BY NICK DIAMANTIDES
Staff Writer
Sparks flew at the congressional candidates’ forum last week. On several occasions, things got so out of hand that moderator Alan Tolkoff had to ask the candidates and audience members to restrain themselves.
The forum— organized by the Signal Tribune and Concerned Citizens of Signal Hill— took place at the Signal Hill Community Center on Wednesday evening (October 22), and included all five candidates running for election as U.S. Representative of the 37th Congressional District: incumbent Laura Richardson (D), Nick Dibs (I), Peter Mathews (D), Lee Davis (D) and June Pouesi (R). More than 80 people attended the event, including Signal Hill Mayor Mike Noll, Signal Hill Councilmen Larry Forester and Ed Wilson, and Long Beach Councilwoman Rae Gabelich.
In a random drawing, Mathews, who teaches political science at Cypress College and sometimes serves as a political commentator on local radio and TV channels, was selected as the first speaker.
“I am here because I really feel that our country is at a crossroads,” he said. Then, acknowledging that he is not a religious person, he quoted the Bible verse that states: Where there is no vision, the people perish.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have got to look carefully and find our vision once again,” Mathews said, adding that he wanted to recapture the vision shared by Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez and Mahatma Gandhi. “It’s a vision that says we are all part of the same human family,” he stressed, adding that if elected he would support legislation to end the war in Iraq and increase affordable educational opportunities for all.
Nick Dibs, who works as an Orange County schoolteacher, spoke next. He noted that more than 12,000 people signed petitions to put his name on the ballot, making him the only candidate besides Richardson whose name will appear on it. (All the others are write-in candidates.)
“I am running because the 37th Congressional District can do better and cannot afford another term of mismanagement of dollars personal or otherwise,” Richardson said. “We cannot afford another term of spending beyond our needs. We need stability and accountability.”
Pouesi, the director of the Samoan Affairs Council of Carson, spoke next. “I got into this late because nobody is talking about the real challenge facing our country right now,” she said. “I’m talking about morals. I am talking about values.”
Pouesi told the audience that the economic crisis and social ills besetting the United States today are merely the symptoms of the nation’s spiritual disease. She warned that many laws passed by federal and state governments as well as the court decisions handed down by activist judges are continuously undermining America’s Christian values and destroying the foundation upon which America was founded. She noted that without that foundation, America will lose the liberty it holds so dear.
“Our founding fathers recognized that there is a higher law and all manmade laws are superseded by that higher law,” she said, promising that if elected she would work hard to bring back the Judeo-Christian ethic to all governmental institutions and pass laws that conformed to that ethic. Pouesi stressed that she is pro-life and strongly in favor of Proposition 8, California’s marriage amendment.
Then it was Richardson’s turn to speak. “We have a very critical time right now in this country and knowing who your elected official is and who is really able to do the things that need to be done is very important,” she said. Richardson noted that she was born and raised in Southern California, received a bachelor of science degree in political science from UCLA and a masters degree in business from USC and worked in the private sector for 14 years. “I have served in all three levels of government,” she added, referring to her stints as Long Beach City Councilwoman, State Assembly Member and U.S. Congresswoman.
“We need balanced leadership,” she said. “We need people who understand the business perspective, who understand the legislative perspective, but also who understand what it’s like to be a real American right now.”
Davis, who arrived about ten minutes late, was the last speaker. She began by encouraging audience members to purchase one or all of the three books she has written about Barack Obama. “I am very excited about this man,” she said.
In a presentation that covered a wide array of subjects, Davis, the former publisher of the Wrigley Bulletin, noted that her great grandmother was a slave; that she (Davis) had her house taken in foreclosure about three years ago; and that she had traveled to Washington D.C. to lobby for federal legislation to protect Americans from predatory lenders.
Then Davis launched into a sharp criticism of Richardson accusing the incumbent of not accomplishing anything for the people of the 37th District. “I am working for you, I am not working for myself,” she said.
Later, Richardson asked Tolkoff to keep the candidates from making personal attacks. Tolkoff replied that in such forums, it is difficult to draw the line between discussion of issues and personal attacks. Since a candidate’s ability to effectively represent the people of the district is a valid concern, criticisms of that ability could be construed as a personal attack.
“Candidates can say what they want,” he said, noting that each candidate also had three opportunities to rebut statements made by any other candidate.
Then the candidates took turns answering questions submitted by the audience pertaining to air pollution, truck traffic, FEMA flood insurance, and issues important to Signal Hill residents. At various times throughout the forum however, Dibs, Mathews and Davis sharply criticized Richardson’s job performance and ethical standards while she criticized their ability to grasp the issues. Audience members joined in the acrimony by heckling various candidates at different times.
When the candidates were finished sparring, Tolkoff said he had presided over political discussions for many years and could not remember one that had the level of emotions expressed at the October 22 forum, but he insisted that expressing emotions was not a bad thing.
“The people in this room are the ones taking an interest in politics,” he explained. “More than anything about this country, it’s us that make this country.”
