(Rob’s a good guy, and would make a great Assemblyman. – promoted by SFBrianCL)

This is the third part of my interview with Rob Haswell, CA Assembly candidate from the 4th district which stretches from the Sacramento suburbs to Lake Tahoe, for my local blog Turn Tahoe Blue.

You can read part I at Turn Tahoe Blue or the Calitics cross-post.

You can read part II at Turn Tahoe Blue or the Calitics cross-post.

In this part Rob talks about the most pressing issues for the 4th district, preserving Lake Tahoe and gay marriage.

Is there a difference in the concerns of voters in your district between the more rural areas and small towns and the suburbs of Sacramento? What are the most pressing issues for voters in the 4th Assembly District?

  I’m not sure the concerns are all that different. It seems most of the voters from the Sacramento valley towns of Antelope, and Rio Linda, to Roseville and Rocklin and up into the foothills of Sierra like Placerville and Auburn and into the Lake Tahoe Basin people are worried about their quality of life. They are concerned about traffic congestion, the encroachment of suburban sprawl, public safety, keeping the water and air clean enough to drink and breath, keeping quality public schools open and safe. I don’t think those issues are all that different from one community to another. Without question, the number one issue on people’s minds is over development. If Placer and El Dorado counties lose their status as destination spots, you can bet that’s going to negatively impact the economy.

What needs to be done to preserve Lake Tahoe in the future? What do you think you can do in the Assembly?

  First off, we need people in political office that will be advocates for Lake Tahoe. It’s highly problematic to elect officials, such as my opponent, who have taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from developers. Having grown up just a few miles from the lake, I can tell you how much I value it as a natural and recreational resource. We need to ensure that the decision making done in relationship to Lake Tahoe and its surrounding areas for the coming decades is in the service of the preservation of the lake, first and foremost. That means that development in the area must be done with great care and with a defined long-term vision for the lake.

What is your position on GLBT issues, specifically on the gay marriage vs. civil unions issue which has received some attention in California recently?

  I am a supporter of marriage equality. All people should be treated equally under the law.

Rob has also published his statement on the healthcare crisis in California over at the California Progress Report yesterday. Go over there and read it!

You can help Rob get elected. Click on the links below to get more information on Rob and check out what you can do:

Rob Haswell’s Campaign Website

Haswell Campaign Journal

Contribute to Rob Haswell!

Attention:

You can read the 4th and final part of this interview here!

Here is the second part of the interview Rob Haswell, Democratic candidate for Assembly District 4, has granted my local blog Turn Tahoe Blue. (You can read part I at Turn Tahoe Blue or my diary here at Calitics.)

In this part he talks about Charlie Brown, the Doolittle political machine and the importance of national issues and the disillusionment with Bush for this election.

What is your relationship with Charlie Brown, who’s running for Congress and who’s district over lapses with yours? Do you think a success by his campaign could be helpful to you since your opponent Ted Gaines has aligned himself closely to corrupt Congressman John Doolittle?

  I have a good relationship with Charlie. He’s stepped up to take on one heck of a challenge in John Doolittle and everyone in the Brown campaign is working extremely hard to defeat him. There is no question that my opponent, Ted Gaines, is a product of the Doolittle political machine. Ted was essentially handpicked for this seat by John Doolittle and we don’t hesitate in pointing that out to folks. If both campaigns do well it will signal that Doolittle’s reign is over. To turn your question around a little, I think our success will help Charlie’s campaign because the voters our campaign turns out for an assembly race have a high likelihood of voting for Charlie in an “up ballot” race. I can tell you one other thing: This October and November we will produce the best coordinated GOTV operation that this district has seen from Democrats in years.

Do you think the general disillusionment by voters with the Bush administration will help you win? Have national issues come up often when you talk to voters?

  National issues are always on everyone’s mind, but I have to say, they don’t come up in the context of my race all that often. My race is relevant in national terms because, in some ways, it’s a microcosm of what’s happening at the Federal and State level. In the 4th Assembly District, big-city mega developers wield all the political power. Developers have invested, literally millions of dollars in state and local campaigns here. My opponent alone has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from developers. This is an example of the undue influence the big corporate and special interests wield in today’s politics. It’s a big reason why we can’t have meaningful healthcare reform, while big pharmaceuticals and big insurance companies and big HMOs keep turning record profits while the rest of us pay more and get less, or don’t have health insurance at all. As far as disillusionment with the Bush administration goes, I think if Republicans are less inclined to go to the polls, while democrats and independents are more motivated to vote for change, that this could have a profound effect across the country and certainly in this district.

Towards the end of this part of the interview Rob mentioned health insurance. Just yesterday the Haswell campaign came out with a news release on this issue titled “Schwarzenegger Punts on Healthcare Reform – Governor Side with Failing Status Quo” (the following is from the news release, not part of the interview):

Democratic Candidate for State Assembly Rob Haswell took time off from his Whistle Stop tour to denounce Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s stand against universal healthcare. The State Legislature passed SB 840, which would establish a single-payer healthcare system that would offer health security for all Californians. Today, Schwarzenegger vowed to veto the bill.

