.
“You are a criminal, Troy!” “But I am not, Travis! YOU however are INEXPERIENCED.”
Thanks to the Prop 14 Top-Two Primaries (it’s Abel Maldonado’s world, but YOU PROBABLY VOTED FOR IT) citizens of the 72nd Assembly District – northern HB, Fountain Valley, Westminster, parts of Garden Grove, Seal Beach, Los Alamitos, etc. – get to choose this year between TWO REPUBLICANS:
Tim Roth portraying Troy Edgar as the bellboy in 1995’s “Four Rooms.”
TROY EDGAR, the young Los Al Mayor, Navy vet, and wunderkind fave of the insider establishment, currently facing serious questions into his campaign finance reporting;
and TRAVIS ALLEN, the feisty, slightly unhinged, tea-partyin’ HB businessman, who’s been keeping those questions at a boil by feeding them to the Weekly’s R Scott Moxley.
Travis barged into the race like a bull back in March, with an apparently bipolar publicist sounding calls of treason against any HB politicians who dared to endorse a candidate from a different town in the district – as though Surf City were at war with Los Alamitos. After barely edging out the competition for second place in the June primary, Travis 
completely vanished. Some of us tried repeatedly to get him involved in the 405 Toll fight and never heard back (which turned out all right when Mayor Edgar surprised us by coming out against the tolls himself.) I was getting ready to include Travis in a list of post-Prop 14 Potemkin candidates who’d probably been bought off to avoid intraparty bloodbaths.
But NO, and I’m glad I didn’t – Travis was merely lying in wait underground, gathering up his strength and nursing his anger like a badger, until suddenly bursting forth again a few weeks ago with near-daily tirades against the crimes and misdeeds of “Taxin’ Troy!”
405-605 Tea Party Patriots – “Patriots With a Cause!” – fighting for freedom at Leisure World.
So hopes, not to be dashed either, were high for conflict at last Thursday’s long-awaited debate between these contenders, a debate hosted at the Fountain Valley Council Chambers by the plucky “405/605 Tea Party Patriots,” a baggin’ outfit usually confined to nostalgia events at Seal Beach Leisure World.
Obviously, for such a staunch audience, the candidates would need to show which one is the better Republican, the more severe conservative, the most ruthless tax-cutter and gubmint-slasher. Would that be Troy Edgar, who WAS a Democrat till 2006 and proudly boasts the endorsement of slick Santa Ana Mayor-For-Life, Democrat Miguel Pulido? Or would it be Travis, the nephew of OC Democratic Party chairman Frank Barbaro, Travis who not long ago donated a big 2 GRAND to the hated Barbara Boxer? Tough one, there.
Edgar-Allen-Poe Pauly. Photo by John Crandall for the Fountain Valley Patch.
And who better to “moderate” this debate than deranged firebrand Deborah “Deb” Pauly? The running joke, which I’ll get out of the way, is “That’s the first time you’ll ever hear ‘Deb Pauly’ and ‘moderate’ in the same sentence.” But I have only limited enjoyment of Pauly jokes that Deb herself would also appreciate. Remember that Deb is the Villa Park councilwoman who regularly makes national news by such stunts as publicly threatening crowds of peaceful Muslim-Americans with death, comparing Obamacare to anal rape, and calling the Democratic Party “of the terrorists, by the terrorists, and for the terrorists.” I’d like to think that kind of talk is a little beyond Troy OR Travis.
I would have given my left nut to have witnessed this spectacle, but I work Thursday nights, so, left nut intact, I instead sent two woman commenter friends – “Merijoe” representing for the far right, and “Oddcat” representing for the far left. And what did my two red-headed correspondents report?
- Most memorably, Travis came right out and called Troy a “CRIMINAL,” based on the false campaign expense reporting as documented in Moxley’s article. Troy sniffed that these charges “didn’t deserve an anwer,” Travis roared that “the people deserve an anwer,” and Deb broke in that SHE would be the one asking questions, thank you very much.
