Ken White, Democratic Candidate for the 61st Assembly

It has been one week since I sent out email to Ken White, Norma Torres and Paul Vincent Avila, inviting them to write a statement for the blog. I received timely email over the weekend from Mr. White.


Neither Mayor Torres or Mr. Avila responded to my email. Since I signed up for Mayor Torres' newsletters, I did receive a copy of "Manny and Orlando hit the streets for Norma" in my mailbox today from her campaign. I guess Dawn must be voting for Ken White. Thanks to Ren, this photo from the other day shows what Norma's boarded-up window on her campaign office looks like now.

A big Goddess of Pomona welcome to Ken White, whose full statement begins.....now:

"Hello,

I would like to introduce myself to the bloggers here at the Goddess of Pomona’s website. My name is Ken White, Democratic candidate for the 61st Assembly District.

As I understand it, a “b”-“log” is a reference to an electronic logbook or diary. This kind of activity requires, I think, a dedication to honesty in part because the purpose of the activity is an attempt to learn something important. Honesty, as George Washington said, is “always the best policy.” In that spirit, I have been invited to make a statement here in order to help the community learn about one of their candidates for the 61st Assembly District in the Democratic primary election on June 3, 2008. I appreciate this opportunity to introduce myself to you all, and I hope the following information is of some use to you. If not, then I invite you to pursue further inquiries with me directly through the campaign’s website at www.votekenwhite.com.

The best way to get to know me is to appreciate the importance of education in my life. My educational background reflects my commitment to honesty and learning, because education itself is a search for truth. I have been successful in academia as a law school graduate, a Master of Political Science and an A.B.D. student at Claremont Graduate University in Political Science. I have served as the editor-in-chief of a law school newspaper, and I have been honored for pro bono legal work on behalf of victims of HIV/AIDS and domestic violence. I have experience working at all levels of the legal process, from trial to appeals (primarily in capital defense and homicide cases) and I am an expert in constitutional and criminal law. Since 2002, I have worked in the California Community College system and the California State University system teaching Business Law, Legal Communications, Legal Terminology, American Politics, Criminal Law, and Principles and Procedures of the Criminal Law. I have numerous publications, and recently I was honored for authoring a book on the War on Terror at Cal Poly Pomona. These experiences have proved that I am a quick-learner, a lucid thinker and communicator, and a leader with a record of professionalism.

For two years I served as an associate of Governmental Relations for a California Community College. This work involved extensive “face time” with public officials in Sacramento, including the Governor’s office. As an attorney I have been involved in cases where the stakes are literally life and death. As a teacher I have organized large groups of diverse individuals with different needs and wants, and different experiences and abilities. In all these situations I have proved successful at articulating and defending the right point-of-view as best as I could understand it, without alienating the other side or belittling another person’s point-of-view. Despite the undeniable corruption involved in government work, I believe that the law and politics is a noble enterprise, and I am trying my best to fit into that tradition of good politics with this campaign by giving people in the community something positive to vote for.

If elected, I promise to read bills before voting on them. When serving in committees, I promise to ask tough questions and work to prevent waste of taxpayer dollars. I promise to use my skills of deliberation and debate, learned as a licensed attorney in the State Bar of California and a college professor, on behalf of the common good. In Sacramento, the need (now and always) is for legislators to lead by example and approach the job of deliberation with the seriousness it deserves. When formulating and evaluating public policy, it is necessary for Assembly members to argue the merits of policy on the basis of facts and evidence by trying to persuade people with reason and arguments (not demagoguery or appeal to base prejudice). If elected, I promise to represent the will of the 61st Assembly District by listening to the concerns of all residents, not just a particularly privileged few, well-placed powerful people.

When it comes to policy priorities, I believe that Chino, Montclair, Ontario, and Pomona need better schools and more peace officers working neighborhood patrols. When it comes to schools, I think it is a shame and a public moral failure that our kids go to public schools in trailers, as if their education were a mere temporary thing that we want to do on the cheap. Education is the way to a strong economy and a free society; a more educated population is a happier, healthier, and safer community. I want to see all of California’s youth have the opportunity to learn (from preschool to community college) for free, and to pay for this I want to (1) protect education funding and (2) streamline bureaucracy. There are too many people in California’s politics that want to either (1) close public schools or (2) spend education money on frivolous matters (things other than the students). I have seen administrative waste in our school system, both as a student and as a teacher, and I want to do something to stop it. Of all the candidates, I am in the best position to speak on education policy and the need to protect funding (and ensure adequate expenditure of those funds). No one else is better informed or able than I am to protect California’s students from overreaching bureaucrats and public unions. It is important to note that I have not been bought and paid for by any side of the education debate, so I am free to work and speak for the students and their best interests (rather than the special interests).

When it comes to public safety, I want to support our peace officers and increase the size of their ranks. I currently train peace officers at Chaffey College in the Administration of Justice Department. Both as a teacher and as counsel for the defense bar, I have learned that most of our law enforcement personnel are professional individuals who want simply to earn a living wage in exchange for risking their lives in the service of their community. I want to see more peace officers working traffic patrol, deterring reckless drivers and speeders, and I also want to see more peace officers working outside of the patrol car, walking neighborhoods or riding bicycles or scooters or carts (or anything else that gets officers in face-to-face contact with the people they protect and serve). Most crimes are preventable simply by the presence of a uniformed officer near the scene. Those crimes that do occur are usually solved, if they are solved at all, with the help of informant citizens who feel safe enough to report criminal acts to the police. Getting officers into face-to-face situations with the community deters crime (by their presence) and facilitates trust between the police and the community (increasing reports of suspicious activity). I understand both the need for a strong police presence and the need to supervise the exercise of police power, and if elected I will utilize my knowledge and experience of the criminal law to address the crime and prison crisis in California.

I hope that the above information gives a fair impression of how I will work on behalf of the community in a principled and honest way, if elected to serve as your representative in Sacramento. My ultimate concern is our constitutional system, which requires education and security. If we do not know about our rights, then we cannot exercise them. And if we are not safe, then we are not free to pursue happiness or otherwise exercise our inalienable rights. To solve the many, many policy problems we are facing right now—e.g., global warming, access to health care, water, transportation, the War in Iraq, etc.—we need to be informed and safe, and we need to have access to our public officials. In candor, I am the most qualified candidate to address the policy problems facing California and the country. I am not looking to be anointed into office for the purpose of aggrandizing my ego or feathering the nests of my friends—I am running to serve the people; all of them. If you would like to know more about this campaign for common sense politics, please contact me directly through the campaign’s website at www.votekenwhite.com.

I am promising to be “the most representative Representative” in Sacramento. To do that, I need the help of ordinary, reasonable, and prudent people. So, please, tell your friends about this campaign; get informed and get involved. Let the voters know that they have a choice to put a fresh, frank voice in Sacramento—someone who will not be struck by the “star” power of the Governor, but rather someone who is capable and committed to providing for everyone by fighting for ideas that serve everyone. In this campaign, I am proud to say that I have not been bought by lobbyists—my campaign has been funded by individuals, so I do not owe any special interests any special favors. Whether waste or abuse comes from the left or the right of the ideological spectrum, if elected I will use the office of the Assembly to fight for common sense solutions that we can all believe in and support. Please vote for Ken White for Assembly this June 3rd. This is your government, so demand that it start working for you—not as a matter of charity, but as a right!

Sincerely,

Ken White"

THE END