There are a lot of myths about Stockton’s politics. It seems there’s more than a few people from California’s coast who could use a refresher course on the nature of Stockton’s politics. It’s a secret, then it’s not.

The fact is that Stockton is preparing to give Democrats an increasing share of its vote on Tuesday. But, the groundwork has been there for a while:

Seven Democratic Clubs are active and working within San Joaquin County, as well as three more political clubs where Democrats predominate. One group, the Truman Club of Stockton, raised and distributed over $25,000 to local Democratic candidates during the last election cycle. Our Central Valley Stonewall Democratic Club is a proud champion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people’s rights here in the so-called “red” portion of California. (Anne Baird)

Through my work in the 5th Senate District I’ve become impressed with this city. It’s surprisingly politically active, lawn signs for political candidates are omnipresent as you drive throughout the city. From the working class neighborhoods to the wealthy communities, people care about the path we pursue politically. Whether I agree with them and their shiny Dean Andal signs, I do marvel at the high participation rate.

But Democrats are rising in this town. Everytime I have been here, there are always people buzzing in and around the Democratic offices.  The Wolk HQ is just down the street from the Obama/Democratic campaign office, and both were hives of activity.  The same cannot be said for the Republican office in Stockton.  It was like a ghost town when I strolled in there on a Saturday afternoon around 2. I did get lots of paraphernalia from the helpful lady, who was very happy to tell me how important Prop 8 was. But, the fact that they had 2 people, who were quite possibly high school kids dragged there by one outside force or another.

But the funniest part of the Republican office? It was located in a former branch office of Delta Bank, a regional bank hit by the foreclosure crisis. (Editor’s Note: Delta Bank is in fine financial form, and I’ve learned they were never involved in subprime lending.  I did not mean to say that the bank was in any precarious position, rather I was trying to point out the overall economic condition, including the foreclosure situation. Regional banks are generally faring better than the big guys. See this post. )

But in Stockton, you have to look hard to find something not hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. Stockton is the epicenter for California and the nation’s foreclosure crisis:

In the second quarter alone, one in 25 Stockton homes received a foreclosure notice, one of the highest rates in the nation, researcher RealtyTrac says. Some blocks have been so depopulated that even the Saturday afternoon jingle of an ice cream truck is greeted with silence. The telltale signs of homeownership gone bust? Brown lawns dying in the Central Valley heat and black lockboxes dangling from front doors. (USA Today 10/24/08)

How appropriate is it that the Yacht Party has its headquarters in a failed bank branch? Well, this city will work its way out of this crisis with the help of responsible leaders like John Eisenhut, Democratic candidate for Assembly, and Ann Johnston, the mayoral candidate endorsed by the San Joaquin DCCC.

If Props 4 & 8 and the other props aren’t enough to make you want to stay for a change, you just want a candidate to hit the streets for, check out Stockton.  You can walk for the great Democratic slate, and really

Stay for Change

And check out a pic of the Stockton Republican campaign 2008 HQ over the flip…

Here are some things happening around the state:

• CA-04: The most important debate evah is tonight!  No, not that Biden-Palin thing, it’s Calitics Match candidate Charlie Brown and Tom McClintock in Oroville.    Meanwhile, the air war has begun in earnest.  Brown is up with a 60-second ad featuring a local family as a third-party endorser, explaining their struggles to stay ahead in this economy and how Brown is the right choice.  I think it’ll play well (Brown has an American Jobs Plan which includes investments in infrastructure and green jobs, which is key to the needed reindustrialization of society).  On the other hand, Tom McClintock has decided to use Grandpa Fred.

“The financial crisis our nation faces is complicated, and I don’t think anybody’s got all the answers,” Thompson, a well-known actor and former U.S. senator from Tennessee, says in the commercial. “But I’ll tell you one thing. I’ll feel a lot more confident with Tom McClintock working on it, rather than some amateur.”

Shorter Grandpa Fred: “All this book-learnin’ and financializin’ is hard to figger.  Pick the guy who’s never voted Yes on a budget in his entire career.”

• CA-11: If you want to know why Dean Andal isn’t getting any traction in his race against Rep. Jerry McNerney, this quote says it all:

Elected in 2006, McNerney is in a better position for reelection than many expected. But he sits in a district that gave President Bush 54 percent of the vote in 2004, a sure sign that the freshman Democrat ought to be looking over his shoulder.

