Hollister
– Citing official Republican nominee Anthony De Maio’s
”
non-candidacy,
”
local businessman Jeff Taylor has entered the race for the 17th
district of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Hollister – Citing official Republican nominee Anthony De Maio’s “non-candidacy,” local businessman Jeff Taylor has entered the race for the 17th district of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“I just felt a strong call to serve people locally,” Taylor said.
Taylor, 47, told the Free Lance that he first felt that call a little more than six months ago, after it was too late to get on the ballot as an official candidate. However, when De Maio didn’t seem to be running a serious campaign, Taylor decided to become a write-in candidate.
“Now’s as good a time as any,” he said. “If we don’t win this year, we’ll get established for ’08.”
Taylor faces a tough race, launching a campaign barely two weeks before the election and going up against incumbent Democrat Sam Farr, who won more than two-thirds of the vote in the last three elections. Taylor said he is starting a phone and e-mail tree today, and that he recently put in an order for some yard signs.
“It might be a waste of time, but you’ve got to do something,” Taylor said.
One of the biggest issues the country faces, he said, is “moral degradation.” Taylor said he wants to fight against pressures to “take God out of schools and public life.”
He explained, “I’m not advocating pushing Christianity on anybody. But you ought to be able to experience it in a public place.”
One cause of this degradation, Taylor said, is popular culture. He cited MTV as a specific example of a channel that broadcasts inappropriate material, and recommended cable channels should have to follow the same decency standards imposed on regular networks.
“As a Christian person, it offends me,” Taylor said.
He added that it’s currently too easy to get an abortion.
“I don’t believe in overturning Roe vs. Wade, but we should be doing more to protect unborn children,” he said.
He also expressed strong feelings about America’s military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Taylor said he supports U.S. President George W. Bush’s plan to reduce troop levels based on achieving political benchmarks, rather than setting a timetable.
“We have to be supportive and encouraging of the free government by the people of these countries,” he said. “The sooner we can help them achieve that, the sooner we can retract.”
Taylor, whose family used to own produce packaging company Fresh Express and who recently sold his landscape supply business, has the endorsement of the Monterey County Republican Committee. Taylor and Committee Political Director Brandon Gesicki said that De Maio, the official candidate, has not been running a serious campaign, and that he has not returned their phone calls and e-mails.
When asked about Taylor’s candidacy, Gesicki said, “We’re very excited that someone with such community stature is running.”
The Free Lance called the number listed as De Maio’s campaign office. The phone was answered by an unidentified woman who hung up immediately after saying that De Maio left the state due to a family emergency.
Farr issued a statement on Tuesday responding to Taylor’s candidacy.
“Well, it’s every American’s prerogative to engage in the electoral process as they see fit,” Farr said. “I guess a write-in campaign is one way to do that, though I suspect the real reason the local Republican party is mounting this effort is because their official Republican nominee seems to have disappeared and left the state – and that’s a real embarrassment.”
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or ah*@fr***********.com.
