Francine, welcome back to Firedoglake! I was very excited on Thursday when you announced that you’re going to take on that Republican lobbyist disguised as a congressman in North County San Diego. Let’s hope you do to him there exactly what Susan Davis did to him in 2000. I know he’s going to try running on one issue — illegal immigration. I also know he was a lobbyist for one of the most viciously racist of all the anti-immigrants groups, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, on whose board of advisors he now sits — and from whom he got over $10,000 in shady campaign contributions. With Obama bringing up real immigration reform now, is this something that will hurt your campaign or help it?

Your campaign was indirectly responsible for getting me into the world of online activism and blogging back in 2005. I wonder if you can discuss specifically how you have evolved as a candidate and what lessons you’ve learned between the 2006 campaigning and now?

Francine, I just looked at the raw numbers from the Secretary of State’s Registration Report. From April 2006 through this years SOS report,there’s been a net increase of 16,564 Dems, a net decrease of 309 Republicans, and an increase of 28,018 independent and DTS voters.

The raw changes in the numbers are far more impressive than the percentages.

Do people outside your district understand the tremendous shift that’s taking place in the overall political climate in the district?

Hi Francine. I live in the district and am dedicated to getting rid of Bilbray. As I recall, the COOK REPORT shows a much narrower gooper registration advantage than 9%- more like 3-5%. Which is accurate?

Will you run again as a “soccer mom”?

Will you be visiting us at the Lake San Marcos Democratic Club?

Francine, welcome back to FDL!

Is the CA-50 being hit badly by the economy? Do Bilbray’s constituents connect his No votes on the Stimulus and such with teh bad economy?

President Obama has been very successful at introducing difficult issue to the American people in such a way that he educates they about the facts, reduces the heated rhetoric through constructive dialogue and moves the issues forward. I expect him to do the same with immigration.
Americans understand that we need to reform both legal and illegal immigration issues. After the anti-immigrant groups sound off with all their rhetoric, I believe that the American people will sift through all the noise and understand the facts. I am confident that we will have comprehensive immigration reform and that will help my campaign.

Let me expand Lucas’ question even more to include 2008. When you’re done talking about 2006, tell us why you think Liebham lost and what Democrats can learn from that loss and how you plan to win in the 50th this year.

It’s great to hear from all of you. Yes, there have been huge changes in the voter registration of the District. I have been actively involved in building the base and helping to put our County Grassroots Organizing Team in place. I have been traveling the County for two years educating people about the huge shift that we are experiencing here. We also turned San Diego County Blue in November. I am sure that the DCCC is quite aware of the changes. This district has been mentioned several times in the national press as being targeted in the 2010 election.

Francine,

How does the “off year election” change your strategy? This will be a “turnout” election. How do you plan to get the dems to the polls?

Good luck Francine !
I hope to see you become a member of Congress

Are you still of the opinion that the voting mechanisms and machines in SD County are such that you can trust the results?

I will not be running as a soccer mom. I’ve come a long way since I first ran in 2004. I will be running a well organized and funded campaign with experienced volunteers and staff. I have gained a widespread reputation in San Diego County as a spokesperson for Democrats and a leader in the community.

Leibham was a first time candidate who lacked a natural base in the community because he had moved here fairly recently. Although he raised a lot of money and ran a good campaign, voters still didn’t feel like they knew him.

In contrast, when I ran in 2006, $15 million were spent on my campaigns so I have widespread name recognition. I have a large base of supporters with whom I communicate regularly through my newsletter and I have experience raising money and campaigning. I am confident that we are starting from a much stronger point than we’ve ever been in before.

Your district covers the same area as Jim the Realtor and I’ve watched his videos that document the collapse of the housing market in San Diego.

Is Bilbray still blaming all of the problems on immigration?

Thanks Francine. A couple more if you have time.

In 2006, involvement in the 50th by the DCCC was seen by many as being counter-productive. Do you have any specific thoughts on how the DCCC impacted your race in 2006 and how you’ll engage the committee for support this cycle?

