California’s 19th Senatorial District Deserves Better Than Tony Strickland

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Marie Lakin

WHEN STATE LEGISLATORS did their grand gerrymandering of legislative districts back in 2001, one of the most egregious errors was the odd mishmash that is Senate District 19. It encompasses Ventura County, Santa Barbara County and part of Santa Clarita.

The Santa Barbara coastline and Ventura, which were once represented by Jack O'Connell, fell under the vastly reconfigured district of Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), one of the most conservative members of the Legislature.

The more moderate voices of Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Barbara and Ojai have felt distinctly left out ever since. No wonder then that as McClintock leaves his seat after being termed out, a strong Democratic contender, Hannah-Beth Jackson, has emerged to take on the far-right Tony Strickland for SD-19.

I have been an admirer of Jackson's for a long time. She owned a business in Ventura for 22 years and was an extremely effective legislator while in the Assembly and a champion for every cause I value -- education, the environment, consumer protection, public safety and women's issues.

I was also one of the Mound Elementary School parents who in 2000 found myself with a young child sickened at school by a serious pesticide overspray incident from a neighboring orchard. The farmer was substantially fined. In response to our pleas, Jackson brought together environmental and agricultural advocates who are frequently adversaries in support of legislation that empowered county agricultural commissioners to impose conditions on the use of pesticide applications near schools and other sensitive sites.

Tony Strickland voted against it.

I wanted to avoid overtly political statements on my blog, but a succession of mailers from the Strickland camp has sent me over the edge.

STRICKLAND IS NOW CALLING HIMSELF an alternative energy executive in an obvious attempt to diffuse an extremely poor environmental record while in the Assembly. With a lifetime score of nearly zero from the California League of Conservation Voters, Strickland is no friend of the environment. He has opposed legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect children's health from pollutants, and re-authorize the state's recycling program, among many other environmentally friendly measures. He even opposed a bill to increase California's supply of clean, renewable energy.