Assistant Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt doesn’t get much attention. He probably likes it that way. If more people knew about his previous job as a high-priced lobbyist for Westlands Water District, there might be more publicity about his attempts to influence California water policy. As it is, the people getting credit for the Trump administration’s western water policy are Jeff Denham, David Valadao, Devin Nunes and Kevin McCarthy, all […]
Jeff Denham CA-10
Jeff Denham’s Bay Area Connections
A while back, Modesto Doctor C.V. Allen wrote that election time is, “a season in which truths die by the thousand, hyperbole reaches its apex and most Americans plug their ears and wait for it all to pass.” Dr. Allen was writing in response to a, “Jeff Denham hit-piece mailer suggesting Josh Harder’s health plan would ‘make you sick.’” Dr. Allen felt compelled to write because he’s among that shrinking […]
Why Jeff Denham Wants the Twin Tunnels
Jeff Denham’s California Congressional District 10 is purple—it’s almost equally divided between red (for Republican) and blue (for Democrat) voters. But despite the almost equal balance between Republicans and Democrats in his district, Jeff Denham votes with his Republican Party 97.8% of the time. Just for comparison’s sake, consider Representative Tom McClintock, Denham’s Republican colleague in nearby District 4. Even though his district leans far more heavily Republican than Denham’s […]
Want water? “Donors first,” says Jeff Denham
Ordinarily, a Beverly Hills billionaire, a Sacramento attorney, and an Oakdale farmer wouldn’t have much in common, but politics, water, and money are the ties that bind Stewart Resnick, Tim O’Laughlin, and John Brichetto to Congressman Jeff Denham. Brichetto is the only one of the three who lives in Denham’s district (CA-10), but as one of the largest independent landowners within the Oakdale Irrigation District (OID), Brichetto provides the loudest […]
CA-10 Democrats Dodge Howze-it-zer
With all but a few votes now counted, it appears the turnout for Democratic candidates in California Congressional District 10 (CA-10) was up over fifty percent from 2014, the last off-year election. In the 2014 primary, Democrats Michael Eggman and Mike Barkley totaled 30,809, with Eggman logging 19,804 votes. This year, with six Democratic candidates’ names on the ballot, total Democratic votes were 49,611—but even with the dramatic increase in […]
When Five Democrats Equal Two Republicans
News that Ted Howze has already amassed $256,946 for his campaign in California’s Congressional District 10 (CA-10) rocked Democratic insiders like a rare San Joaquin Valley earthquake. Howze’s late entry was initially treated as frivolous, but now the prospect of a two Republican runoff has many Democrats increasingly fretful. It’s a strong message that Democratic voters need to take their eyes off the primary and look hard at the general […]
Did “Plastic” Jeff Denham Fail to Disclose Loans from JP Morgan?
Steve Ringhoff’s careers as a journalist and attorney led him to a love of investigation and publication. His “Modesto Explained” website features detailed analysis of how our government does, and, more often, does not, serve the people. We hope to be publishing more of Steve’s fine work soon. Would it be important to know a congressman’s relationship with the country’s largest bank, especially with banking regulation legislation pending? Well, two […]
Josh Harder: The Kid Who Came Back
For decades, valley citizens have been lamenting the exodus of their children to distant locations. “We have to make our cities more attractive so our kids will want to come back here and live,” they say. But still the kids leave and don’t come back. The exodus of the valley’s best and brightest young people is no mystery. Over the years, a dark shadow has fallen across a region that […]
Democrats Fill the House
There was a time when the only way to get more than twenty local Democrats together was to offer free food, and even then it was hard to tell how many were Democrats and how many had wandered in from the streets. Those days are over. Friday night, Democrats filled Modesto’s 444 seat Foster Family Theater (in the Gallo Center for the Arts) to overflowing for the most recent debate […]