AB 1086

Last month I wrote about how the bill we have been fighting all year that would authorize State Parks to sell part of Carnegie off-road park had died, then was reborn into another bill—AB 1086—in a move known as “gut and amend.” The new bill made it to the governor’s desk to await a signature or veto and so we turned our efforts to persuading the governor to veto. Dianna Mead from CORVA started a petition and took it to Carnegie and got 600 signatures, which she presented to the governor’s office. The American Motorcyclist Association, California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs and other groups took steps to convince the governor to veto. Many individuals called and emailed the governor asking for a veto. Our lobby group did some behind-the-scenes work to do the same. I personally called the governor’s office as well as asked my State Senator (Toni Atkins) to ask the governor to veto this bill. We knew that the last day for the governor to take action on any bill was October 13. Any bill that the governor didn’t sign or veto by then would automatically become law. This is different from the federal government where if the president doesn’t sign a bill, it dies. On October 11 I got an email from our lobbyist saying that AB1086 was just vetoed by Governor Newsom! This is great news and something we can really be proud of. It pays to be involved in politics. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way, but when it does, it is very gratifying.

 

Brian Jones

A couple months ago I wrote about Duncan Hunter and his troubles. His trial for breaking campaign finance laws was postponed until January 2020. During the past summer, Carl Demaio declared his candidacy for Hunter’s 50th congressional seat. Demaio was a San Diego City councilman and has a political talk radio show on KOGO AM 600. I have had the pleasure of sitting down and speaking with Carl about off-road politics and I believe he would be a strong supporter of OHV.

Just a few weeks ago State Senator Brian Jones declared his candidacy for the same congressional seat. When Duncan Hunter senior retired from congress, SDORC had both candidates, Duncan Jr and Brian Jones, come to meetings to hear what they would do for off-roaders. Both candidates made convincing statements that have been backed up by real action. As we know, Hunter won the congressional seat while Jones ran for and won the State Assembly seat. Both of their offices have helped off-roaders through SDORC many times since they were in office. Jones termed out of the State Assembly and now represents east San Diego County as State Senator. You normally don’t get members of the same party running against incumbents, but with Hunter going to trial, this is different. I believe that Jones would prefer to wait and see how Hunter does at trial, but he is afraid that Demaio will get too big a head start. A couple questions you might have: Can Jones run for congress while serving as State Senator? Yes he can, even though he will be pretty busy. What if Hunter is found innocent? Jones and Demaio may still run against him. It is possible that Jones may give up his run for congress if Hunter comes out of his trial in good shape. I think Demaio is in this for keeps and plans to run a strong campaign to the end regardless who his opponents are.

You don’t need to live in the district to run for congress and while Demaio lives in San Diego, Jones lives in Santee, part of the 50th congressional district. I am personally very interested to see how all this plays out and will be following and writing about it here in S&S Off Road Magazine.

 

Joel Anderson

Joel Anderson for County Supervisor was recently endorsed by the San Diego Republican Party. This is a big step forward for our friend and should help his campaign substantially. Joel is having regular events and precinct walks (details at https://www.andersonforsupervisor2020.com). We still have “Off-Roaders for Joel Anderson” bumper stickers for free, just email us at [email protected] and we will get some right out to you.

 

Lost Lizard

Our 15th annual Lost Lizard Fun Run is almost here. When you get this magazine, on-line registration will be closed. Don’t worry, you can sign up right at the event. Our base camp will be at the end of Wheeler Road and to the left (west). Signup will be in the large white tent. There will be signup on Friday evening from 6:00 to 9:00 pm and Saturday from 7:00 to 11:00 am. Many make this their first trip of the season so please come out and support us. There is free camping all around and we will have rest rooms and food trucks at our basecamp. Our theme this year is “Super Heroes” so wear your capes and spandex. If you find Max, the green lizard, out on the course during the event, catch him and get a free raffle ticket. We have lined up some pretty great raffle prizes and with our bucket drop raffle, you only win the prizes you want, so make sure you stay for the raffle.