Posted on 09/28/2003 5:45:10 AM PDT by Impy
Former California Attorney General Dan Lungren has announced his intention to run for the 3rd Congressional District of the U.S. House of Representatives, currently held by U.S. Rep. Doug Ose, R-Sacramento.
Lungren will face off against California State Senator Rico Oller, R-San Andreas, who currently represents Amador County as part of the First Senatorial District.
Ose announced in May that he would not seek re-election, creating a vacuum in the solidly Republican district that stretches across the Sacramento Valley and runs to the Nevada border, taking in all of Alpine, Amador and Calaveras Counties, all of the rural portions of Sacramento County and a small portion of Solano County. The district’s current voter registration is 44 percent Republican, 38 percent Democrat.
Lungren announced his intention to run for Congress last week on the Sacramento radio station KFBK, during an interview with conservative political talk show host Tom Sullivan. According to a news release issued by the Lungren campaign, he had been invited to appear on Sullivan’s show to discuss the legislature’s failure to extend Megan’s law; a measure which Lungren wrote and sponsored. Sullivan himself was considering running for the Congressional seat but backed out in June.
“I do not accept the argument that we cannot pass good laws because the Democrats are in the majority,” Lungren said. “To let good laws die because of political infighting is unacceptable.” Lungren added that the inaction over the extension of Megan’s law was a further encouragement for him to return to public office.
“When I was in Congress, we passed the Kemp-Roth tax cuts with Democrats in the majority in the House,” Lungren said, speaking to the inaction of state legislators. “You don’t just throw up your hands, you roll up your sleeves. You get the job done.”
Lungren served eight years as California’s Attorney General under then-Governor Pete Wilson. Prior to that office ,he served for 10 years in Congress for another California district.
Lungren also ran against Gov. Gray Davis in an unsuccessful gubernatorial bid in 1998.
Oller, who faces Lungren for the Republican bid for Congress, was elected to the state assembly in 1996 and served two terms until being elected as state Senator in November 2000.
The announcement that Oller would seek a seat in Congress has left a void in California’s 1st Senatorial District, which covers the counties of Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento and Sierra.
Amador County Assistant District Attorney Vernon Pierson, who is a Republican, has already announced his candidacy for the seat. California State Assemblyman Dave Cox has indicated he will seek the seat, as well.
Lungren has indicated he will officially announce his candidacy after the Oct. 7 special election.
For more information, contact the Lungren campaign at (916) 342-3444.
Lunren is one of those conservatives that you see at the moderate cocktail parties. He claims to hold conservative views, but is all to willing to apologize for them.
During the 1998 race for governor, he acted like he was ashamed of being prolife (I have to be, I'm Catholic)...
Sheesh, who needs conservatives like that???!!! Go Rico Oller!!. He's a successful businessman, an avid hunter, tells great jokes and the liberals CAN'T STAND him. That's my kinda conservative. He's earned my support a hundred times over!!!!
He was a HORRIBLE Attorney General. Wait. Let me take that back. He was a great Attorney General if you don't split hairs over the Bill of Rights and you like gun confiscation and asset forfeiture. As a member of The House he authored the big amnesty for illegal aliens bill back in the 80s.
Other than that, I guess he's a good guy. His opponent State Senator Rico Oller however has solid conservative credentials, is a defender of the Second Amendment, 100% prolife, homeschools his kids, small business owner, avid hunter, and he has surrounded himself with some of the top conservative movers and shakers in the California Republican Party and the CRA.
My vote will go to my State Senator and that good ol' boy from Calaveras County, Rico Oller!
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