Inland Empire Progressive

Redlands, I think, is the most activist city in the whole county. I think this not just because of their high median income, but also because many highly educated people live there. However, this city can sometimes come off as elitist and snobbish, which is a downside to the overall friendly atmosphere. The North-Side is heavily working class and make up the majority of Democratic votes. I'm real surprised the Conservative wave of '10 didn't make as much of a dent as I thought it would. 

This was another piece that I was going to write on why voters (specifically Democrats) should not support Pete Aguilar. Besides being a DINO (Democrat in Name Only), he sits on SANBAG’s Commuter Transit and Rail Committee which is railroading (pun intended) this project by the communities throat.  Redlands Rail is a transportation project that is doomed to failure. Not only did the Federal Transit Authority reject matching funds for this project, it is poorly designed. It just runs in a circle around Redlands and that’s it. In addition, the ridership will be low. How this is being paid for is that currently, all transit agencies are undergoing individual  Comprehensive Operational Analysis’ (COA) to determine their “efficiencies” . The cost of this analysis for Omintrans is about $1M dollars. During meetings with Omnitran’s employees AECOM (who is conducting the study), transparently admitted that it is conducting this study to achieve cost savings. So basically we are t...

CITY DEM VOTE REP VOTE DIFFERENCE Colton (Dem) 2199 1057 1142 Fontana (Dem) 694 730 -36 Grand Terrace (Rep) 768 920 -152 Loma Linda (Rep) 1271 1138 133 Rancho Cucamonga (Rep) 6256 11140 -4884 Redlands (Rep) 5562 6279 -717 Rialto (Dem) 2657 1513 1144 San Bernardino (Dem) 7923 5723 2200 Upland (Rep) 1565 2168 -603 Unincorporated (Mixed) 1507 1596 -89 After the Primary, the folks in Washington D.C., Sacramento, the Media, and whoever else was paying attention to this race were shocked by the results of this election. I was only mildly surprised because I didn’t think that Mr. Dutton would make it through. Early in the Primary, I let my candidate of choice at the time, Renea Wickman, know that I was worried on a purely mathematical basis that Dems would not make the top two. Dems had a 1 in 4 chance of making the ticket versus a 1 in 2 chance of Reps making the ticket. We have seen those results play out and my worst fears realized....

After months of pushing, prodding, and protesting. Occupy Redlands finally got the city council to vote on their resolution against money in politics and corporate “personhood”. I always thought the vote was brought up as a political ploy  by Pete Aguilar to try and shore up the base. The vote to me revealed how out of touch he was with true grassroots activists. Why not bring it up earlier? Was his shady past catching up with him? Did he think folks on the Left would just vote for anyone with a “D” next to their name? All of these are good questions, but beside the point because it was later revealed in a Huffington Post article , that he was sincere about none of it.

This is a first in series of conversations to explain why Democrats and Progressives shouldn’t support Redlands Pete Aguilar to represent the 31 st Congressional District. As I have researched this candidate, I have grown increasingly concerned about his position on issues, the shadiness of his dealings, and the associations he has made. Reason: He is a Blue Dog. As anyone who has read my posts, I despise the Blue Dog Coalition (AKA the Blue Curs) for unprincipled stands on important issues. Mr. Aguilar has shown by words and deeds that he will follow this mold by unilaterally caving before the debate has begun. In addition, he has the support of other prominent Blue Curs such as Rep. Joe Baca and Rep. Steny Hoyer, the leader of the pack. This coalition takes advantage of their safe position to enrich themselves, while playing smoke and mirrors with those they represent. Reason: No Principles   As a Redlands city councilman, Mr. Aguilar has had chance after chance to prove hi...

What do a political science professor from the University of Redlands,  and reporters from the Los Angeles Times, and Politico have in common? They all declare Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar as one of the top two in the June primary race even though there are approx. two months left to go. As far as I am concerned, from a grassroots level, Mr. Aguilar doesn’t have a lock on anything. This is because even though the race has been sleepy so far, organization plays a big part in close elections (and this race will be close). He has won some endorsements from local political players but these folks live outside the district. Outside of Redlands, who has heard of Mr. Aguilar? I may be at a moderate level of expertise when it comes to politics, but I know that politics is full of surprises. He has a 1 in 6 chance of winning, like the rest of the field.

In 2008, people from all walks of life came together in a historic moment to elect our nation's 44th President, Barack Obama. It was a euphoric moment for all, especially for Progressives who after years in the wilderness stormed back with a resounding triumph and a mandate for change. However, the bliss was short-lived as Conservative obstruction hindered, delayed, and blocked the President's agenda that Congress was pursuing. Wall-Streeter called Obama to the carpet about his policies and soon after the Tea Party was born. The health care reform battle in 2009 was the culmination of this, as misinformed folks stormed town-hall meeting across the nation accosting Senators and Congressmen alike. This rage caught the Progressives flat footed as we made the assumption that the American people wanted a more activist government. Though they have waned a bit recently, they are pretty active locally in Redlands and Chino Hills.