Election Thoughts

Well we are one week away from our local elections here in Riverside County. Today we will talk about the local State Senate Race

28th Senate

This race started off in the sewer and has sunk even lower. The 3 main Republicans in the race, Jeff Stone, Bonnie Garcia, and Glenn Miller have all acted atrociously. Juvenile behavior and crazy antics. The latest bombshell in this race is the release of a road rage incident involving Jeff Stone back in December. .http://www.pe.com/sections/news/politics/.

Jeff Stone according to the above article pulls out an honorary badge and flashes it at another driver. This happens in December. No action is taken against Stone and the real cops, the Riverside Sheriff's Association endorses him in February. Wow. So the group that is so exercised over campaign signs being torn down has no problem with a fake badge?

Meanwhile Bonnie Garcia has not seemed to catch traction with the voters. Press stunts and an outside committee that has spent several hundred thousand dollars on her campaign seem to have little traction.

Then you have Glenn Miller who through the work of longtime Democrat Greg Pettis has received the endorsement of  Equality California which in this valley is primarily Stone Wall Democrats. Mr. Miller who hopes his Coachella Valley base will help him in the primary, has been widely attacked in GOP circles for accepting this endorsement. Also many local Democrats are mad at Mr. Pettis for going off the reservation.

Even though he is given little if no chance, Democrat Phil Drucker is probably thrilled probably thrilled to be below the radar in this mess.

League 3 Send Them Here To USA

One of the many benefits of the communications revolution in the past quarter century has been the ability of football fans in the US to watch the greatest league in the world, the Barclays EPL. The pace, the drama and the excitement has spawned millions of fans across the pond. BT's Ian Darke is now a cult hero in the US and is considered the voice of football here. (Let's skip Piers Morgan doing analysis for an Arsenal FA quarterfinal on Fox. Yikes)

I try to keep up with all aspects of the game and recently read the proposal by Greg Dyke about the creation of a League 3. Basically a farm system of younger players. It got me to thinking. Instead of tinkering with and destroying traditions that go back generations, why not look across the pond and try to do an affiliation deal with MLS?

There are already a few dual ownerships between the leagues. Each Premiere league club could send out 3 players each and have them subject to recall. That would be 60, young English players getting match time. They would guaranteed playing time and their wages should be supplied by the parent teams.

While MLS may at first be hesitant, the influx of talent and a visiting summer friendly by the parent club would go along way to making this possible. It would also go about increasing the visibility of the BPL in the largest sports media market in the world.

I certainly don't mean to impose my views on anyone but one of the reasons I love English football is the history of the clubs both big and small. Plus the fact that small clubs have their most die hard supporters. Leave them alone.

Order In Judge Kelly's Court 2014 RivCo DA Election.

With only a few weeks to go, it is getting close to the wire in the important Riverside County DA Race. Incumbent Paul Zellerbach has stumbled badly with sign gate. His energetic opponent Mike Hestrin has played it cool and continues to hammer Judge Z with attacks on office morale and crime statistics. Zellerbach has tried hard to link Hestrin with former DA Rod Pacheco, a Colonel Flagg from MASH like character. Hestrin is endorsed by the Desert Sun and Zellerbach by the Press Enterprise.

Where We Stand Now: Right now I think the challenger has a lead. One wild card may be  how the public feels about the funding for Hestrin's campaign. Hovering over the campaign like Banquo"s ghost,are huge donantions from the Deputy DA's union, Riverside Sheriff's Association and local police unions. Most of the police groups have achieved some form of infamy over the last few years with the funding of sleazy attack ads against opponents both real and imaginary. The DA's association of course has a very vested interest in who their boss is.

I interviewed Mr. Hestrin and was impressed with his manner and decorum. He came across as calm and dself-assured. I am awaiting a response from Judge Zellerbach. Mr. Hestrin has denied he is linked at all to Rod Pacheco and also says he will be a capable administrator. He has also been endorsed by former DA Grover "BBK Rainmaker" Trask. Trask literally lives next door to Zellerbach. Awkward.

Another wild card in the race is how much the sign gate aspect of the story has penetrated Western Riverside County. The media market for them is LA and I doubt the Great Indio Blvd Sign Massacre has gotten as much notice there. Out here in the desert we have been inundated with a ton of sign reportage. (One station in fact is using it as TV promo material!! Bad form.) 

This election should prove fascinating.

Steve Kelly can be heard everyday on 1450 KPTR Palm Springs or on 1450kptr.com from 4p to 6p Pacific