Fresno Republican Mike Der Manouel Jr. says in a GOP political blog that Cal Minor, a retired California Highway Patrol captain, will easily defeat Assistant Sheriff Margaret Mims in the November runoff election for Fresno County sheriff. The main reason, according to Der Manouel, is Fresno County is a solid Republican county. Minor is a Republican and Mims is a Democrat. Der Manouel predicts a landslide for Minor. Read his blog posting in the FlashReport here.
It's not surprising that Der Manouel, chairman of the Lincoln Club of Fresno County, would go with Minor given his opposition to anything and anyone connected to the Democratic Party. But Minor has to be considered the favorite after running first in the June primary in a five-person race.
Mims, though, won't be a walk-over, and Minor supporters could be surprised at the aggressive campaign that Mims is planning for the runoff election. This campaign could get very nasty because both candidates have soft spots that can be exploited.
Well, with Der Manouel, it's always the "Party" first -- the important issues come next.
There goes my lunch!
It may be a non-partisan office, but partisan politics have become a reality in this race. Margie Mims professed her Democrat affiliation to the world during the primary, hoping to cash in on the predominately Democrat turnout for the governor primary ticket. It appears to have worked then, but I think she's going to see a great deal of backlash during the general election.
Republicans had little reason to turn out in the primary. We all know Arnold will carry the Republican ticket in the general election. Fresno, however, is a crimson red Republican county and will turn out in force to keep Angelides out of the governor's seat. Oh, and while they're at it...good Republicans will rally to keep a liberal Democrat like Margie Mims from further destroying law enforcement by electing a solid conservative instead. Cal Minor has the right plan to protect the citizens of Fresno County.
Not true. Read my blogs at Flashreport. most of them are critical of the GOP.
I agree with Mike a lot of people are critical of the GOP right now, but it's more in regards to Washington GOP politics. On the state and local level the GOP is still strong. In the valley democrats tend not to do well, the reason they do win in statewide elections is largely in part to liberal democrats in the bay area and Los Angeles. Gov Arnold comes to the valley quite often and has strong support here. If the local GOP contibute money to Minor, promote his campaign, and give him a solid endorsement he will most likely win easily. The democrats that typically do well in the valley have strong agricultural ties, typically vote with republicans on ag and water related issues. I predict a strong republican turn out in the November election from Fresno County Voters for one reason, they don't want Angelides to be their next govenor. Minor will win by a decisive margin, but it won't be a cakewalk and it's going to take some work by his supporters and him.
Wow! What interesting comments. Gee, I thought the sheriff's race was about the head of the county's law enforcement agency and their qualifications and ideas for improving the protection of the citizens of Fresno County.....hmmm...
I'm pleased to see this race isn't bogged down by those "minor" details.
Unfortunately it is true about the political affiliations of the two candidates, and the sheep that will blindly go to the voting booths and vote without thinking. I am a Proud Republican, but I can't in good conscience vote for someone that I just can't trust regardless of their political affiliation. As I had previously posted on another blog, I am concerned of Minor's prior history and how he left the CHP after a "permanent" disability. For those of you that did not see or have the opportunity to respond I will repeat it again for your consumption.
If as according to the Bee on I believe it was June 1st. it said "....Minor's other past physical problems included neck pain, headaches, insomnia, abdominal pain and psoriasis, according to records filed with the state's Workers' Compensation Appeals Board."
So, if he did in fact receive a $30,000.00 plus check for a PERMANENT disability, how now does he go on the ABC 30 Forum and say that it was only Acid Reflux and that he had surgery and is now completely healthy? If this was a Permanent disability, don't you think workman's comp. would have paid for him to have this surgery and then sent him back to work? I know from my own experience that it takes allot of hoops to jump through before you get a dime from workers comp. My problem with Minor is that he will not discuss this issue and open his medical records for all to view.
I believe that he either
A: Lied to workers Comp. about the severity of his stress and/or disability. As shown above what he claimed to workers comp was much more than acid reflux.
B: Told the truth to workman's comp. that he really has a sickness and has a permanent disability and is lying to the public to downplay the severity of his illness to get elected.
