Inland Empire drug warrior and political neocon Paul Chabot has abandoned his bid for a seat in the California State Assembly and has instead decided to go for the brass ring by announcing his candidacy for the 31st Congressional District. Although it would certainly be preferable to have Chabot on the other side of the country as far as medical marijuana patients and law reform activists in the Inland Empire are concerned, it would not be as an elected representative in the U.S. Congress.
Chabot is seeking the seat currently occupied by Rep. Gary Miller, R-Rancho Cucamonga, who announced earlier this week that he would not seek reelection. Although Miller claims that he is retiring from Congress because of family concerns, the real reason is most likely due to the redistricting of the 31st Congressional District after the 2010 Census, which switched the district from a Republican stronghold to a district that strongly supported President Barack Obama in his reelection bid. As a consequence the Democratic Party sees the 31st as the most vulnerable Republican Congressional seat in the 2014 election.
Nevertheless Chabot has tossed his hat in the ring and in his announcement that he will seek the 31st Congressional District seat trumpeted that he had received the endorsement of former Rep. Jerry Lewis who represented the nearby 41st Congressional District until he retired in 2013.
Although it is unlikely that Chabot informed former Rep. Lewis of his conviction as a serial liar in my civil lawsuit against Chabot last year, it seems only par for the course that Lewis would support Chabot as Lewis was considered to be one of the most corrupt members of the U.S. Congress. (For information on just how corrupt our home grown former IE Congressman was CLICK HERE).
Chabot is not the only individual to announce a bid for the 31st Congressional District. John Valdivia, councilman for the bankrupt city of San Bernardino was the first Republican to announce for the position and no doubt others will be doing so shortly.
With Democrats poised to take over the district, it is not surprising that a bevy of Democrats have jumped into the race including Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar, Colton attorney Eloise Gomez Reyes, San Bernardino school board member Danny Tillman and former Rep. Joe Baca.
Chabot’s ace-in-the-hole might be that California’s new balloting system pits the top two primary vote-getters against one another, no matter what their party affiliation might be. With so many Democrats battling each other in the primary, Democratic voters could split their vote amongst all of them so that none emerge with the most votes and he might eke out a spot as one of the two top primary vote-getters.
As this race is in our home territory, we will do our best to not allow that to happen by making sure that every voter in the district knows the sordid truth behind scumbag Paul Chabot.
MMJ PATIENTS FACE GOOD, BAD and UGLY BILLS
Three bills have been introduced in this current California State Legislature that could have significant impact on medical marijuana patients.
SB 1262 introduced by law enforcement waterboy Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) is the product of the California Police Chiefs Association and the League of California Cities – the two groups most responsible for the evisceration of Prop. 215. Under this bill, the Department of Health would regulate medical cannabis production and distribution. This is not necessarily a bad thing – the devil is in the details and those details remain to be seen.
The bill does place major restrictions on the ability of doctors to recommend cannabis. This could result in a drastic reduction in the ability of doctors to provide cannabis recommendations and as such would have a significant negative impact on the health of our communities.
AB 604 has been introduced by stalwart supporter and long-time friend of medical marijuana and marijuana law reform Assembly Member Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco). This bill is very similar to the bill Ammiano introduced last and would put control of medical marijuana distribution is in the hands of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Considering how successful the ABC has been in distributing alcohol throughout the state of California, having them control medical marijuana distribution is certainly a viable option that should be taken seriously.
Due to term limits, this is Ammiao’s final year in the state legislature and we will be hard pressed to find a more able spokesperson for marijuana law reform or a more compassionate legislator who truly understands the issues involved and their impact on communities across the state.
AB 1588, introduced by California Assembly Member Connie Conway (R-Visalia) will increase the distance between medical marijuana collectives and schools from 600 feet to 1,000 feet. The bill will impose a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $10,000 for any violation.
Although the bill will bring California law into line with federal law in relation to proximity to schools, it could cause problems for operators in some communities and will provide no benefits of any kind to patients.
Although ASA and CaNORML will be leading the charge to protect patients, as statewide organizations they mainly work with a handful of supportive politicians like Assemblymember Tom Ammiano and State Senator Mark Leno, both from the Bay Area. It is imperative that this base of support be significantly broadened and the group that is on the ground and working to do that is the Brownie Mary Democratic Club.
With BMDCs chartered in Los Angeles, Riverside and Sacramento Counties, BMDC is in a position to contact and influence local elected state legislators. With their exhibit hall booth at the March 7-9 California Democratic Convention, they have the opportunity to directly interact with many legislators from all over the state.
As any businessperson will tell you (and as you can see from their actions and where they spend their money) supporting partisan political groups is essential to developing political clout. The BMDC has raised about $3,500 of the $4,200 needed to develop that clout by having a booth at the California Democratic Convention that is professional both in approach and appearance.
Your donation to the BMDC Convention fund can bring BMDC over the top and do for medical marijuana patients and law reform activists what no other group can do – be a part of and directly interact as an insider with the California Democratic Party – the party that controls the executive and legislative branches of California government lock, stock and barrel.
This is where your hard earned dollars can really count and make a difference – just ask the Koch Brothers. Come on folks – help the BMDC succeed in doing what no one else has ever done before – donate now by CLICKING HERE. BMDC is truly getting into the Big Time and you could help them do it successfully and effectively if you just CLICK HERE.
BROWNIE MARY DEMOCRATIC CLUB OF RIVERSIDE MEETING
Brownie Mary Democratic Club meeting – Wednesday, March 5 at 6 p.m. Final plans for the BMDC booth at the 2014 California State Democratic Convention. Meeting precedes the MAPP meeting at the THCF Patient Center, 647 Main St., Unit 4D, Riverside 92501.
MARIJUANA COMPASSION AND COMMON SENSE RADIO SHOW
A skilled and seasoned medical marijuana attorney running for Long Beach City Attorney and a skilled and seasoned medical marijuana activists running to keep from being imprisoned are the featured guests on the Monday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. broadcast and simulcast of the award winning radio show Marijuana Compassion and Common Sense.
Famed medical marijuana attorney Matthew Pappas is running for the position of Long Beach City Attorney. Pappas is best known for his successful lawsuit that invalidated the city’s convoluted medical marijuana ordinance which first allowed cannabis collectives to apply for costly permits to grow and distribute marijuana, then held a botched lottery to select winners, then failed to provide a single permit, then banned them altogether and now is considering legalizing them again.
He has also represented landlords threatened with asset forfeiture by the feds and is currently representing patients in a fascinating lawsuit to overturn the disastrous Riverside decision by invoking California’s Disabled Person’s Act.
In his bid for City Attorney, he has proposed that all police be required to wear video cameras in order to reign in the brutality charges that have been leveled against them.
Our second guest is Joe Grumbine, the beleaguered Garden Grove/Long Beach collective operator that has been undergoing a five year pogrom of court trials, appearances and appeals. From a barely sentient elderly judge to hopefully supportive judges on 2nd District Court of Appeals last week, Joe has been through it all.
Join the most definitely sentient crew every week as they bring you news, views, interviews, humor and so much more every Monday at 6 p.m. broadcast in the IE at KCAA 1050AM and simulcast throughout the world at www.kcaaradio.com where you can hear them clicking on TUNE IN HERE at the top of the home page or, if you dare, see them in the KCAA studios by clicking on U-STREAM.
Want to advertise and help support the show while getting the word out about whatever it is you want to get the word out about – call Lanny at 760-799-2055 or send an email to: [email protected].
If you haven’t donated to the BMDC Convention Fund – you still can – just CLICK HERE.
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