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…

As I mentioned last week, I made a trip out to Stockton yesterday.  The weather was beautiful, warm and sunny. It made for a nice day to walk a precinct. The CDP Rural Caucus couldn’t have chosen a nicer day.

I got to Stockton at around 10, after a gorgeous drive over the Altamont pass and through the sea of wind turbines (and the “Jesus Saves” cross burned into the side of a hill). It really is beautiful, when you see the hills with a smidge of foggy haze over them.  As I walked into the building, a former movie theater, you can see a few things. One, this wasn’t fancy. There wasn’t even a restroom, you had to use one at the sympathetic coffee shop next door.  There was insulation and old movie theater seats in the back room that was now housing a proliferation of lawn signs from local candidates.

And there are a lot of strong local candidates.  The event was designed to support Assembly candidates Huber and Eisenhut as well as State Senate candidate Lois Wolk. (Note: I do some work for Wolk’s campaign.) However, it went further than that. We had the CDP’s flyer with the Obama Highway picture that contained some pretty good recommendations for the props (except that the CDP couldn’t come to a recommendation on Prop 10…vote no on 10!) and a flyer for Stockton mayoral candidate Ann Johnston.  

I walked with CDP Rural Caucus Chair Jamie Beutler and Region 4 Chair Owen Jackman. Well, I’ll put “walk” in quotes there.  It’s weird, because for all I complain about the huge hills in SF, there are advantages to walking precincts here. Namely, everything is close. So, we drove around talking to voters. We were in a pretty mixed neighborhood, with a bunch of students from University of the Pacific as well as some working class families. Overall, the impresion of the voters we spoke to was very positive.

I was, once again, impressed with Alyson Huber. For a political newcomer, she has run a great campaign. While I might have tweaked a few tactics here and there, overall she has managed to stay competitive in a tough district.  In the next 8 days, she has a better shot than anybody has had in this district for a long time to put a Democrat in this seat.  Her opponent, Jack Sieglock, is a longtime politician. He’s been a city councilman, a supervisor, and generally hanging around GOP politics in the region for a while.  

At this point, Sieglock’s running a pretty negative campaign. (Even using a quote from the Calitics podcast out of context on a mailer). But all that’s just the name of the game in politics, but more troubling are all the lies.  Namely, Sieglock is alleging that Huber is some sort of McClintock-esque carpetbagger.  Trust me when I say that Huber is no McClintock, carpetbagger-wise or in any other stretch of the imagination.  Huber was born and raised in the Central Valley. She graduated from Lodi High School and attended Cal State, Chico before finishing up at Cornell. She attended one of our fine state law schools, Hastings, and now practices from her home in the Valley. Huber deserves respect for working her way up, and she should be the next Assembly member from AD-10.

It really was a great experience, and I topped it off with a stop in Tracy to stand at a street corner to oppose Prop 8.  We got a lot of great support, honking horns and the sort.  It was a great group that turned out, a lot of young newly energized Californians opposing the joke that is Prop 8.

Now that’s a beautiful day…