Or C: Is in fact healthy enough and his permanent disability is no longer permanent. Maybe he should give that money back to the state if he is in fact no longer injured.
In any of the above scenarios I don't see how he can say that he has the integrity to be the top elected law enforcement official in Fresno County. Just this issue alone is enough to make me vote for Mimms. Johnny keeps saying that they need to go outside the department to get the trust and integrity back to the department. I submit to you that Minor is not the answer. Mimms may not be either but I believe that Mimms will show up for work and try hard for the next four years, and that Minor will try hard but in the end will end up causing more harm than good for the citizens of Fresno County. That is if the stress does not cause him to quit (Again).
Andy, this race is ENTIRELY about selecting strong leadership for an agency that has been mired in petty corruption, bad press and social "programs" that detract from the one thing the public expects them to do...ENFORCE THE LAW. Cal Minor didn't bring partisan politics into this race; Margie Mims did by pushing the fact that she was the lone Democrat in a Republican field. Like it or not, that is now a factor in this race.
You don't have to be a political expert to be able to identify the candidates' party affiliation just from listening to their campaign messages. Minor wants to get back to the basic functions of law enforcement and eliminate or reduce superfluous non-enforcement social programs (smaller government = Republican). Mims wants to focus on prevention and intervention social programs in the place of criminal enforcement (social programs = Democrat). Minor has a history of strong, positive leadership. Mims has a history of weak, ineffective leadership and is a shining example of the Peter Principle. Minor has a published plan to get things back on track. Mims changes her plan according to the audience she addresses. Minor strongly believes in bottom-up communications. Mims doesn't want to hear anything unless it comes from people at the top of the rank structure. Minor believes in being a good steward of the taxpayer dollars. Mims wants to bombard the state and federal systems with requests for more and more money to fund her social programs.
Folks, this is a race about what expectations the taxpaying public has for its Sheriff's Department. The taxpaying public in this county is very conservative. They expect law enforcement to do just that; respond to their calls for assistance in a timely manner, seek out and arrest criminal violators, and then incarcerate them. They do not expect their tax dollars to be spent having Deputy Sheriffs babysit kids all summer, pay for kids to go to summer camp, or sit on their behinds in elementary schools just so kids will have "positive role models" (isn't that what teachers are for?). The resounding cry from both the taxpaying public and the department employees alike is "CHANGE"! Change in leadership, change in focus and change in philosophy. Cal Minor is the right person to take the agency forward and make positive change.
Yes, Mr Minor had some health issues, but those are in the past and shouldn't be an issue. I mean this campaign has been a stressful endeavor and he has had no health problems during the campaign. As for not being able to trust Mr. Minor that is absurd, everyone that I have talked to that has worked for him has had nothing, but positive things to say. They have said the following and I quote, "He is a man of his word. If he tells you something he will stand behind what he said even if it isn't the most popular directive. He makes decisions and does things for the right reasons. He truly cares about those of us that work for him." Martin in law enforcement health issues come up all the time, if you have worked the streets you have to make tough decisions that can mean life or death. These situations are stressful and create health issues for those in law enforcement. I am less worried about Mr Minor's health and very concerned about the health and the fitness of the deputies that provide public safety services to Fresno County Citizens. Why? Because Asst Sheriff Mims isn't. Do you folks remember the article in the Fresno Bee several years ago talking about physical fitness standards for the police academy? I do and Mims stated that the standards were outdated and unfair to women and others. The physical standards regarding running, upper body strength, and jumping a six foor wall or fence. I don't know about you, but if I'm in a life threatening situation and the deputy can't jump a standard six foot residential fence to help me we are all in trouble. For all of you haven't worked the streets hard core criminals don't necessarily see a man or a woman, they see a marked unit and a uniform. I could go on, but the sheriff's department needs a strong law enforcement candidate to lead the department. Not someone who will initiate various wasteful programs, implement ideas and programs that won't work because of the size of the county and the number of allocated personnel, and someone who will make changes that aren't necessary. Martin I'm not worried about you voting for Mims because you can't even spell her name right(Mimms). Anyway I got run, but remember if you want depuites deployed to protect you and your family and not guarding inmates at UMC or taking worthless jail reports VOTE CAL MINOR FOR SHERIFF.