- Troy feels HIS trump cards are experience (SIX years in government!) and endorsements (of which he has the lion’s share of mostly-skanky OC politicos.) He’s quite sure that OC voters should, and will, pick the guy with the most experience and endorsements. This made Merijoe “want to want to throw her flip flop at his greasy head,” but she was sitting next to his wife.
- Travis, riffing off his caricature of “Taxin’ Troy” highlighted by Troy’s principled refusal to sign the no-tax pledge that most Reeps including Travis sign happily, harped on Los Alamitos’ Measure DD which Travis mis-characterized as a tax hike on cell phone and internet users. It’s explained a lot better over here, and it actually saved Los Al citizens money, but Troy’s labored explanation sounded like he was distinguishing taxes from fees, making Merijoe even more pissed off and “wishing she had shoes WITH HEELS” that she could throw at his “greasy head.”
- But as it turned out, Troy and Travis basically agreed on so, so much, especially while in front of the 405/605 Tea Party Patriots: Both blaming the vast majority of California’s problems on too much taxes, regulations, and union power, they support the labor-crippling Prop 32 and vie for the most draconian pension reform. They both say they want to get rid of ALL gun control laws, roll out conceal-carry permits, and “turn on the water” to the Central Valley somehow – all California Teabag dreams. I’m surprised there were no immigration questions from the very racist Pauly – Troy and Travis would have had to compete over the height of their electrified fences.
*****************
Apparently my neighbors and I are gonna have to choose ONE of these two bozos, as much as we may disagree with both of them on MOST issues they’ll ever vote on. So, what do we have to go on?
“So I lost Far-Left Vern’s endorsement. Fine, whatever. Fuck Vern.”
What I like about Troy is that he has refused to sign the no-tax pledge, which generally takes guts for a Republican; it’s wrong for a politician to pre-tie their own hands like that, and their only pledge should be to the Constitution.
And I appreciate him signing the letter, as Los Al Mayor, of “corridor cities” opposing toll lanes on the 405 – even though his big supporter Mayor Pulido is the king of the Toll Trolls, craving the revenue for his own pet projects.
But it’s just my nature to back a scrappy outsider rebel (even a crazy rightwing one) over what looks like a pampered, possibly corrupt insider. And Travis is funny, and appreciates the blogosphere – big pluses to me!
And there’s also the consideration, when you’re a Democrat having to choose a Republican, of “Which one – given either inexperience or miscellaneous ineptness – is the least likely to do any serious damage in the legislature?”
So, given all of those considerations, I’m a-voting for Travis Allen!
[Thanks to Marselle, Merijoe, and John Crandall of the Fountain Valley Patch. Wish I coulda been there.]
Yes, every Dem, moderate, and progressive should join Vern in endorsing the craziest, most extreme candidate. Extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice.
I think Travis will manage to do the least damage, brother. Of course there’s also the option of voting for neither.
Can we still do write in votes with our wacky new primary system?
For shits and giggles. They’ll just be discarded.
loathe everything
You are nothing if not consistent.
MERIJOE
I will join Vern in voting for Travis, I agree with his assesment but I will add a couple of things. Niether will get much done unless they are willing to work with democrats.
Travis may actually have a better chance at that given that he appears to be a man of his word. Troy seems to have taking Mitt’s Course on changing psoitions to fit the moment.
So Barbaro got to you after all, Vern? I knew it.
So hey, who does Gary DeLong support? Someone should ask him! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I really can’t make up my mind, so I really won’t. Edgar does strike me as someone who might go further in state government and such, which would be bad except for that the Republican who would get those positions instead (if he falters) would probably be just as bad. I just hope that the race is expensive.
I have lived with six years of Troy Edgar. I would do anything to get him the hell out of my town.
Good points about Mr. Edgar:
I will say that Troy is a man of his word. When someone buys him he stays bought through thick and thin.
He doesn’t require any actual facts before making a decision
He is great at shaking his head up and down when what he is really doing is shaking it from side to side.
Unlike the regular slugs found in gardens, Troy Edgar doesn’t leave a visible trail when he passes by.
