Forgotten Districts: CA-19

[SteveIrving1]

Houston has also posted this at dailykos and mydd.

The 50 state strategy brings allot of hope to those of us who are have been fighting for a Democratic Congress. But for those of us who live in the forgotten districts it still brings little hope for a change of are representation.

I live in CA-19:


California's 19th congressional district is one of the poor foothill districts. The district includes Tuolumne, Mariposa, and Madera Counties and some of Stanislaus and Fresno Counties. The real heart of the District is the town of Sonora, recently featured on NBC's new show Three Wishes, I never thought I'd live to see the day Sonora got on national television.

Tuolumne County:

Sonora:
Sonora is a town that's growing. Just fast enough to be noticed and just slow enough to were know one protests. Sonora still has a semi-thriving main street, in spite of the Wal-Mart, and most of the kids go to the same High School there parents did, Sonora High. Sonora's elementary school is considered the best in the County. Sonora is were the most of the things that happen in Tuolumne County that are worth noting happen. In general Sonora is rural any town USA.

Sonora Politically:
Sonora is as Conservative as Bill Clinton on most issues. This town is lower-middle class workers and small Business owners. It has all the ingredients of a Democratic Stronghold. All it needs is the spark.

Jamestown:
Jamestown is really small and very poor. I would say the 2nd poorest in the County. The local school, Jamestown Elementary, is considered to be the "stoner school" or the "white trash school". Jamestown Elementary has little money, bad teachers and has had at least one case of corruption and cronyism. A principle was stealing funds from the school and to divert attention away from her crime she accused a 4th grade student of mental insanity and of plotting to kill her a shoot up the school. 3 weeks later the student in questions teacher was fired and the principle replaced and never seen again. The town is were I grew up and is were I live today. Its still poor and still considered the trashy part of the county, were dam proud of the title.
We hate developers, and we've fought off taco bell, pizza hut, and countless other big chains.
We don't want to end up like Modesto. Also we are afraid of ending up like Tuolumne City.

Jamestown Politically:
The Democratic party could really make progress here. With the right campaign and a good candidate we could make this a democratic strong hold. Paint republicans as pro-Developer, and tie them to the ruining of Modesto, and what happened to Tuolumne city, this could become a 90-95% Democratic strong hold.

Tuolumne City:
Tuolumne City is a dieing town. It consists of 3 parts. The first part is the central part of town and the poorest. Its main street is abandoned and mostly empty, its school is only a little better then Jamestown's, and for the most part black oak casino is what keeps people there.
The second part is the wealthy and very religious part of town. Its isolated from the rest of town and its property tax's pretty much support the whole town. The third is the smallest but is already mostly Democratic. The small family ranches and those who "escaped" the bay area. In general its a sad town to see. It will break your heart to drive through it and will kill you to live there.

Tuolumne City Politically:
Its polarized between the wealthy Republican Zealots of the northern suburbs, and the Democratic Ranchers of the Southern rural areas.
The poor ruined city in the middle does lean Democratic but the City as a whole has a low population and is over all republican. If we can make the Central region solidly Democratic we could have a second strong hold.

Columbia:
Columbia is hard to describe. Way back when it was in the running to become the State Capitol, and is like most of the towns in the foothills was a gold rush boom town. It gets allot of tourist because part of Columbia is a state park and has dirt roads and looks as it did way back when. The town is mostly Dirt poor to lower-middle class. They get buy on there local businesses and have little concerns. It can be divided into 2 parts. The first is the main part of town. Mostly Middle to lower Middle class workers and small Business owners. Its also were you can find most of the students attending Columbia Community Collage. The Second part of town is the biggest, Land wise, and the poorest. Big hill is poorer then Jamestown and Tuolumne City Combined. Then there's everything Down and from Italian Bar Road, A narrow dirt road, to the tiny un-official town of Jupiter.

Columbia Politically:
Is another small town were if the Democratic Party plays its cards right could give it 3 foothill strongholds. It is composed of every kind of people who are party is supposed to represent, poor, small Business, middle class, dirt poor.

Jupiter:
Sitting in a remote canyon in Northern Tuolumne County and right next to the Tuolumne River it is the most remote place in the county and district. Officially It doesn't exist, but its there. There is no electricity and no running water and no telephones. The people are third world dirt poor. And many are criminals on the run and people who just don't want to be found.
It is a place were few people go. Most of the people dumb enough to go down Italian bar road towards the town of Jupiter are tourist who sometimes are never seen again. And the police never go there or even near it.

Jupiter Politically:
Don't go there. Don't even go down the road. Most are people who DON'T want to be found.

Twain Heart and Crystal Falls:
Twain Heart is in the northern part of the county. It lies well into pine and snow country. Crystal falls is the wealthier parts of the county. Twain Heart is probably the only place in the county that's doing good economically other then Sonora.

