Last week California Assemblyman Ted Gaines continued to show his constituents in the 4th Assembly district that he does not possess the character to represent them in the state legislature.
Voters, Republican, Democrat, Decline to State, or any other party affiliation would agree that Mr. Gaines’ service in the state legislature is self-serving. Before Mr. Gaines makes a decision, he asks himself, what is in it for Ted Gaines.
Character Issue Number 1 - Lets start with Mr. Gaines’ support or lack of support for California Congressman John Doolittle. Many of you know that John Doolittle is under investigation for his ties to Jack Abramoff. During the 2006 election, Mr. Gaines was one of Congressman Doolittle’s biggest supporters. They even held a victory party together on election night. I do not believe there have been any new details of the investigation since before the 2006 election.
In the August 31st edition of the Sacramento Bee, Mr. Gaines came out and said he would probably challenge Congressman Doolittle in the June 2008 primary. I do not think any incumbent should have a lock on their seat. However, how does Ted Gaines stand up and support John Doolittle and then say he is going to challenge him in the primary? Ted Gaines is an opportunist. This type of politician is what the people of California complain about. With a friend like Ted Gaines, Congressman John Doolittle does not need any political enemies.
Character Issue Number 2 – How many of you would like a job where you earn $130,000 a year, are given a car, a gas credit card to pay for all your trips and an extra $35,000 just to drive from your home in Roseville to downtown Sacramento? Many of us would jump at that opportunity. That $35,000 is per diem that California Assembly members are paid when the Assembly is in session. This amounts to approximately $165/day. I do not have a problem with members who are from Southern California or who live a few hundred miles away from the capital accepting the per diem. Ted Gaines lives approximately 20 miles from the capital and collects the per diem. Last December, I called Mr. Gaines chief of staff, Steve Davey, and asked how could Ted Gaines accept this extra $35,000/year while many state workers who live in the foothills do not have this benefit. Mr. Davey said, “IT IS A SACRIFICE FOR TED GAINES TO SERVE IN THE ASSEMBLY.” It’s a sacrifice? When I hear the word sacrifice, I think of the men and women of our armed forces, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of course Mr. Gaines would not understand that type of sacrifice. He never put on the uniform of our armed forces. He considers driving 20 miles to the state capital his sacrifice.
The liberal California State Senator from Sacramento, Darrell Steinberg, turns down the per diem because he does not have to commute. Mr. Gaines does not commute. Unless Ted thinks 20 miles is a commute. I think Mr. Gaines might be able to learn something from the liberal senator.
Maybe the reason why Mr. Gaines wants to be a Congressman is because it pays more than a California Assemblyman. Remember, Mr. Gaines thinks what’s in it for Ted before he makes a decision.
Character Issue Number 3 – Mr. Gaines calls himself a conservative. However, he is only a conservative when politically he thinks he can score some points. Most conservatives believe in providing parents as many opportunities possible when it comes to educating our children. During the 2006 election there were a couple of candidates for the Rocklin School Board that supported a very successful charter school in the Rocklin Unified School District. This elementary charter school has the highest test scores in the neighboring 3 counties. Their test scores are probably near the top for the entire state of California. There is a waiting list of hundreds of families trying to get into the school. That does not include the families who did not bother to put their names on the waiting list because they knew they would never get in. These candidates lost the election. One reason for their loss was Mr. Gaines supported the 3 candidates endorsed by the anti-charter school California Teachers Association. In fact, the CTA provided these candidates $15,000 to run against the pro-charter school candidates. At the Republican victory party, Mr. Gaines chief of staff, Steve Davey, bragged that the union supported candidates were going nowhere until Ted and his campaign staff stepped in. Mr. Gaines helped spend the CTA money. The people of Rocklin, California can thank Assemblyman Ted Gaines for eliminating their choice of schools for their children. Someone should ask Ted Gaines where his kids went to school. Rumor is they did not go to public school. However, that is just a rumor.
Ted Gaines is the type of politician that gives politicians a bad name. However, I am happy that Mr. Gaines is going to challenge Congressman Doolittle. If he challenges the Congressman, he cannot run for re-election for his assembly seat. I think Congressman Doolittle would defeat Mr. Gaines in the primary. If that happens we would only be stuck with an Assemblyman with no character for 1 more year.