Additionally, building on the discussion of immigration. One of the major concerns within the Leibham campaign (from what I understood) was whether to address the immigration issue head on or try to concede the issue to Bilbray and focus elsewhere. It’s an internal uncertainty that I don’t think was ever resolved fully. As you note, Bilbray makes everything about immigration- how do you plan to balance addressing immigration and forcing him to engage on other issues?

We are much more organized as a party than in 2006. In 2006 there was no County Party infrastructure in place. My campaign was it. We had about 6 months to ID our voters, educate them, convince them to vote in special election and get them to the polls. It was a lot of heavy lifting in a district that was still heavily Republican and hadn’t seen a competetive Democrat in the race for over a decade.

Today our County Party GO TEAM has over 1100 trained precinct leaders and solid record of success. We elected over 75% of our endorsed candidate. Over 500 of those leaders are in my district. So even in an off year, we will win the ground game in 2010.

Yours was one of the first campaigns I remember from 2006, and one of the first to get me involved in donating a small amount. I’m excited you are running again against Bilbray — he’s odious, and people deserve better representation.

As a previous candidate with an established base and operation, do you expect to attract the attention of the DCCC?

“In contrast, when I ran in 2006, $15 million were spent on my campaigns”—so where do you stand in public financing since it is well known that the money corrupts the electoral process?

We are no longer using the touch screen voting machines in San Diego. They were decertified after my race. We now use the scanning machines. We have an active Voter Integrity watch dog group that is determined to keep an eye on this. I still have doubts about the integrity of the vote counting procedures in 2006, but we had no anectdotal evidence or proof that anything untoward had happened. It’s hard to have proof when there is no paper trail or paper ballots to count. This time we will have ballots. The registrar has also changed since then.

Glad to hear that there are resources in place. I gave a bit to the previous attempts to put a dem in the seat- but it’s been a frustrating experience so far. Hope this time is different.

Glad to know there is another SD’er that particpates here.

Excellent news!

Several of us I think.

I expect Bilbray to continue to run on immigration because that is his one and only issue. He was a lobbyist for FAIR. He sits on their advisory Board. He is the chair of the anti-immigrant caucus (whatever they call it) that he inherited from Tom Tancredo. He is supports an amendment to the constitution to deny the children of immigrants legal status. I don’t know all the details about that.

He will continue to pound on illegal immigration with all the buzz words and rhetoric he can muster and the minutement will be right with him and in my face. I will face it head on and try convince people that they offer no real solutions to the problem.

Yes, as someone who filed an election complaint documenting with witnesses and attorney’s the issues with the Diebold system and ROV not complying with the ‘Procedures for Use’ associated with the machines(which Bowen did nothing about AFTER the ROV had been changed) I am quite aware of what has occurred in SD re voting.
Perhaps you need to read about what has happened with the same oopscan machines in Pima County ,AZ or the latest in ‘dropped ballots’ that the SOS is investigating in N.CA.
Brina and Jim and Shar and Lillian know me very well.

Any way of nuetralizing the San Diego Union in this race? They beat you up badly on your supposed comments to “illegals” at the Escondido meeting. They’ll do their best to cast you in a poor light. Any chance of finding a popular public project to push? You can argue that a gooper can’t get it done in a Washington controlled by dems.

I expect the DCCC to watch this race carefully but it’s up to us in the 50th to get off to a strong start. The DCCC has made it clear that their first priority is to defend their more vulnerable members, then take on open seats and finally look for the slim pickin’s that are left in the Republican ranks. The fact that Bilbray only won with 50.2% of the vote and that Obama won by 4% in this District puts him in their bullseye.

My editorial interviews at the Union Tribune have been outright hostile. They were not interviews, they were interrogations, full of accusations, gotcha questions and preconcieved conclusions. My only hope is that the new owners change the make up of the editorial staff to make it more balanced before the 2010 election heats up. I have no reason to believe that this will occur, but I can always hope.