Twain Heart and Crystal Falls Politically:
They have a Republican slant. Between the wealth and the over all high level of religious Zealots these areas are the GOPs playground.

Summerville/Soulsbyville:
Last but not least is Summerville. Summerville really just a road called Summerville and Willow Springs and a school. Its also called Soulsbyville, It has about 4 churches in the area. This is were allot of the Christian voters are found. This area is varies from well to do and just plain rich to lower middle class.
It is very religious here. In fact I attended one of the churches for several years, Calvary Chapel.
But it was becoming more and more of a religious "right" church then an actual house of the lord. Also I got tired of all the GOP faxes, phone calls, and mail.

Summerville/Soulsbyville Politically:
The Democratic Party can win over the elderly and the middle class workers of this area and some of the non-radicalized religious voters but other then that this is another GOP playground.

Tuolumne County in General:
Tuolumne County is a rural county and is the biggest part of CA-19, land wise. Are representative in congress is George Radanovich (R), are State Senator is Charles Poochigian (R), and are State Assemblyman is Dave Cogdill (R). In recent Elections the Democratic Party has ignored this District and this county. Threes allot of potential in Tuolumne County for the Democratic Party but there's just no effort put into it. The candidates they run, if any, are basically collage kids who don't have a snowballs chance in hell of winning. Also know one really likes or knows about are state and federal representatives, They mostly campaign in the southern part of the district in Madera, and Fresno County were a good chunk of the districts population lives. Also just south of Tuolumne County is Stanislaus. While only a piece of its northern tip is part of are district there is some population there. I have told you only about Tuolumne county because that's where I live and its under represented and rarely is fought over or given a passing glance by politicians of both parties. The Republicans think its there county and nothing can change that. The Democratic Party think the GOP is just to powerful and that this district is a lost cause. Both are wrong Find a strong Democrat and if he can get Tuolumne and Mariposa Counties and that little bit of Stanislaus that's in are district he can win.

Final Note:
This is the longest Diary I've written and I hope its the best diary I've written. I myself have no Political Connections and I don't know anybody who does. Tuolumne County is a vary local place. Everyone knows each other. Its Got some crazy Republican Zealots, one of the Churches lots the local kids put on concerts were the local bands scream into the microphone and the drummer has a Mohawk. I check ActBlue weekly and of course every week I'm disappointed that there's no Democratic Candidate challenging George Radanovich. I've e-mailed the nearest semi-active county arm of the Democratic Party, The Calavares County Democrats, asking who's running against Assemblymen Dave Cogdill? And I haven't gotten a reply.

* Houston has given me permission to post this story completely *

[JDPriestly]

1. Thank you.

I hope I will be able to drive up and see that area for myself soon. How are the housing prices? Can you garden? How long is the winter? We are thinking of possibly moving. Would that be a good area for an activist Democratic couple to move to?

[SteveIrving1]

2. Sure why not...

Would that be a good area for an activist Democratic couple to move to?

As for the activist Democratic couple part I'm not sure. It depends on were your coming from and were you stand on some key issues.

On...
Tax's: Just say you think people like paris hilton should pay more.
Guns: We need them to defend against the corrupt Federal Government.

ect.... Populism is the way to go.

How long is the winter?

Depends, in Jamestown theres 4 seasons

- mild summer
- Hot Summer
- Wild Fires and Hot Summers
- Autumn

with a short 2 week winter.

Can you garden?

You can try. If your talking about potted plants then sure.
But if your talking about in the actual soil, then no.
Really there is know soil in Jamestown, its basically rock and then a thin layer of dirt and old leaves. But Its a nice place after it rains.

How are the housing prices?

I'm not sure what the prices are anymore but heres a quick tip:
Don't move into the suburban development on Seco Street, you'll be hated by most of the locals. Rolling Oaks is nice. I live on the hill above the Rawhide Bar and whistle stop (Gas Station).

[msongs]

3. why don't YOU run for congress? that would be a good start as...

our buddy Howard DEan says, challenge every race!

Are you hooked up with DFA democracy for america? visit this blog site

www.blogforamerica.com and join in the fun. Run for dogcatcher this year, council next year, county after that, congress..


Msongs
www.msongs.com/clark2008.htm

[SteveIrving1]

4. Me or Houston?

I myself am to young to run. Al thought I do want to become a California State Senator or Assemblymen. But I don't know the age requirements, can't find them any were.

As Houston running for congress, I doubt he would qualify. Hes old enough thats for sure but I don't think he meets the kind of educational requirements, No Collage.

[Xithras]

5. Question about Jupiter

A few years ago I was exploring the area and took the Buck Meadows turnoff from 120 to "lose myself" on the fire roads into the forest. After a few hours of wandering down these dusty mountain dirt roads, I found myself in a tiny town surrounding a meadow. As luck would have it (or not), my tire blew just as I came into the town. I spun off the road, got stuck in a ditch, and had to go to one of the houses for help.

