In a time when Republicans could be considered an endangered species, especially in California coastal areas, nearly 180 residents showed up at Veterans Memorial Building Jan. 27 to listen to eight candidates for a number of state offices and strategize how they might pull off a win during this election year.
The San Benito County Republican Party hosted the event at which eight candidates appeared: Travis Allen, who is running for governor; Peter Kuo for insurance commissioner; Judge Steve Bailey, attorney general; Rob Poythress, Senate, District 12; Johnny Techarra, Senate, District 12; Neal Kitchens, Assembly, 30th District; Nathaniel Mallamace, Assembly, District 30; and Mark P. Meuser, Secretary of State.
Allen, who is from Huntington Beach, was the keynote speaker. His platform is solidly supported by the movement to repeal SB-1, the state gasoline tax. He also is in favor of the idea of a part-time legislature, similar to the Texas model, which Robert Bernosky, a Hollister School District board member, California Republican Party board member, and regional Central Coast Vice-chair described as the “take back California theme.”
“His main thing is common sense California,” said Bernosky. “Repealing the gas tax has been the central point of his platform ever since he started running. His main thought on this is we already have a gas tax, so why don’t we spend it on its intended purpose, which is building new roads and fixing what we have, as opposed to high-speed rail or San Francisco’s subway system [BART]. In San Benito County we can’t get in or out because we only have two-lane roads.”
He said county residents are paying more in gas taxes that are being spent elsewhere in the state.
“What’s bolstering Travis Allen’s case more, and what really upset the California Republican Party, is that a bunch of Republican leaders voted to extend cap and trade, which will add up to 75-cents to a gallon of gas when it’s fully implemented,” Bernosky said. “The gas tax will escalate over time, and then the cap and trade will add even more. As a result, the California Republican Party told the assembly leader he could no longer be the Republican leader in the Assembly.”
Historically, California Republicans have not endorsed candidates, but it looks like that might soon change, according to Bernosky.
“The endorsement process this year is something new, a bit odd,” he said. “For the first time in recent history, the California Republican Party is going to be endorsing for statewide candidates. We historically believe the people should choose our candidates because we’re not kingmakers.”
So what changed?
“The 2016 race for the U.S. Senate in California we had something like 16 people running on the Republican side alone,” he explained. “It was ridiculous. We were never going to make any progress in this state. At the board level, we made a decision for statewide endorsements. The way that’s going to work, let’s say a candidate for an office has to get five of the 23 California board members to vouch for them. Then, they have to go around the state and from eight of our regions they have to get 200 signatures from delegates, the voting members [about 1,700] of the party.”
After they’ve completed these tasks, the candidates must then go to the convention in May where all the delegates must vote on who they want to endorse for the June primary. Bernosky said the board still has to devise how the votes will be taken, but he said whatever form it takes it will consume the convention.
He said the rationale is that by endorsing candidates, voters will be more inclined to turn out to vote for Republican candidates simply because there are fewer of them in the race.
In addition to Allen, Bernosky said he thought Rob Poythress made a good impression on the crowd. Poythress is trying to replace Anthony Cannella, who is termed out. He is presently a supervisor in Madera County.
“He’s been elected a few times by the people and is very plain spoken,” he said. “He’s the exact opposite of Travis Allen. When you look at somebody who has been in public office and made those decisions and he’s carrying that through by saying that’s what he would do in the state legislature. He’s common sense; he’s not ‘we need to take California over again.’ He’s ‘we need to work together to fix water and education.’”
J.W. Paine, a full-time truck driver and chair of the San Benito County Republican Party, was also impressed by Allen’s appearance and his move to repeal the gas tax. Paine looks at the tax from a truck driver’s perspective.
“I spend a lot of money on fuel,” he said while driving his truck. “When I was driving for myself I drove almost 700 miles a day, so that adds up. The company I’m working for now, they’re scared they’re going to lose drivers. The costs trickles down. I bring freight to the stores. It costs them more money, so it’s going to cost the consumer more money.”
He said on a typical day he will fill up his 200-gallon tank at $3.31 a gallon for $662. Before the tax it was $2.81 a gallon or $562 a tank. That’s an addition $100 a fill-up, which must be passed along the supply chain to the ultimate consumer.
“The company I work for has 18 trucks and when you start doing the math it starts getting really crazy,” he said. “Some think Republicans don’t think about the ‘little people,’ but I’m not rich. I leave at 4 a.m. every morning and I don’t get home until about 7 p.m. hauling freight.”
He said the local party is starting a campaign called “Have you had enough yet?” which will be launched at the Feb. 22 meeting at 7 p.m. at the Veterans’ Memorial Building.
“If you want to be heard in San Benito County as a Republican we’re encouraging you to come and talk to us and be part of the solution,” he said. “Our goal is to make people aware and fired up that we can make a change if we get behind not just the governor’s race, but those in the county. People need to stop being silent. They need to stand up and win our state back.”
Local rancher John Eade was also at the candidate meeting and said that the single biggest issue on the table was forming a strategy for taking back California.
“We need to figure out how to get people to vote for Republican candidates in today’s atmosphere,” he said, adding that Republicans need to somehow pass a ballot initiative that would prevent the possibility of two Democrats being the only option for voters, rather than one Republican running against one Democrat.
Bernosky went on to explain that the state is starving itself when it comes to water as it sends trillions of gallons down to the ocean to benefit the Delta Smelt, as well as other issues.
“We allow criminals [to be] here illegally while we take away abilities to defend ourselves,” he continued. “We have unfunded liabilities that surpass the economies of small countries. We have the highest taxes in the country. Highest fuel taxes. The highest income taxes. We have all these taxes along with the highest poverty rate in the nation when you consider housing. Our model just doesn’t work because everything we do in California is controlled out of the Bay Area or L.A. They are bastions of wealth because of Facebook and Google. So they raise our taxes and fees, but the money isn’t spent here.”