Our voter integrity folks keep me educated on the pitfalls of all the voting systems. Because I am concentrating on my campaign, I have to depend on them to keep the spotlight on the machines. In 2006 I was caught in a difficutl situation. The voting machine issues came up at the time of the June election and I had to run again in November. It would have been difficult to challenge one race and run in another at the same time. After June, we had a complete change of staff and had start fundraising again from scratch. Running as a “sour grapes” loser wasn’t really a viable option. This time, I won’t have that conflict and will make sure that every ballot is counted.

I’ve met Kittle several times and he seems to be OK- but they have certainly been hostile to you. Do you have a good PR person on board already?

Between the foreclosures and the loss of home values in North County SD, I’m wondering if moderate homeowners who don’t spend all their free time watching Fox or listening to Limbaugh, will want to hold Bilbray accountible for voting against the legislation that would allow judges to force banks to readjust mortgage terms. I’m guessing that could be a big issue in a basically suburban district.

We are still building our team. We have some excellent local talent, but if we go into high gear, I may bring in someone with more political experience. I had an excellent seasoned staff for the special primary and the special in June. I have experienced the difference and would welcome some real pros to my team. Kittle is OK, but is ideologically rigid in his opinions.

“This time, I won’t have that conflict and will make sure that every ballot is counted.”—good to hear but we both know how the ROV and County Attorney’s try to make recounts financially ruinous; hopefully it won’t turn into a Franken/Coleman contest BUT the DCCC should be prepared for those costs.

There are 37,000 unemployed in San Diego and tens of thousands more under-employed. We have half a million without health insurance and homes have lost between 30% to 50% of their value. Foreclosures are at an all-time high. Bilbray will have to answer for his vote against the stimulus package to bring hundreds of millions of dollars to the San Diego economy. I will hold him accountable for his vote against the “Keeping Americans in their Homes Act’ and also for voting against equal pay for women and health insurance for children. I think that his votes have been cynical in that he could please his party by voting against them, knowing that his constituents would benefit from them. I think voters here want someone who will work for them, not against them especially during these difficult times.

Hope you do it. People make ALL the difference. I didn’t think that you were being well served by your staff previously- even the basics of following up on contributions didn’t seem to go smoothly and the message appeared to need work. Hope you find some good people. Look forward to seeing you at a LSM meeting soon.

Outside of efforts from the county party apparatus, are there plans coming into place to amplify Spanish-language outreach? I’ve heard (in an admittedly unscientific sampling) lamentations in the past several cycles that Latino targeting was below what many would have hoped to see, particularly for inland areas.

I was at Lake San Marcos last week. I go there as often as I can. They will be moving to a new venue for their future meetings. Their founding president and I have worked closely together for five years. She was and still is key to the success of the GO (Grassroots Organizing Team) We’ve been to every club and organization in the county together over the past two years to promote its growth and effectiveness.

Francine

In the past have you had access to good opposition research? Bilbray’s been sliming his way around Washington long enough that there is likely to be plenty to use against him- including “do nothing congressman”.

Yes Betty’s great!

I’ve alway said that the Latino voters have to organize register and educate from within their own community. I see more activism and organizing going on than I did before. In fact, I will be attending a meeting on Monday of the reconstituted Latino American Democratic Club in Oceanside. We may have a strong Latina running for a state office who can rally the base. Also, Bilbray is their worst nightmare, so I expect that to motivate them to get out to vote. I reach out to leaders in the community as much as possible to maintain good communications and understanding.

AS they say at Emily’s List, if you don’t do reseach, you don’t win. We’ll do our part.

Has Bilbray developed enough of a constituent service record to have ingratiated himself to residents of the district? And has he bought a home there yet?

Also will Barbara Boxer’s name on the ballot help or hurt or be a neutral for you?

