Ventura County in Southern California is represented in the Congress by Elton Gallegly, a Simi Valley Republican who has served for ten terms and will, after some indecision, run again in the fall.
I disagree with Gallegly on many issues, but it’s a fact that he has avoided the worst excesses of the modern-day GOP, as discussed in this long story today in the Ventura County Star. He wisely kept his distance from corrupt and corrupting Tom Delay, and he has always tried to work with others in the county, which has led him to support a number of important local environmentally-minded actions.
These include support for a study on how best to bring down Matilija dam, and support for the construction of an underground reservoir in the Oxnard Plain recommended by local water managers. This reservoir will help keep seawater from contaminating the aquifer. At the same time, it makes possible the safe storage of a great deal of water at a moderate cost, which could be crucial in case of early melting of the Sierra snow pack, which is one of the likely effects of global warming on our state.
Interestingly, he doesn’t trumpet these achievements on his website. He’s a senior member of the House Committee on Resources, chaired by the notorious anti-environmental zealot Richard Pombo. Pombo is now loathed not only by Democrats, but even by Republicans such as legendary former Congressman Pete McCloskey, one of the original sponsors of the Endangered Species Act, who despite being seventy-four years old, is so outraged that he has moved to Tracy and launched a campaign against Pombo.
Pombo, who was close to Delay, and who has taken substantial funds from Indian tribes, is paying a price for his extremism. According to the Star:
Democratic pollster Ben Tulchin recently conducted a poll in California’s 11th Congressional District in the San Joaquin Valley. The district is represented by six-term Republican Richard Pombo, who also faces a primary challenge this spring. Its political makeup closely mirrors Gallegly’s district.
The poll found 37 percent of voters inclined to re-elect Pombo, 52 percent disinclined.
Having an opponent in the primary can spell problems for an incumbent, Tulchin said. "That’s how incumbents lose typically, when they get challenged in the primary," he said. "It means somebody has already started to make the case against the guy, whether it’s Gallegly, Pombo or (Roseville Republican Rep. John) Doolittle."
Update: According to a big story on the most vulnerable of incumbent Congressmen in California by Rone Tempest in the LATimes, both Pombo and his fellow Tom Delay crony John Dolittle are not seriously threatened, thanks to "avid supporters" in their "spectacularly gerrymandered" districts. This story discounts the poll mentioned above.
Update 2: According to a big story by Adam Nagourney on the most vulnerable of incumbent Congressmen nationwide in the NYTimes, the number of Republican seats in play nationwide has jumped to thirty-six, up from twenty-four just a few months ago, and includes Pombo’s district, largely because the Democrats have succeeded in "nationalizing" the election.
Kit Stolz 