Simon Rally Reports 11/02/02 - Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Jose, Modesto, Fresno

San Jose media report #3

KPIX-5 5:30 broadcast

Davis up first
Walked precincts in Pittsburg
Appealed to 16 different unions
Davis: “If you wanna go forward, stick with a winning team in Sacramento. If you want to go backwards, the other guy is your choice.”
Simon still upbeat in San Jose.
Simon: “Gray Davis asks for four more years. I’ve been saying, 'How ‘bout four more minutes? How about four more days?' That’s what we’re down to now is just a handful of days.”

KTVU-2 6:00 broadcast

Davis up first
Davis pumping up union goons (150 people)
Davis: "You wanna go forward? (yeah)… You wanna make more progress? (yeah)… Are you willing to work some more? (yeah)… Are you willing to walk some more? (yeah)… Are you willing to win? (yeah)…"
Davis symbollically walked to four Pittsburg homes after rally.
Davis: “It’s sad…just sad…I mean, his whole campaign is just an embarassment. He’s sinking farther and farther into the mud”
Bill Simon’s Fire Davis tour.
“We want Bill!”
Simon spoke to about a hundred at the Hyatt
“Four more minutes” clip expanded
25% remain undecided or will vote for alternative candidates like…
Greenie Camejo interviewed
Camejo campaigning in San Francisco (showing rally at BART station)

SAN JOSE MEDIA REPORT #4

KGO-7 6:30 broadcast

Davis in Pittsburgh
“working class neighborhood”
Simon in San Jose
Can win if we get out the votes
Simon trails 7-10 pct pts. (BTW, this was mentioned on every broacast)

Probably the shorted report thusfar.

KPIX-5 6:30 broadcast had some footage/interviews not shown in their 5:30 broadcast.

YO YO Ron dog

RACK ITTT what up to Freepers IN SAC TOWN HEYYYY hey guys some good news off Sac-Town bee AP wire both Davis and Bill Simon are in dead heat

RACK ITTTTT

Thanks for the bump to my photo thread!

Let's get out the vote! Here's a tool...

Click here to download the California Republican Liberty Caucus' tri-fold pamphlet on the governor's race!

It's a .pdf file, so you'll need Acrobat Reader... it's free, and chances are good you already have it on your computer. Try the link and see.

Print it using the printer-icon button in the Acrobat toolbar in your browser (not File|Print in your browser's menu). It's intended for double-sided printing using single pieces of paper-- no stapling needed if you do it that way, and saves trees! ;-) Print one side, then invert the paper and feed it through a second time for the second side. Fold, and sally forth to get out the vote!

Give this to friends, walk your neighborhood, take it to stores, give a wad of 'em to your school, hand some out at your house of worship, at clubs, at stores and small businesses...

Let's retire Gray Davis!

Let's show the media and RINOs that "It's the base, stupid!"

Let's show Gray Davis that money can't buy him love ...or re-election!

Freepers and RLC activists can claim considerable credit for nominating Bill Simon, so now let's elect him!

YO YO Ron dog
RACK ITTT what up to Freepers IN SAC TOWN HEYYYY hey guys
some good news off Sac-Town bee AP wire both Davis and Bill Simon are in dead heat
RACK ITTTTT
You got THAT right, SevenofNine!

Simon, McPherson stump at Monterey airport

Bill Simon kept close to Bruce McPherson, physically and thematically, as he spoke Saturday to a crowd of Republican faithful at the Monterey Peninsula airport.

Simon, the Republican challenging incumbent Gray Davis for governor, touched down in Monterey aboard the chartered 727 carrying him and his fellow statewide GOP candidates on a final ambitious jaunt as election day nears. One day after the release of a Field Poll showing the Democratic contenders ahead in every single statewide race, the GOP candidates started the day in Santa Barbara and continued on to Monterey, San Jose, Modesto, and Fresno.

At the Monterey stop, the spotlight fell on McPherson, the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor who has represented the Central Coast as a state legislator for nine years.

"It's nice to be home," McPherson said, addressing a crowd of about 100 where his signs and stickers outnumbered Simon's. The Santa Cruz Republican, who has been elected and re-elected in an overwhelminingly Democratic area by mixing fiscal conservatism with liberal stances on social issues and the environment, served as a master of ceremonies at the rally.

"Bill Simon has been belittled by this incumbent with how many millions in ad money?" McPherson asked in his introduction of the gubernatorial hopeful. "I tell you, the guy just won't go away. There will be a big surprise this Tuesday night."