The feedback that I get from Bilbray’s office is mixed. They have successfully served some constituents and offended others. It’s my understanding that he’s not much more accessible than Cunningham. I have no idea where he lives. He talks a lot about his boats. I have heard that he lives at his mother’s house in Carlsbad; on a boat in Coronado and still owns his home in Imperial Beach. He also talks about a boat that he owns in Central America. If anyone knows where he really lives, let me know.

Good thing to find out!

Maybe he lives in DC.

Senator Boxer brings out Democratic voters, especially if she is challenged. I think that she will help me on the ballot. I think that it will be a good year for women in general. I expect women to be running in several of our state and local races who will help energize the women’s vote. Now, if Senator Feinstein decides to run for governor… that would really rachet up the race for women candidates.

“Now, if Senator Feinstein decides to run for governor… that would really rachet up the race for women candidates.”—god forbid Feinstein running for governor; Californian’s don’t need a Republican lite in the governor’s slot.

Bilbray has maintained his home in DC for years. After he was defeated by Susan Davis, he became a lobbyist within a year. In fact at one time he claimed three homes. Imperial Beach, Carlsbad and Virginia all at the same time. He actually suited the state of Califoria for discriminating against out of state students (his kids) as a resident of Virginia, while he was running for Congress in the 50th and registering to vote at his mother’s house as a Carlsbad resident. The grand jury was sniffing at all this, but nothing ever came of it.

CA-50 is a pretty prosperous district for the most part. The median household income is around $60,000 (compared to $40,000 down the road in Filner’s district). Will Bilbray’s votes against things like health care for needy children hurt him? Or will people just think he’s saving them money in taxes?

You’ve talked a lot about the infrastructure and registration changes since 2006, and started laying out the myriad ways in which Bilbray has been mostly an embarrassment, but I’ve heard a bit less about what specific issues, reforms and legislations you’re FOR as you campaign this time around and what you’d focus on in Congress. Can you expand a bit on how you think you and your vote would be an asset on Capitol Hill?

Sounds like a do nothing DC professional whose heart is in the Lobby circuit and couldn’t give a shit about his district.

What is your assessment of the governor’s race so far? I hear that Garamendi may run for the open Tauscher seat in Contra Costa county.

I must say, you strike me as a much more serious and knowledgeable candidate than you were previously, just in “conversation” here.

Can you please tell me — what is the most important thing you’ve learned about running for office?

I’m going out on a limb here to say I think we may be jumping the gun, and all the candidates may be as well, on the “open” Ellen Tauscher seat. As a former Wall Street wizard, she may have some background that simply doesn’t get past the intense Obama vetting.

And yes, it appears that Garamendi will seek the seat should it become vacant.

Since 2003 I have been a campaigning for reforming healthcare, increasing our investment in clean renewable energy, ending the war in Iraq and educating all our children to prepare the for a competetive global economy. All this sounds familiar because President Obama has made these issues his priorities along with debt reduction and leveling the playing field for the middle class. Except for issue of Women’s equity that are important to me, I just want to see his agenda.. my agenda… America’s agenda succeed.

That’s the buzz pretty much everywhere. I rarely doubt Capitol Weekly.

I’ve always been knowledgeable and able to articulate positions, but that never comes through in 30 second, poll-driven sound bites. My strength in this campaign is that I have been out there talking to voters personally — tens of thousands of them, for five years. I started as an idealistic grassroots candidate. I ran because of my concern for my country. I built a network and started a movement for change here by connecting disheartened voters who had become resigned to the fact that their votes didn’t count and that the Republican juggernaut would indeed become a permanent majority.

Much has changed. I have learned that it’s all about the numbers. It’s about raising the money needed to connect with voters in meaningful way and then getting them to the polls. All the talk and passion gets you nowhere unless it works to raise the resources needed to get the voters to the polls. I’ve also developed the experience, skills and relationships that it takes to raise money. I share my passion and hope with people and they respond very well.

Best of luck Francine. I suppose that most successful runs against incumbents make the incumbent the issue. Happy hunting. Hope you get the fucker and I’ll be glad to help!

