Tony Strickland
Tony Strickland (b. February 17, 1970, in Fort Ord, CA) was a 2014 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 25th Congressional District of California.[1] Tony Strickland lost the general election on November 4, 2014. He is also a former Republican member of the California State Senate, representing District 19 from 2008 to 2012.
In 2012, Strickland ran for U.S. House representing the 26th Congressional District of California, losing to Democrat Julia Brownley in the general election.[2] He initially planned to run again in 2014 but dropped out of the race once Jeff Gorell announced his candidacy. He then immediately endorsed Gorell.[3][4]
Prior to joining the state senate, Strickland served in the California State Assembly (District 37) from 1998 to 2004. He ran for the statewide position of California State Controller in 2006.
Biography
Strickland earned his B.A. in political science from Whittier College. His professional experience includes working as the vice president of Green Wave Energy Solutions, LLC.
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Strickland served on these committees:
- Business, Professions and Economic Development
- Energy, Utilities and Communications
- Environmental Quality Committee, California State Senate, Vice Chair
- Governmental Organization Committee, California Senate
- Health Committee, California Senate, Vice Chair
- Human Services Committee, California Senate
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Strickland served on these committees:
- Health
- Budget and Fiscal Review
- Energy, Utilities and Communications
- Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments
Issues
Taxes
Sen. Strickland blasted Democrats in June 2011 for not committing the recently discovered $6.6 billion additional state tax revenues to public safety and education. Public safety and education groups are the two in the state claiming to be hit the hardest with cuts. Strickland said it does not appear the money was spent wisely.
“Democrats would like to claim that this budget is about public safety and education,” Strickland said. “Let’s be clear: You can make no mistake that this budget is not about protecting public safety or education. If you extend these taxes, it’s going to mean more people out of work at a time when people can least afford it. If you vote for this, it will actually be a full year of tax increases even if people in September vote it down.”
In 2011, Republicans blocked the passage of a tax bill requiring a two-thirds vote (AB X1 18).
Immediately following the failed tax vote, Sen. President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg brought up a bill (SB 1X 23) that housed his local taxation bill (SB 653) and would allow local governments to bring local tax opportunities to a vote.
“I believe that it is another club to use over Republicans and our constituencies, saying, if you don’t do this bridge tax, if you don’t raise the taxes of people that have already said no, then we are going to have all these different taxes,” said Republican Sen. Bob Huff.
However Steinberg and other Democrats said they planned to allow local governments to fund their own public programs, especially if Republicans and voters rejected the tax extensions in 2011. Senate Bill 653 was a bargaining tool to get Republicans to go along with Jerry Brown’s tax extensions.
Under SB 653, local governments could pass local taxes increases on not just goods and services, but also on income taxes. In the course of the 2011 session, Democrats said they would create a local car tax, additional business taxes, property taxes and many different excise taxes on cigarettes, liquor, soda and even locally sold medical marijuana.[5]
Redistricting
In August 2011, the California Citizens Redistricting Commission completed the new Congressional and state legislative maps for the 2012-2020 elections. A referendum began in August 2011 to repeal the Senate map. Supporters have until November 13, 2011 to collect the 504,760 signatures that are required to qualify the measure for the ballot. Among the drive supporters are former Governor Pete Wilson and State Senate Minority Leader Bob Dutton.[6] Four other GOP senators immediately contributed more than $5,000 to the referendum group FAIR:[7]
- Tony Strickland: $25,000
- Mimi Walters: $25,000
- Joel Anderson: $10,000
- Doug La Malfa: $5,000
Elections
2014
Strickland ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent California's 25th District. Strickland and Stephen Knight (R) advanced past the blanket primary on June 3, 2014, defeating Lee Rogers (D), Evan Thomas (D), Troy Castagna (R), Navraj Singh (R), David Bruce (L) and Michael Mussack (I). Strickland was then defeated in the general election on November 4, 2014.[8][9]
Strickland initially planned to run for the 26th Congressional District seat of California. However, he dropped out of the race and endorsed assemblyman Jeff Gorell once Gorell entered the race.[4]
The National Republican Congressional Committee added Strickland to their "On the Radar" list in November 2013. According to the NRCC, candidates that made this list were set to receive "...the tools they need to run successful, winning campaigns against their Democratic opponents."[10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Steve Knight |
53.3% | 60,847 | |
| Republican | Tony Strickland | 46.7% | 53,225 | |
| Total Votes | 114,072 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |
Tony Strickland |
29.6% | 19,090 | |
| Republican | Steve Knight |
28.4% | 18,327 | |
| Democratic | Lee Rogers | 22.2% | 14,315 | |
| Democratic | Evan Thomas | 9.5% | 6,149 | |
| Republican | Troy Castagna | 5.9% | 3,805 | |
| Libertarian | David Bruce | 1.9% | 1,214 | |
| Independent | Michael Mussack | 1.4% | 933 | |
| Republican | Navraj Singh | 1.1% | 699 | |
| Total Votes | 64,532 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State |
||||
2012
Strickland ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent California's 26th District. Redistricting combined a portion of Strickland's senate district with that of Fran Pavley. Because of this, they could have met in the 2012 general election this November, but Strickland decided to run for the U.S. House instead of running for re-election against Pavley.[11] He and Julia Brownley (D) advanced past the blanket primary on June 5, 2012, defeating Albert Maxwell Goldberg (D), Jess Herrera (D), David Cruz Thayne (D), and Linda Parks (Ind). They faced off in the November 6, 2012, general election and Brownley won.[2][12][13]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Julia Brownley |
52.7% | 139,072 | |
| Republican | Tony Strickland | 47.3% | 124,863 | |
| Total Votes | 263,935 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Tony Strickland (R) |
44.1% | 49,043 |
| Julia Brownley (D) |
26.9% | 29,892 |
| Linda Parks (NPP) | 18.3% | 20,301 |
| Jess Herrera (D) | 6.5% | 7,244 |
| David Cruz Thayne (D) | 2.5% | 2,809 |
| Albert Maxwell Goldberg (D) | 1.7% | 1,880 |
| Total Votes | 111,169 | |
2008
In 2008, Strickland was elected to the California State Senate, District 19. In a close race Strickland finished with 207,976 votes just barely edging out his opponent Hannah-Beth Jackson who finished with 201,119 votes.[14] Strickland raised $4,196,857 in campaign funds.