A key part of Davis' campaign has been painting Simon as too conservative for California voters on the very issues where McPherson has strong cross-over appeal: abortion, gun control, and the environment. Simon's speech Saturday seemed tuned to the unique political tides of the Central Coast.

"I pledge to you we're gonna put an end to off-shore oil drilling here in California," Simon said, pumping his fist for the receptive crowd. He criticized Davis for not doing enough to end offshore drilling, and for taking campaign contributions from oil and gas companies. Simon himself has been a stock holder, board member, or corporate officer with several companies involved in offshore drilling.

Simon took a number of shots at Davis' fund-raising, saying the Governor had put his own re-election ahead of the state's interests.

"I think he is our state's first coin-operated governor," Simon said.

The Field Poll released Friday showed Davis ahead of Simon by seven points, and incumbent Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante ahead of McPherson 47 percent to 35 percent. The poll also showed the Democratic candidates ahead in the races for attorney general, treasurer, secretary of state, insurance commissioner, and superintendent of public instruction, with only the race for controller a statistical dead heat.

McPherson, who supported former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan in the Republican gubernatorial primary, has rarely been out on the campaign trail with Simon. California has a tradition of electing governors and lieutenant governors of different parties, and McPherson has said during this campaign that this provides a good check-and-balance system.

"It wasn't saying I anticipate Simon losing," McPherson said Saturday after the rally. "I want Bill Simon to win."

McPherson acknowledged that he and Simon do not agree on some issues, but said they could discuss the differences and still work together.

"There is a clear line of open communication between Bill Simon and Bruce McPherson," he said.

Monterey couple Jeff and Christine McGee said they showed up at the rally to support Simon and McPherson.

"We need to have someone in California government that's going to steer us in the moral direction and set the right example," Christine McGee said.

Jeff McGee said that despite the poll numbers, the GOP candidates still had a chance if they could tap into the large number of undecided voters.

"One-fourth of the electorate has said they don't have a preference with the election four days away," he said.

Gilbert Leal of Salinas, who serves on the county Republican central committee, said that McPherson could help Simon in the liberal Central Coast.

"We have to change the stereotype of what they believe the Republicans are," Leal said. "They think they're a big, rich machine, and not working folks like ourselves."

In addition to the statewide GOP candidates, the crowd heard from local Republican politicians including Seaside mayor Jerry Smith, Pacific Grove council member and mayoral candidate Morrie Fisher, and Marina council member Michael Morrison.

Gray Davis will be in Monterey today for a get-out-the-vote rally at the Monterey Bay Aquarium at 4:45 p.m.

Thanks for posting the pictures Jim! We couldn't go, had visitors here from the Bay area! Should have made them go with us! :-) Glad it was a great rally. Chris took some good pictures that is for sure. So good of Bill Jones to help with the campaign. He is a great guy and a good Republican.

Amy, I just love that little girl with the garbage can! Is she a gift from Louie?

You know most of my gif(t)s are from Louie. Someone, I'm not sure who reworked one from Louie and put the Dump Davis is red instead of white.
I love to use that ..... I'd better use it a lot between now and Tuesday night. Let's get out the vote!!!!
Vote Simon!!

Monterey report #2

Simon & McPherson’s rally in Monterey
The two men are politically different; Santa Cruz’s McPherson considered “much more liberal”
Simon: “We need a leader that’s willing to put the cards on the table and mean what he says and says what he means. That is not Gray Davis”
Davis: “D stands for Drive Democrat Davis Forward - R stands for Republican Reverse Simon Backwards” (LAME QUOTE OF THE DAY ~ yes it was as awkward as it reads with tepid crowd laughter)
Davis will visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium Sunday, his only visit to the central coast.

Greenie Camejo hangin' with the homeless in SoCal.

Correction...that event was in San Francisco (Mission District to be precise)...apologies.