How have you seen the consequences of the state budget crisis impact the 50th district, and how, in your opinion, does that influence the role of federal stimulus funds now and going forward?

I welcome your support. It’s our job to educate people and motivate them to vote by convincing that it really matters. When people are feeling vulnerable, they become much more aware of the impact that policy decisions have on their lives. It’s a good time to be running as a Democrat because we are responding to their anxieties and concerns with concrete solutions. Just a few short years ago, hopeful politicians actually changed party affiliattion to become Republicans because running as a Democrat was political suicide. I’ve worked hard to change that along with many wonderful activists who believed that we could do it. Hopefully we will reap the rewards of our efforts and the extraordinary success of Obama’s campaign and his legend-in-the-making presidency.

As someone mentioned, the 50th is an affluent District. We have not had the same level of foreclosures or loss of jobs as other areas. In fact during the war in Iraq, people here weren’t that upset because people here send their kids to college not war.

As far as the state budget is concerned, the biggest hit that I see will be in the schools. Along the coast parents raise a lot of money to pay for extras, now they may be raising money to pay for the basics including small class sizes. Our cities were really on edge before the budget passed because Sandag an other entities were about to shut down ongoing projects that would have wasted millions of dollars between shuttin them down and starting them up again.

So far the stimulus money that I know of in San Diego County has gone to health clinics in Vista, Escondido and San Diego. These do not generally serve the more affluent voters so they may not feel the benefit of those. Highway 76 has been on the books and a great disappointment for years. That will finally be finished, but it is in the 49th not 50th District. The biggest impact on the 50th will be the infusion of millions of dollars in the new stem cell research institute on Torrey Pines Mesa and the millions of dollars for Bio tech, clean tech and high tech that our start ups and larger enterprises are well poised to compete for in the form of grants. They should bring welcome relief to entrepreneurs who are caught in the credit crunch.

With Debbie Wasserman Schultz and possibly Van Hollen wanting to spend all DCCC money on propping up the Republican-lite fake Democrats like Bobby Bright and Parker Griffith in Alabama and Travis Childers in Mississippi and Joe Donnelly in Indiana, can you expect much help from the DCCC? Last year they spent millions of dollars for Democrats who voted more with the GOP than with Democrats– creeps like Mahoney in Florida, Lampson in Texas and Cazayoux in Louisiana– and they lost those seats anyway and starved campaigns of real Democrats who might have otherwise won, like Hedrick and Durston here in California. You mentioned that you expect to be well-funded. How?

This was a difficult decision to run again because for months all I heard was that I’d be on my own because the DCCC would focus all their energy on defending Dems in Republican districts. Since then I have more hope because of the press stories in Roll Call, the SF Chronicle and others that mention 8 districts in Calif. that will be targeted. These are the Districts where Obama won. I don’t know if Obama won in Bill Hedrick’s district, but his 48.8% finish in a grassroots $200,000 campaign has certainly caught their attention.

I expect to be well funded because I have developed relationships with thousands of supporters in this District who will support me. I am actually looking forward to getting on the phone and sharing all the good news with them. This has all changed in a few short weeks. And, of course it will likely change many times before Nov. 2, 2010. The good news is that we aren’t giving Bilbray a pass… we’ve moved mountains in the 50th and now it’s time to take the mountain!

Francine, thanks for spending the morning with us– and thanks for the frank answers to so many questions. Let’s stay in touch and make sure we keep abreast of developments down there. We’ll be looking forward to blogging with you again. Anyone who wants to donate to Francine’s campaign, or to volunteer, can do it here

Cook reports that the 50th has only a three point republican registration advantage. Is that accurate in your opinion? It would seem important to know just how big a disadvantage you are facing. Three points doesn’t sound too bad!

I’m in.

Good luck, Francine, and please keep us informed about your campaign. I look forward to another Blue America chat with you soon!

Book Salon a couple of flights upstairs with Joel Berg’s All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America? hosted by Robin Stelly