His Republican opponent, former state Assemblyman Dean Andal, may not be in a position to capitalize, though. The Lodi News-Sentinel reported that an Andal spokesman took the curious position that “it would be inappropriate of Andal to comment on the bailout bill, because he is not in office.”

Yes, it would be terrible to actually give your viewpoints on national issues during a political campaign.

• CA-46: You know that Calitics Match candidate Debbie Cook is gaining traction in her race against nutjob Dana Rohrabacher by this – Rohrabacher has gone negative.  He’s sent an attack mailer that takes a Cook comment about gas prices out of context and really goes to great lengths to greenwash himself.  He mentions his sponsorship of a bill to completely eliminate environmental review for solar projects, which is irresponsible but which he is trying to cynically use as proof of his green energy bona fides.  It also calls Cook an extremist liberal who opposes drilling.

What’s hysterical is that Rohrabacher sent the mailer to everyone in the district but Democrats, meaning that Greens got it.  And I’m told by the Cook campaign that they received numerous calls from Green Party members saying that they were voting for Debbie BECAUSE of the mailer!

In other news, Rohrabacher is certifiably crazy.

According to a September 25, 2008, Pasadena Weekly article by Carl Kozlowski, Rohrabacher believes that the Los Angeles Police Department has for 40 years hidden the fact that Sirhan Sirhan, the lone man convicted of shooting Kennedy, worked as part of a “real conspiracy” of Arabs […]

In early 2007–39 years after the killing and right around the time that he blamed global warming on dinosaur flatulence, Rohrabacher decided to solve his murder mystery for “the Kennedy family.”

Anyone familiar with Rohrabacher knows this story is now headed for unadulterated, wacky bliss.

At some point, Sirhan sent Summer Reese, one of his lawyers, a letter telling her that “a Diana was coming to see him.”

Reese told Kozlowski, “Sirhan didn’t know it was the congressman because his visitor was presented as a woman.”

Rohrabacher. Undercover. In drag. Using the name Diana?

Perhaps this sheds light on why ex-Congressman Bob Dornan (R-Garden Grove) liked to call Rohrabacher “a fruitcake.”

I actually know Carl, maybe I’ll track him down and interview him about this.

• AD-26: I’ve noticed a lot of Republicans afraid to debate this year.  Here’s another example.

Stretching from Turlock to Stocton, the 26th Assembly District is fairly even in voter registration and is a target on both party’s lists. So why would one candidate take a pass on a critical opportunity to face his opponent and make his case to voters? That is the question being asked by Democratic candidate John Eisenhut who was at a League of Women Voters debate in Modesto Friday night. His Republican opponent, Bill Berryhill, had a “scheduling conflict.”

In a conversation with Eisenhut the night after the debate he said that Berryhill didn’t want to debate him. This in spite of Berryhill being quoted by the Modesto Bee saying,

“People deserve some dialogue and to know where we both stand.”

• AD-30: Fran Florez runs against Sacramento  in this solid new ad.  Is she also running against her own son, State Sen. Dean Florez?

• Some more new websites: John Eisenhut (AD-26) and Fran Florez(AD-30). I’ve been waiting for a website for Florez for a long time. Not a whole lot of content there yet, but I imagine that will change soon.

• Obama has a new ad about the Republican “Maverick” meme. It’s quite a joke that being corrupt, being repentent, and then not totally being in the bag for the tobacco lobby makes you a Maverick.  And in Palin’s case? She campaigned all over the state with an indicted Senator (Stevens) and an equally corrupt representative (Young), and gets labeled a “maverick”? What a joke.

• Arnold ain’t scared of a recall, and he even pokes a finger in the eye of former Gov. Davis. Stay Classy, Arnold.

“I will not be intimidated by anybody that is demanding more money than the state can afford and that demands deals more than the state is wanting to give,” Schwarzenegger said. “So the prison guard union is not going to intimidate me with their kind of action. This is a different governor sitting here,” he added. “I will not get intimidated.”

• OC Register has some info on some Yes on 8 hate contributors. Apparently Larry Shultz of Orange County believes that my marriage will somehow belittle his own. Hey Larry, just a tip, unless you have your own issues, my getting married won’t make a bit of difference to your marriage.

• One more thing: Props to DailyKos for starting a completely transparent tracking poll of the presidential race.  This interwebz thing isn’t going away folks.