Andy Pugno vs Beth Gaines

Assembly District 6 is one of those heavily-Republican districts gerrymandered into existence by partisan Democrat redistricting in the long reign of that political rave in California. The incumbent in District 6 is Beth Gaines.

In the last days prior to the election, Gaines employed strategic disinformation. Whereas misinformation is accidental, disinformation is intentional. On her website homepage, www.bethgaines.com, Beth says:

One of my top priorities is to protect small businesses from frivolous lawsuits. Trial lawyers have too much power at the State Capitol and I am standing up to them.

If she invests time in this arena, should she not have special, detailed knowledge of the machinations of the trial lawyer culture and society? If so, how did Gaines manage to arrive at the incorrect conclusion, that Andrew Pugno (quote from last-days flyer mailed out just prior to election):

ran an organization that circumvented nonprofit laws to allow special interests to pay for legislative junkets in Hawaii – all tax deductible

Andrew Pugno filed his candidacy and identified himself as a lawyer. Mr. Pugno is one of the chief names listed amongst those who have stood up for the will of the California people in recent years. When the people voted yes on 8, Arnold Schwartzenegger's government refused to enforce it.

Private citizens stood up and took up that banner. First, Andrew Pugno fought for the right to represent the people and defend the desire of the citizenry. He won. Today, he continues to fight to defend marriage (and family).

Mr. Pugno is a California estate planner. According to his site, pugnolaw.com, he practiced law in downtown Sacramento for a few years. In 2004, he opened a private practice. Since then, he works in estate planning and serves as a tax advocate, lowering the tax bills of taxpayers.

Mr. Pugno's resume is impressive. You can review his education, major achievements, and experience on his website: Andrew Pugno professional experience

One of the primary reasons voters support Mr. Pugno is because of his staunch position in defense of marriage.

Beth Gaines is the current holder of the 4th Assembly District seat. Beth gained the seat after her husband, Ted Gaines, vacated it in 2011. Mr. Gaines won a seat in the California state Senate in January. She won an election on May 4, 2011 over Mountain Democrat adversary, Dennis Campanale.

Before March, Mrs. Gaines worked for her family insurance firm. A few weeks before the election, Gaines and her husband incorporated a business. Mrs. Gaines is listed as fifty percent owner. In my opinion, I feel it is a tactic, and listing Mrs. Gaines as a small business owner is misleading.

However, Beth Gaines has done some good work. Recently (May, 2012), she sponsored AB 1879. The bill limits the wide berth allowed to those filing ADA lawsuits. In my local area, I have seen many builders pay outstanding costs to meet ADA regulations- for circumstances in which the probability of a wheelchair on-site was almost zero.

For example, how likely is a wheelchair-bound worker to operate milking equipment in a milking parlor? In other cases, some people have made fortunes by traveling around to different businesses in the state- whose services they would never have sought out and whose addresses are far from their residences.

Their only purpose in being there is finding a technical infraction and suing. Some of these suits have a $50,000 payout.

Standing up against the image of handicapped persons is a tough position to take. But, it is necessary. The real problem is the wording of some laws, and the limited latitude allowed to judges and government building departments to find reasonable outcomes.

It appears Beth Gaines hit the ground running when she took office.

Beth Gaines won. And, she won big.

Gaines took in 69% of the vote. Pugno received just 30%. It seems to be an ugly win, however. There is definitely some disinformation in play. Here is the comment I left on a news article:

According to an email Pugno sent out after the primary, his OFFER of support after the primary was REJECTED. Furthermore, I emailed a response expressing this: Because of the underhanded methods employed by Gaines, any friendly agreement, IF they had been made, would have been broken.
Fact is, it looks like Gaines will do a good job, based on her short history in the seat. However, leaders like Pugno are desperately needed. It appears to be a good win for the people. But, a Pugno win would have been a real victory of hope.

Best hopes for Beth. We wish you a great success as our servant and representative.

In California Assembly District 21, there is a close race between Adam Gray and Jack Mobley. This race is important. Unlike the Pugno vs. Gaines contest, there is one clear preference in the Gray vs. Mobley race. Adam Gray received a half million dollars from the Democratic National Party. He received more than a half million more from special interest groups. His campaign is simple: promise nothing, make vague claims about "bipartisanship" and "clean up a mess". Meanwhile, Adam Gray is exactly part of the mess. Big money supports him because he is part of them.

Jack Mobley, on the other hand, has a long history of success in business, working with government, and success across a variety of endeavors. Mobley is the kind of leader this state needs.