All good reasons to help my fine city be rid of him in Democratic Sacramento where he will be a minor voice in the minority party, but won’t be able to do any more real damage to my fine city.
Unfortunately my greatest fear is that by promoting his candidacy just so we can be rid of him here, it will be giving him access to even more corrupt cash cows who will feed the beast. And he may actually end up attempting to run for a higher office that may actually have some affect on peoples lives. So I have to remove my personal reason of just wanting to see not on the Los Al dais as a reason to vote for him.
That leaves me with a guy who I have spoken to a few times. Unlike Edgar he actually listened, and we had a very healthy discussion of alternative ways that we can address the current jobs crisis in California without “giving away” tax dollars or even spending them on things that don’t create jobs (like tax breaks for the wealthy). Allen doesn’t appear to be in anyone’s pocket and he seems to be something Edgar isn’t; honest.
Being a (D) with no horse in this race, I find that when I remove the desire to just vote for Edgar to get him the heck off my City Council there really seems to be only one choice. I have watched Edgar manipulate the system locally for personal political gain for six years now. I have watched him hurt fine people doing nothing more than being involved in making their community better, just because they don’t support what his corporate backers want. I have watched him belittle the people he is supposed to represent. And while sending him to Sacramento would get rid of him from here, the down side is that he will swim like a shark in that cesspool of corruption.
I guess I’m voting for Allen.
I don’t know that I agree, and I don’t have to decide about this race, but I just had to say that this was truly a virtuoso comment.
Thanks for the reminder. I do not like either candidate, but Edgar is just too slimy. Allen is the lesser of evils here.
was it Barbaro or Travis that gave two grand to Boxer? Not exactly worded to be clear in the column. It wouldn’t matter if a relative gave to Boxer but might if Travis did. Could you restate in a more clear sentence? Thanks.
Travis, as I understand it. Barbaro giving money to Boxer would not be news.
There, made the sentence clearer. It’s pretty well known, Troy brings it up whenever he’s criticized for BEING one years ago. It makes us Dems laugh, the Reeps always have to show how PURE they are, that they never ever TOUCHED one of us.
Oh wait I keep forgetting I’m still regsitered R.
How’s Oct. 21 for you, Vern? The day before the Registration deadline!
Travis made it public in a newspaper and again the night I was there at the debate, that he did give about $1000 to the democrat party (he didnt say who) years ago, out of being new to politics at that time and didnt understand, he stated he wouldn’t do that again and that he has given alot more to the republican party since then.
I know you wrote 1000 in your notes, but the press reports say 2000. And “years ago” – could be two or three.
im just telling you what he said, he said one thousand that night, okay lets go with 2,000 because the media always is correct- He didnt specify ok, one or two years ago then.
I don’t think he was trying to blame anyone, it didnt sound like, willie, and I’m sure he knew what he was doing by taking out his paycheck, pen and writing the amount to his democrat of choice, I think from what I heard was more an admission of his behavior not an excuse. He didn’t come across to me as the type to do that-but who knows? I think it sounded more like “that was stupid and I shouldnt have done that” but Im not explaining that correctly here.
I have a copy of the actual OC register story by Roxana Kopetman
“Travis Allen, a Republican running for State Assemby, has in the past contributed to Democrats-something he says he now regrets doing. Allen’s contributions included $250 to Friends of U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer in 2010 and $500 in 2011 to Brad Sherman, a democratic congressman who represents in the San Fernando Valley, according to the Federal Election Commission website. In 2010, Allen also gave $250 to the Democratic State Central Committee, $100 to Gavin Newsome for CA lieutenant gov. and $100 to ActBlue, a Democratic political action committee. “looking back on it, it was a mistake. And it certainly isn’t something I would do in the future” (said Travis) “I have friends on the other side and a family member on the other side and they asked me to attend some events”.
Allen’s uncle is Frank Barbaro, chairman of the Democratic Party of OC.
vern,
i will admit to having touched numerous democrats. it was primarily in college, the touching was consensual and it usually followed a grateful dead concert
*winner.
Well done.
He said ABOUT 1,000 dollars