| California State Senate, District 19 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Tony Strickland (R)
|
207,976 | |||
| Hannah-Beth Jackson (D) | 207,119 | |||
Campaign themes
2014
Strickland's campaign website listed the following issues:[15]
| “ |
|
” |
| —Tony Strickland's campaign website, https://www.tonystrickland.com/issues | ||
2012
Strickland's campaign website listed the following issues:[17]
- Keeping Ventura County First
- Excerpt: "Too many Ventura County families are struggling to make ends meet. Our local recovery and return to sound policies are necessary in order to get our neighbors working and our County thriving economically again. Creating new jobs and keeping jobs already in Ventura County, here, must be the focus of our government and our elected officials."
- Creating American Jobs
- Excerpt: "Ventura County needs independent leaders who will work to unite our community around economic policies that provide hope and prosperity for families struggling to make ends meet. Over the past three and a half years, our government has failed in its core duty: promoting an economy where lasting, well-paying jobs can be created in America."
- Protecting Medicare and Social Security
- Excerpt: "Social Security and Medicare are a sacred trust with our country’s seniors who have worked and paid into the system their entire lives. I will steadfastly oppose any effort to reduce Social Security or Medicare benefits for America’s retirees or those nearing retirement. I will also oppose any plan that changes the system in any way for those who count on Social Security or Medicare."
- Making America Energy Independent
- Excerpt: "Energy independence isn’t an option, it’s a necessity. America must lead the world in both energy production and renewable energy development. It’s time to transition our economy from traditional fossil fuels and into a renewable energy independent economy that will provide high paying jobs and improve our environment."
- Keeping America Strong
- Excerpt: "Keeping America safe at home is the most important duty for our leaders in government. The enduring flame of liberty was lit on our shores in 1776, and has been transcendent for over two centuries because of the resolve of the American people and the hard work of our men and women in uniform. The United States remains a leader in the world, and a strong national defense will allow America to remain a global force for good. "
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
Legislative scorecard
Capitol Weekly, California's major weekly periodical covering the state legislature, publishes an annual legislative scorecard to pin down the political or ideological leanings of every member of the legislature based on how they voted on an assortment of bills in the most recent legislative session. The 2009 scores were based on votes on 19 bills, but did not include how legislators voted on the Proposition 1A (2009). On the scorecard, "100" is a perfect liberal score and "0" is a perfect conservative score.[18][19]
On the 2009 Capitol Weekly legislative scorecard, Strickland ranked as a 20.[20]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Strickland is married to Audra Strickland, who is a former member of the California State Assembly. The Stricklands have two children and live in Moorpark, California.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Tony + Strickland + California + Senate
See also
- United States House of Representatives
- California's 26th Congressional District elections, 2014
- California's 26th Congressional District
External links
- Tony Strickland's campaign website
- Campaign contributions: 2010, 2008, 2006, 2002, 2000, 1998
- Tony Strickland on Twitter
Footnotes
- ↑ Roll Call, "Strickland Switches Races to McKeon’s District in California (Updated)," December 2, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 CNN, "California Districts Race - 2012 Election Center," accessed December 1, 2012
- ↑ Bloomberg News, "California: Strickland Seeks Rematch with Brownley," April 2, 2013
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Los Angeles Times, "GOP Assemblyman Jeff Gorell to challenge Rep. Julia Brownley," November 25, 2013
- ↑ CalWatchdog.org, "Bridge Tax Fails; Local Tax Passes," June 13, 2010
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Former Gov. Pete Wilson joins effort to upset redistricting plan," August 24, 2011
- ↑ Sacramento Bee, "Drive to repeal Senate maps gets boost from four GOP senators," August 26, 2011
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Election 2014," November 4, 2014
- ↑ The New York Times, "California Primary Results," May 3, 2014
- ↑ Roll Call, "House Republicans Put 36 Recruits ‘On the Radar’," accessed November 21, 2013
- ↑ toacorn.com, "Redistricting may pit Pavley vs. Strickland," October 6, 2011
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Unofficial election results," November 6, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ Follow the Money, "California State Senate official election results," accessed October 31, 2010
- ↑ Campaign website, "Issues," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Campaign website, "Issues," accessed August 10, 2012
- ↑ Capitol Weekly, "Capitol Weekly's Legislative Scorecard," December 17, 2009
- ↑ Fox and Hounds Daily, "Random Thoughts on the Political Scene," December 18, 2009
- ↑ Capitol Weekly, "2009 Capitol Weekly State Legislative Scorecard (Archived)," accessed March 13, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
California State Senate District 19 2008–2012 |
Succeeded by Hannah-Beth Jackson (D) |
