Posted on 12/01/2005 1:59:45 PM PST by LdSentinal
SOLANA BEACH – Former South Bay Congressman Brian Bilbray said Thursday he would run for the 50th District congressional seat to be vacated by admitted felon Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Cunningham resigned Monday after pleading guilty to conspiracy and income tax evasion for accepting bribes from defense contractors. He had said in July that he would not run for re-election.
Bilbray, 54, made his announcement in the parking lot of Solana Beach's lifeguard headquarters at Fletcher Cove with his wife, Karen, daughter Brianna and son Patrick by his side and his 85-year-old mother, Mavis Clute, looking on.
He said there were three key issues he wanted to focus on in his campaign, the first being illegal immigration and securing the U.S. Mexican border.
"Seventy-seven million dollars comes out of the health-care pockets of San Diegans alone and is given to people who should not be here," he said.
Bilbray said his other priorities would be getting the budget process in Washington, D.C., under control and reducing traffic congestion in the North County.
Bilbray called Cunningham's misdeeds a "tragedy" that "boggled the mind," but said it was time to move forward and leave the scandal behind.
"I have been in the sunlight and not the shadows, and everyone in San Diego knows this and knows me," Bilbray said. "They know my triumphs, defeats and tragedies. I am not a follower."
Advertisement
The three-time Imperial Beach congressman said if he was returned to Congress he would maintain the seniority he had when he left office in 2001, and that would give him the sway to get things done.
"The other candidates have no seniority in D.C., in a town where seniority is everything," he said. "How will freshmen get anything done?"
Bilbray is the second of several candidates to officially announce his run for Cunningham's seat.
Last month, former state Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian of Carlsbad, who served northern San Diego County in the Legislature from 1994 to 2000, announced his intention to run for the open seat.
Other Republicans who have expressed interest in running include state Sen. Bill Morrow of Oceanside; businessman Alan Uke of Del Mar; Assemblyman Mark Wyland of Del Mar; county Supervisor Pam Slater-Price; county Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister; and Escondido Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler.
The only announced Democratic candidate is Francine Busby, a Cardiff schools trustee who ran a spirited campaign against Cunningham last November but lost.
The 50th District includes Carlsbad, Encinitas, San Marcos, Del Mar, Escondido and large portions of San Diego. Republicans make up 45 percent of the registered voters in the district and Democrats make up 30 percent.
The special election to replace Cunningham is to be held next year, possibly in April. Setting the date is up to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who must decide if it should be held early in the year or combined with the June 6 state primary election. If the election is held early, a runoff if necessary could be held with the primary.
Once the seat is officially vacated, the governor has 14 days to issue a special election proclamation.
Bilbray said he has been living with his mother in La Costa for the last three or four months and splits his time between there and Washington, D.C., where he has been working the last few years as a lobbyist on behalf of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. There is no residency requirement for congressional candidates.
An avid surfer known for his political trademarks – a Hawaiian shirt and a wet suit – Bilbray represented the 49th Congressional District in the South Bay for 6 years from 1995 to 2001.
He narrowly lost his re-election bid in 2000 to Democratic Assemblywoman Susan Davis.
Bilbray also served as a San Diego County supervisor from 1985 to 1995, as the mayor of Imperial Beach from 1978 to 1985 and a city councilman from 1976 to 1978. He is married and has five children
"I met Bilbray before he was a Congresscritter, and while he was a congresscritter.
I don't see him as a RINO. He ain't a tree hugger, and he's conservative enough to fill the Duke's seat."
"I doubt that Hastert will offer anything to Bilbray".
I happen to doubt you are correct. Hastert gave Lungren his seniority back, just one year ago. Lungren was also in an even more heavily republican district than Bilbray is running in. It is a tradition that the speaker grants seniority to returning members and there is frankly abosolutely no reason to believe the Speaker would grant it to Lungren and not Bilbray. It is pretty much a given he will get it back.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.