go to http://overtroubledwaters.org/buy-tickets/.

What: Over Troubled Waters
Film screening: 7:00 p.m.
Where: El Campanil Theatre, 604 W. 2nd Street, Antioch
When: Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Who: Water advocates, Delta residents, including farmers and fishermen

On Sunday, September 30, 2012, Ricky Gill and other Congressional candidates from Northern California gathered at California State University Sacramento for a forum hosted by a leading Asian-American public affairs association and the NAACP, among many other organizations.

Congressional candidates Kim Vann and Congressman John Garamendi attended from the 3rd District, as did Ami Bera and Congressman Dan Lungren from the 7th District. Assembly candidates Peter Tateishi and Ken Cooley attended from the 8th District, as did Tony Amador and Richard Pan from the 9th District.

While Gill gladly participated in the forum, Jerry McNerney was notably absent. In fact, the 9th Congressional District was the only race in which one candidate attended while the other skipped out.

As KCRA reported, “Democratic incumbent Jerry McNerney was a no-show.” Not only that — according to KCRA, McNerney’s office also failed to respond to inquiries regarding the Congressman’s whereabouts.

So, where was McNerney? After all, his Congressional colleagues weren’t too busy to attend. And McNerney himself wasn’t too busy to send out multiple fundraising emails on Sunday, the last day of the campaign finance period.

“Perhaps McNerney has become the quintessential Washington insider, too busy to meet with voters but always available for a lobbyist or high-dollar donor,” Colin Hunter of the Ricky Gill campaign said. “Back in 2006, McNerney lambasted his incumbent opponent for allegedly skipping a candidates’ forum in favor of a fundraiser.“

“Or perhaps McNerney simply was delayed while pretending to move from Pleasanton to Stockton via the treacherous Altamont Pass,” he added. “In any case, local voters suffered — a consistent theme of McNerney’s tenure in Congress.”