BUMP for Simon! Thanks CCC

Bill Simon, Bill Jones and the slate of statewide candidates were welcomed to the Fresno Victory Rally by Saundra Duffy, Lager (as SuperSimon), me, Chris and several other FReepers and several hundred very enthusiastic Simon supporters.
We enjoyed great speeches, chants and singing. Was a great rally!
We also enjoyed patriotic songs by a young group of singers from Christian Home Educators of the Fresno Area (CHEFA)." - Jim Robinson
What a GREAT sign! :o)

What aWONDERFUL choir!
Good show, Fresno FReepers!
We will greet them in Los Angeles (at Olvera Street) at 1:30 pm today.
See also, from the Fresno Bee:

GOP swings through Fresno
Schwarzenegger, state slate of candidates in city to rally supporters.
By John Ellis
The Fresno Bee
(Published Sunday, November 3, 2002, 8:53 AM)

Fresno was a stop Saturday for two prominent Republicans -- one who is running for governor and another who many believe would like to be governor someday.
Actor and budding politician Arnold Schwarzenegger hit town first as he barnstormed the state in support of Proposition 49, the ballot initiative that would create after-school programs in every elementary and middle school in California.
In the evening, gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon Jr., along with the other Republican candidates seeking statewide office, rolled into town to rally supporters before Tuesday's general election.
About 300 people came to Corporate Aircraft at Fresno Yosemite International Airport to cheer Simon and the others.
The group included GOP candidates for lieutenant governor (Bruce McPherson), attorney general (Dick Ackerman), secretary of state (Keith Olberg), controller (Tom McClintock), treasurer (Greg Conlon), insurance commissioner (Gary Mendoza) and superintendent of public instruction (Katherine Smith).
A children's choir serenaded the attendees, and GOP activist Debbie Poochigian whipped up the crowd with a series of cheers. The key message, delivered again and again: Vote Tuesday.
Statewide polls show Gov. Davis with a wide lead on Simon. As the crowd at the airport chanted "We've had enough," Simon noted that was the rallying cry of Ronald Reagan's 1966 California gubernatorial campaign.
But David and Dorothy Hubbard of Madera said victory won't be easy.
"The Democrats need to be overconfident and the Republicans diligent about going out and voting," David Hubbard said. "That would be the only hope."
Schwarzenegger, by contrast, rallied a different type of group at River Park shopping center: starry-eyed celebrity watchers.
Crowds surged toward the action-movie star. They snapped photos, rolled camcorders and sought autographs.
When Fresno Mayor Alan Autry introduced Peter Szego from the AARP, an impatient crowd of about 350 let out a collective moan -- it wasn't Schwarzenegger.
When the actor did step to the podium, the crowd cheered. He responded by urging everyone to vote yes on Prop. 49 -- and peppered his speech with well-known lines from his movies.
"Let's say, 'Hasta la vista, baby' to the problem" of children having nothing to do between the end of school and when their parents get home from work, he said.
Everyone interviewed said they support the proposition. They also said they were there as much for the star as for the initiative.
Many political watchers say Schwarzenegger is padding an already impressive resume of public service as he gears up for a 2006 gubernatorial run.
Fresno residents Tom and Laura Hardwick like the idea. They've already voted by absentee ballot -- and left blank their vote for governor.
"Not much to choose from," Tom Hardwick said.
Both Hardwicks cited Schwarzenegger's public service work and said they would consider backing him for governor.
Pat and Robert Vannoy of Big Creek are not registered to vote but said they would register and cast votes for Schwarzenegger if he runs in 2006.
Terry McCracken isn't waiting. She held a sign that read: "Why waste your vote on Davis or Simon? Vote Yes on 49. Then write in Arnold for governor. Why wait?"
"If he's half as good as Reagan, we'd be better off than with Davis or Simon," McCracken said. She intends to write in Schwarzenegger's name on her ballot Tuesday.
The star seemed content -- for now -- to push for Prop. 49's passage. Still, he gave a possible hint of the future with his parting words: "I'll be back."
The reporter can be reached at
jellis@fresnobee.com or 441-6320.

Check out THESE "Fire Davis!" rallies on SUNDAY and MONDAY!!!

Join Bill Simon for the final Campaign Fly-Around!

SUNDAY NOVEMBER, 3, 2002
10:00am - SAN DIEGO
w/ Special Guest, U.S. Senator, John McCain Balboa Park
Veterans Memorial Center and Museum
2115 Park Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92101

1:15pm - LOS ANGELES
El Pueblo de Los Angeles - Plaza Dolores
OLVERA STREET (in old downtown, near Union Station)
125 Paseo de la Plaza 400
Los Angeles, CA 90012
MONDAY, November 4, 2002 - BRAND NEW!!! Just ADDED!!!
1:30 pm - ONTARIO
Ontario Mills Mall
(in front of the NIKE STORE, Entry 3)
One Mills Road
Ontario, CA
3:30 pm - MONTEBELLO (East Los Angeles)
Simon for Governor Montebello Office
3509 W. Beverly Blvd.
Montebello, CA

Bring Signs in support of Bill!

Wear your campaign colors! (blue and gold)
See you there!