“Time and again this governor has sided with large insurance companies and large corporate special interests, while turning away from California’s working poor, uninsured children and small business owners. Once again, the Governor is showing his true colors,” Haswell said.

Haswell derided Schwarzenegger’s claim that healthcare is a “top priority” and that he’d unveil his plan after November’s election. “Arnold’s political hero is Richard Nixon and it looks like he’s taking a page out of the Nixon playbook,” stated Haswell. “We’re still waiting for Nixon’s secret plan to end the Vietnam War, and I suspect we’ll be waiting just as long for Schwarzenegger’s secret healthcare plan. Meanwhile, the rest of us continue to pay more and get less while insurance companies make record profits.”

Recent estimates put the number of Californians living without insurance at between 6-7 million. SB 840 (Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica) would establish a single-payer system in which the state would take over the role that private insurance companies now play. Private medical groups and hospitals would continue to provide care as usual but would be paid through the state system.

You can do your part in helping Rob get elected to the Assembly by clicking on the following links:

Rob Haswell’s Campaign Website

Haswell Campaign Journal

Contribute to Rob Haswell!

Watch out for Part III tomorrow!

cross posted from my local blog Turn Tahoe Blue

In the coming days I would like to focus on a great campaign which has so far mostly been ignored by the mainstream media, like so many other worthy “down-ticket” campaigns.

Rob Haswell is running for a traditionally Republican seat. Though, like so many seats this year no seat held by Republicans seems all that save, especially since this California Assembly district’s current representative is retiring making this an open seat.

California’s 4th Assemlby District stretches from the suburbs of Sacramento up to Lake Tahoe. It encompasses most of Placer and El Dorado counties, Alpine County, and a small part of Sacramento County.

Rob has been so kind to grant Turn Tahoe Blue an interview and it will be published in four parts in the coming days. Here’s the first part:

Mr. Haswell, let’s start with the easiest question first: Why are you running for office?

  Thank you, Sven for the opportunity and I appreciate your interest in Lake Tahoe and local races. I’m running for this open State Assembly seat because I think our political system has walked away from regular people and represents only big money corporate and special interests. This situation is killing representative democracy and we see the results of it in my own district, as our quality of life is being sold off to the highest bidder.

What has been your experience on the campaign trail so far?

  I’ve had a great experience so far on the campaign trail. I find that people of all political stripes are receptive to my message. And I’ve met a lot of great, committed people who want change. We are in the middle of a very successful Whistle Stop tour of the district and in just under three weeks we’ll be hosting the largest political rally and picnic the District’s ever seen. However, I do need to acknowledge there is a lot of cynicism and apathy when it comes to politics. And convincing people that, if they want real change, they have to work for it is an ongoing challenge. Nothing ever occurs because people wished it were so. You have to fight and work hard for it and that’s what our campaign is about.

Rob Haswell’s Campaign Website

The Haswell Campaign Journal

Contribute to Rob Haswell!

Watch out for Part II tomorrow!

For more on Rob Haswell and other California and Nevada campaigns important to the Lake Tahoe area go to Turn Tahoe Blue.

cross-posted from my local blog Turn Tahoe Blue

Many people, especially in the media, think that modern campaigns means modern technology. And nothing more. I believe that is not the case and there are two campaigns in the Tahoe area that prove my point.

In Nevada Jack Carter sure uses modern technology, he uses the internet extensively, especially through the blogging activities of his daughter Sarah. This way the campaign got a lot of attention on the big blogs like Daily Kos and MyDD. She also writes daily for the Carter Blog on the Carter for Nevada campaign website. Furthermore the Carter campaign also employs YouTube and MySpace to connect to a wider audience.

All that said the Carter campaign is aware of the fact that if you wanna reach voters you have to go to where they live and engage with them face to face. Jack Carter is constantly traveling to meet voters. He has recently been on a tour through 11 towns throughout Nevada. He has realized that you have got to go to the rurals if you want the people living outside of the major cities and towns to vote for you. His rural strategy is an integral part of this.

A good example of modern campaigning in California is the candidate in the 4th Assembly district, Rob Haswell. He’s got a good campaign website which includes a campaign journal which keeps those interested in his campaign up to date.

Yet, Rob Haswell also realizes that if you wanna win you better get out and travel the district. So, he has recently announced that he will travel to every town in the district on his “Whistle Stop Bus Tour” saying in a press release:

I’m excited to begin our Whistle Stop Bus Tour because it will enable us to share ideas directly with voters in their own communities.

What both candidates have in common is that conventional wisdom and their party’s establishment don’t believe that these campaigns can win. Therefore both Jack Carter and Rob Haswell had to get creative. They both had to move beyond these perceptions and engage directly with as many voters as possible.

A combination of using modern technology, mostly the internet, and meeting face to face with voters is what a good modern campaign should look like. Jack Carter and Rob Haswell show how it’s done.