Political parties are always looking for the stars of the future and the GOP clearly thinks it may have one in Ricky Gill, the recent law school graduate running against incumbent Jerry McNerney for the new 9th Congressional District, which includes much of San Joaquin County and the East Bay.
He was identified as a "Young Gun" candidate by the National Republican Congressional Committee and, to cement the party's enthusiasm about him, Gill was asked to speak at the Republican National Convention.
Gill is scheduled to speak at 3:29 p.m. Monday — which is not a time when the hall is likely to be filled. Nonetheless it's quite a coup for someone who is only 25. No doubt the party likes him because he reflects youth and diversity — his parents are Sikh — and his credentials are impressive. He's a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Princeton and earned his law degree from UC Berkeley.
A staffer told me that Gill plans to speak about the San Joaquin Valley. Convention schedules are unpredictable, but party officials indicate that all of the speeches will be streamed live on YouTube.
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Joan Clendenin, long active in GOP activities in Stanislaus County and California, is among the local delegates to the Tampa convention and she will be filing blog reports for us daily.
Clendenin, 70, retired from the Stanislaus County Community Services Agency in 1992. This will be her second national convention; she also was a delegate to the 1992 convention in Houston.
"I've been to three inaugurations and want to go to one more before I hang up my precinct walking shoes," Clendenin told me by e-mail. In the interest of openness, she and I have worked together for many years on the annual candidate workshops to help people prepare to run for office.
She has been a conservative since the early 1950s after hearing Dwight Eisenhower give his acceptance speech at the Republican convention. "I walked my first precinct, on River Road in south Modesto, for Reagan for governor. I will walk my last precinct for Romney and local reps this year."
Her blog posts will be available at http://thehive.modbee.com. The following week, Manjeet Grewal will blog for us from the Democratic National Convention.
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Yes, the Jose Hernandez for Congress campaign does plan to finally get some signs out. I wasn't the only one asking why the former astronaut didn't have any signs up in the 10th District primary against incumbent Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, and Chad Condit.
An e-mail went out Thursday to supporters indicating that lawn signs will be available to those interested for a $20 contribution or a pledge to volunteer at least four hours to the campaign. Local campaign consultants tell me that's unusual, if not unheard of.
Dan Krupnick, campaign manager for Hernandez, defended the strategy, saying it has had the intended effect, which is to encourage more volunteers for precinct walking and phone banks. "That's really what our top priority is," Krupnick said. The campaign ordered 1,000 yard signs, plus larger signs that will go up at major intersections the week after Labor Day.
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Two weeks ago, when I wrote about Sen. Dianne Feinstein coming to Modesto, I said I hadn't heard about any campaign events that would explain her timing. Not surprisingly, there is one. Her public appearance is Wednesday at a lunch hosted by the Modesto Chamber of Commerce at the DoubleTree Hotel. Tuesday evening, there's a fund-raising reception in her honor at the home of Bill and Suzy Lyons. It is sponsored by the Mary L. Lyons Family and the California Poultry Federation Political Action Committee. The host committee includes a lineup of local Democrats and agriculture PACs. Tickets range from $500 to $2,500.
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Feinstein's GOP challenger, Elizabeth Emken, will be the guest speaker at the Republican Party of Stanislaus County 2012 Picnic on Sept. 23. Other Republican candidates also are invited t the family event, which is a different price range — $25 for each adult, with youngsters under 18 free. For more info, call (209) 571-8118 or e-mail execdir@stanislausgop.org.
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And while I'm on the subject of money, Rep. Jeff Denham is one of the co-sponsors of Fresno fund-raising dinner featuring Paul Ryan, the vice presidential candidate. Just recently, Mitt Romney pulled in more than $1 million at a fund-raiser in Sanger. According to The Fresno Bee, it was the largest political fund-raiser ever in the valley. The Ryan event will be Sept. 8 at the Fresno Convention Center. Tickets start at $1,000 and go up to $25,000 per couple.
Sly is editor of the Opinions pages. Contact her at (209) 578-2317 or jsly@modbee.com or on Twitter @judysly.
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