Sunday 29 January 2012

Colleen Cason: Surf's Up In Senate Contest


Colleen Cason: Surf's Up In Senate Contest.I dare say that would be a guy in SoCal for public office was related to the sport of Jeff Spicoli.

Spicoli, played by Sean Penn in the movie 1982 "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", forever branded as a California surfer always stoned slacker in the eternal pursuit of "tasty waves."

Spicoli also lacked some precision with words, famous with this lesson in civics:

"What Jefferson was saying was," Hey, you know, we left here in England because it was wrong, so if we do not get some cool rules us - pronto - we'll be wrong, too. ““

As political observers may wonder why Jason Hodge is a totally rad to show on his campaign materials paddling his surfboard off the beaches of Ventura County.

The native of Oxnard 37 years is running against fellow Democrat and political heavy Hannah-Beth Jackson, the newly redesigned 19th District in the State Senate. Hodge and Jackson will compete for the seat in the open primary in June is expected to include Republican Mike Stoker. The first two votes are in primary school - even if the same party - will do battle in November.

Campaign website of Michael Jackson shows her wearing the de rigueur red jacket. And most politicians wallpaper of their campaign materials with portraits of themselves with their trophy spouses, children, beautiful and adorable cocker spaniel puppies.

And it's not like Hodge lack of visual options. This is a six-foot-5 Ventura County firefighter who won the election in the Oxnard Harbor District. He recently married well connected Assemblywoman Fiona Ma Bay Area

Choice of image Hodge also puzzled Herb Gooch, a professor at California Lutheran University and longtime watcher of local politics.

"Maybe I'm overanalyzing this way But there are other things that would show, as a woman, his family roots in the community, his work in the EU and -. Overshadow all this - the fight against fires, "said Mr. Gooch.

So I had to ask Jason, brother, what's up with the combination instead of the combination of power?

My answer would be to take some time. The day I phoned him, he was competing in the city of Santa Barbara Fire Department Longboard Surfing Class meet.

"I want people to know that I am a surfer who believes in public service," Hodge said after a morning of riding the waves.

He also wants voters to know who they are, and surfing, he said, works in his DNA. His father moved to Oxnard from Oklahoma in 1965 so he can ride the waves. His father, Hawk, Jason put on a surfboard with 3 or 4, he said.

Before his election to the harbor commission last year, figures from Hodge he surfed twice a week - mostly at the insistence of his father, a former firefighter Oxnard. Now it's down to twice a month because of his duties on the board of the port.

He would like to surf more, he says, because the time spent on the ocean makes appreciation of the environment and help to generate ideas. It recommends that all get a long board on a hot day and experience the thrill of the surf.

I told him he might want to be careful what he wishes. Should he be elected, Sacramento is pretty landlocked and will not be suspended 10 well up there. It is a compromise he is willing to do to represent the district, he said. Especially since it means that he and his wife will see each other.

Yet, the wonders of Gooch if the picture is the rider move to the right.

"My forehead furrows in a question mark," he said. "This would not be my advice."

The race is expected to get heated. Jackson is an experienced campaigner. She lost by just 800 votes four years ago to Tony Strickland in the campaign the most expensive of the legislative history of the state.

So I'm just saying, man. This campaign could gnarlatious.

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