By the time we were done, I think I'd met half the town. One guy brought beers, another guy went and found a tire that would fit on a junker stuck on his lot, another pulled the car from the ditch with his tractor, and two others remounted and changed the tire for me. I was there three hours, and found out that a couple hundred people lived in the town. It had no electricity (other than from a diesel generator they occasionally fired up at night), no police or fire service, no telephones, no stores, and no schools. Just a bunch of people living a real "back to nature" lifestyle in the high Sierra's.

Unfortunatly, I never bothered to ask the name of their town. I've tried looking it up or retracing my route on a map, but I've never found a town in that area and haven't been able to figure out what it was called. Was that Jupiter? By my guestimate, it should be located somewhere southeast of Buck Meadows.

As to the original topic: I think that CA-19 will change to a Democratic district even without a focused effort. The district includes Salida (my hometown), Riverbank, and Oakdale, which are three of the fastest growing towns in the state. The majority of people moving into the new neighborhoods here are BAT's who are, for the most part, bringing their Democratic voting tendencies with them from the Bay Area. The Republicans only outnumber us by a few percentage points in this district, and the thousands of new residents pouring into here every year will eventually tip the scale to our favor.

[SteveIrving1]

6. Could have been....

I recently discovered that you can fined Jupiter on the yahoo maps thing. Were you on Italian Bar rd. were it meets Jupiter rd.?
If you passed that then you were there. Or if you passed the sign near star rd. (the "CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK" sign).

Heres how you get there from Jamestown.
http://maps.yahoo.com/dd_result?newaddr=&taddr=&csz=Jamestown%2C+CA&country=us&tcsz=Jupiter%2C+CA&tcountry=us">http://maps.yahoo.com/dd_result?newaddr=&taddr=&csz=Jamestown%2C+CA&country=us&tcsz=Jupiter%2C+CA&tcountry=us

Amazing little Jupiter is on the map.

[robertarctor]

7. Thanks. Know that country pretty well

Having grown up in central Cali, and having spent a lot of time in Tuolumne County, I appreciate your backgrounder here. I think that this district would be ripe for a well-organized Democratic campaign.

I think a couple of issues that might resonate in the mountain part of the district are, one, emergency (wildfire) preparation and, two, healthcare, the latter because so much of rural California has been slammed by the bathtub meth explosion, and some towns are like walking onto the set of Night of the Living Zombies. The Repubs tend to ignore the nuts and bolts stuff.

The other part of the district can't be ignored, either, and that's the fast-growing suburban eastern Stanislaus component, which has issues centering around sprawl and land use. My uncle owned a ranch in Empire, and it's all burbs now. This district seems to be composed similar to the one Dan Lungren occupies (which I also think might be vulnerable), with suburban Sacramento County and rural and mountain counties to the east.

One last thing: It's Twain Harte, not Twain Heart. The town was named for Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and Bret Harte. Isn't that an enclave of rich Republicans? Or at least it was until a wildfire nearly destroyed the town a few years ago.

[SteveIrving1]

8. Harte not Heart...

I misspell Twain Harte allot.

Yes the wildfire, Back when I regularly attended church (1 year ago) there would be these fellowship meat ups (I only went to 3, hosted 1) At other church members houses. First off its the rich republican enclave your talking about is still there and is still as pale faced, bible thumping, rich, and stuck up as they've ever been.

[mitchtv]

9. Sounds like a great district.

Do all you can to defeat 77 or it will be no more. My dist , 45, is only forgotten by the Dems.

[kineneb]

10. Hi from dist. 1

Lots of same issues here, but the area is mostly Dem. And we have the "bathtub meth" problem, too. We have a few repubs, mostly in the "better" neighborhoods, but lots of folks like us who live on the edge of insolvency.

[Le Taz Hot]

11. Hi neighbor!

I'm also in CA-19.

I worked my ASS off last year and the year before to try and get the local Democrats to run a REAL candidate (a head shop owner from Oakhurst ended up "running") but to no avail. Listening to them was like listening to a DLC recording. "Unwinnable." "We'll run a 'sacrifice' candidate." "Why put money and effort into a district that we can't win?" It's a Catch-22. They don't put $$ or effort into a challenge because they can't win so nobody donates $$ or effort. Criminee!

This absolutely IS a winnable district and I'm hoping since Dean is now DNC Chair that ALL districts will be up for grabs. Radanovich is beatable if the Democrats would just get up off their ass and do something about it.

[jamesinca]

12. We do have somebody that is running

Maybe that is a bit premature, but the Fresno Bee reported that T.J. Cox is considering a run at the 19th CD. I know him, he has come out of the Fresno DFA meet-up. He is clean (not a head shop owner), viable and can get up the money to do this. He has not announced it yet, but he is looking.