Is It OK To “Carpetbag”?
Full disclosure, I am a paid staff member of the Goehring for Congress campaign. This article is solely meant to reflect my personal views as a political observer. I apologize for any misunderstanding arising from the lack of a disclosure on initial publication. David Creager (dcreager123@yahoo.com).
Anyone who paid attention to high school level American History learned about carpetbaggers, northerners who went to the south to run for office after the civil war. It’s an old tactic for cheap political victory and personal gain, but does it still mean that? In my home congressional district there are two Republicans carpetbagging in order to run against a vulnerable incumbent. Thus the question arises, are they running because they are a good candidate, because they represent their potential constituents, or are they running for personal enrichment and a political job?
These two candidates, Larry Pegram and Tony Amador are both from outside of the 11th district as recently as within the last month or two. Furthermore, they are way out. The district is comprised of the east bay area and the San Joaquin valley, yet Larry Pegram lives in San Jose, and Tony Amador recently moved from Sacramento. Neither of which have any tie in any sense to the 11th Congressional district. They don’t like to talk about this fact, yet the fact remains they don’t even know our district. Pegram was even quoted recently as claiming McNerney rode the Obama wave into office, even though he was elected two years before Obama even ran for president. Obviously he is out of touch with even the most basic history of the district. None of the candidates have a background in transportation, a key issue in the east bay, and only one Republican, Brad Goehring, has a history in Ag and Water issues, the key issues in the valley. Just recently in that much talked about special election in NY-23 where the conservative party candidate took on a Democrat head to head after Scazzofava the liberal Republican dropped out the conservative lost. Not because he didn’t represent the district, the district is a strongly conservative district, but because Congressional elections are local elections, and the Conservative candidate was not a resident of the district.
So what causes a candidate like Larry Pegram or Tony Amador to run for a district in which they have no history, no name ID, no knowledge of key local issues, and no ability to raise money?
Here’s what I want to know, and I would love your feedback on this issue, does it bother you to see candidates relocate simply for a job? Should constituents demand their candidates for office be local to the position they are running for? And, should state law be amended to bar candidates from running who do not have an established residence in a district, at least at the time they file for office, and possibly for 3-6 months in advance?
