Is Neil Blais a supporter of pension spikes and the union agenda?
Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjöld | 09/18/2007 12:30 PM
It appears that the Todd Spitzer endorsement may have backfired on Rancho Santa Margarita city councilman Neil Blais' bid for the 71st Assembly seat.
Orange County Register columnist Steve Greenhut, THE political reporter in the OC, posted the following in the Orange Punch Blog today, where he groups Neil Blais in with the corrupt, big-government/pro union Orange County sheriff Mike Carona.
Is Neil Blais a supporter of pension spikes and the union agenda?
From Steven Greenhut:
I don’t know anything about Neil Blais, the Rancho Santa Margarita council member who is running for the 71st district Assembly seat. No one knows much about Republican primary candidates at this early stage in the race. They all claim to be solid, fiscally responsible conservatives — and they all champion the endorsements they receive. Hence, my snide headline.
Blais just sent out a press release championing the endorsement of Orange Republican Todd Spitzer. I don’t know anything about Blais, but I do know that Spitzer, as county supervisor, pushed forward a massive retroactive pension spike for the deputies union. His fiscal irresponsibility is leading to the current fracas at the board. I do know that Spitzer is a sold-out supporter of law enforcement unions, someone who opposes the disclosure of public records about abusive deputies and someone who led the charge against three modest reforms this year designed to assure that people aren’t wrongfully convicted. Spitzer also is a big spender when it comes to state bonds. Mike Schroeder, another Blais endorser mentioned in the press release, is a close ally of the sheriff, and Mike Carona also endorses similar big-government/pro-union policies as Spitzer. Ackerman is a mixed bag, but he has opposed property rights (Prop. 90), open records (SB 1019) and is known for pushing liberal former assemblywoman Lynn Daucher to run for the state Senate.
Does Blais support such policies?
This is from the Blais statement:
“In a major announcement, today 71st Assembly District incumbent Todd Spitzer joined his colleagues Senator Dick Ackerman and former GOP Chairman Mike Schroeder in supporting Neil Blais for the open 71st Assembly District.
“‘Neil Blais is a no-nonsense conservative who will continue to fight for public safety and the rights of crime victims,’ said Assemblyman Spitzer. ‘Neil will be a strong voice to protect local control and will fight against government waste. I am proud to support him to take my place in the State Assembly.’”
OK, I have a serious point: I’d like to see these candidates point to their specific positions, not just deal in broad rhetoric (being a no-nonsense conservative, for instance) and not just champion the support of other politicians.
That's only in tha Mornin', sposed to be up cookin brefast for somebody...its like an alarm clock Woo...
Then why was Jeff Miller crying his eyes out when he didn't get these endorsements? The truth be known is that Miller was in desparate straights to get these and he didn't. So now you have no choice but to try and spin it into something that it isn't.
Greenhut has asked legitimate questions, and I expect Mr. Blais will have no problem answering his questions. And when that happens, will you be so quick to post them here as well when you find out that you don't get the answers you want to hear?
When did you see Miller "crying his eyes out"? I haven't even heard a response out of him.
Miller Has answered the questions publicly, and the reason I support him is because he gets grassroots (conservative) republicans elected to local office.
He is willing to stick his reputation on the line for the right conservative, he donates, and introduces local grassroots candidates to donors.
We need Jeff Miller in Assembly. Conservatives will benefit, and I'd be willing to bet that we'd pick up more school board seats and city council seats in the 71st with Miller in Sacramento, that's just the kind of guy he is.
So have you ever met Neil Blais Mr. Ragnar? Have you ever bothered to sit down and talk to him about philosophy or what he has or has not done? No, I didn't think so.
But I know one thing, I know where Mr. Blais stands since I work in his city and have seen first hand some of what he does stand for. So just get over the fact that Mr. Blais scored a few major OC endorsments that Miller needed, the incumbent Assemblyman, and the Senate Minority Leader, let alone one of the most influential politicians in Orange County, and move on.
It is a long way to June.
Fake Corona Voter:
Don't put words in my mouth. I have served on an organization with Blais, as well as another organization with Miller. I know both of them, yet have not discussed philosophy with either. I have seen with my own two eyes, Jeff Miller helping advance my conservative, partisan values, and have asked countless times: What has Neil Blais done for the Republican Party? Nobody can answer.
Ragnar, do you even live in the 71st District? I don't know about Corona and Norco, but virtually every city council and school board seat in the OC portion of the 71st are already occupied by conservative republicans, with very few exceptions. So if you have a problem in Riverside County with this, then you should go ask your county party chair why he hasn't done a better job. And if he needs Sacramento's help in getting conservative republicans in office, then he certainly cannot be much of a leader.
Karl Rove:
Thank you for giving me another opportunity to say, that the reason I'm supporting Miller is because he has a proven, successful track record of getting Republicans elected to local office. I have emphasized that in every comment on this post, and yes, there is proof.
Are you implying that we shouldn't pick up any more city council/school board seats here & there?
Do you really think Blais would do a better job at getting more Republicans elected to local office?
If you do, than you've proved that you're as smart as you sounded in your last comment. (If you'd like, I can delete your last comment for you, I'd hate to make you look bad)
Yes, I do live in the 71st.
No, I have no problem picking up what few remaining non-republican seats that exist out there in the 71st. I would expect no less from any good republican. But you clearly wanted to imply that the 71st is lacking in republican seats at the local level, when in fact that is not the case (at least in OC), and that Miller is the only one who can save the day. Trying to spin a non-issue into something that it is not clearly demonstrates your lack of ability to focus on the true issues. And yes, I do believe that Blais can do a better job. And one thing is clear as well, the incumbent assemblyman and the Senate Minority leader have concluded that Blais is the best person to do the most effective job in advancing the republican agenda in the district, and in Sacramento. That is why they endorsed him. And as you know too well, those endorsements will speak volumes in June.
Where was it implied that the 71st was lacking in Republican seats?
No spin, I'm just stating that an important issue to me is getting rid of the few Dem's that are elected to the local seats, because even though they are the minority, they are constantly screwing everything up.
The Spitzer endorsement means nothing, because all it is is a means for Spitzer to cover his losses for his DA run by helping out the OC guy.
You believe that Blais can do a better job, yet have nothing to back it up with. I ask again: What has he done for the Republican Party?