California's 42nd District Congressional Race Getting Ugly

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The district lines in California have been redrawn. Southwest Riverside County used to largely be a part of the district Mary Bono Mack is the representative for. Now that the lines have been adjusted, her district pretty much remains in the desert areas around Palm Springs. Ken Calvert's district now includes much of Southwest Riverside County, along with Corona, Norco, and Eastvale. Mr. Calvert is considered a Republican In Name Only to conservatives of the region, so a number of more conservative candidates have come out to challenge him.

Clay Thibodeau ran against Mary Bono Mack in the last election, and he established himself as a strong candidate in Southwest Riverside County. Mack's strong numbers in the desert communities kept her on top, and she held on to her seat in 2010. Now, Clay is back, challenging Ken Calvert in the 42nd District. His prowess regarding national issues, and the United States Constitution, has made him a favorite among many conservatives in the area. His biggest challenge, however, aside from Mr. Calvert, is a black female candidate by the name of Eva Johnson.

Dr. Eva Johnson has deeper roots locally than Clay, and has more experience in regards to her involvement in local politics. Her deep Christian faith, and extensive education, has earned her the respect of a large swath of local voters. Dr. Johnson also holds the U.S. Constitution as an important part of her campaign, though her understanding of the document is still in its infancy.

Both candidates have appeal, and drawbacks. Both candidates are also better than Ken Calvert, the RINO. In tomorrow's primary, it is pretty much understood that Calvert will land one of the two spots available on the general election ballot. The other will likely belong to Clay, or Eva.

The realization that Clay or Eva will likely hold the final spot has made the battle between these two quite interesting. Mud throwing, however, has not come from the candidates, but from their followers.

In response to an article in the Murrieta Patch about an attorney endorsing Congressional Candidate Eva Johnson, a supporter of Eva's campaign wrote a scathing letter against both Clay Thibodeau, and one of his primary campaign volunteers, Diana Serafin.

"Diane both you and Clay are deceptive and immoral. You are no longer allowed to attend Republican Women's Federated functions because of immoral behavior which includes gathering signatures to Liberal causes and candidates. You have sold your soul to make a buck. Diane claims her candidate won a debate when there was none. It was A FORUM , Loading the audience with Clay supporters to clap for him doesn't constitute a win. It constitutes deception. Diane has no morals only lies.She also twists the truth. Bob Kowell persoanlly endorsed Eva Johnson as Richard Ackerman has. No where was it mentioned the the MTRA was a part of that. as Diane likes to "imply" a lie. Wow and Diane wants to be on the Republican Central Committee? Allowing her any power is a mistake. She is not responsible or trustworthy enough to wield it wisely.She needs to be checked not put in any office. And deceptive Carpetbagger Clay has erased all references to his El Cajon residence online as well as his confession that he has no social affiliations to anything in the 42nd district. You Diane are a hypocrite. You have a web site listing LGPAC on it without LGPAC approving the use of its name on it. You are being told to take it down tommorow if you haven't already."

Diana replied through email, indicating that these kinds of attacks are nothing new, and rather than publish her response to these vial smears and lies, she decided to respond through email.

In responding, she listed her own bullet points of truth. . .

1. I am an honorary member of the Women’s Federated. This has been confirmed by a few board members.

2. I have NOT been kicked out

3. I am still doing voter registration – next event: this Saturday at Sam Hicks Park Event

4. Attacking the Central Committee is attacking all Republicans

5. The candidate that wins will want the Central Committee on their side They will also want the Riverside GOP endorsement and large donations.

6. This person is working very hard for a candidate – what if this person gets elected and gets a job in the 42nd district office???? Will he treat everyone this way.

7. Yes I am a candidate for the Central Committee. Win or lose, I am still going to be active fighting for our rights, voter registration, petitions and whatever else I can do to protect our future generations. I will also attend the Central Committee meetings.

8. Calling a candidate a carpetbagger is also calling Michelle Bachman and Alan West a carpetbagger. They do not live in their districts either. It is more important to understand and defend the constitution, then it is to  live here.

9. I also have been threatened by a law suit from one candidate. I have challengedmany candidates platforms in all races and areas they are breaking laws. I have been in touch by email with ALL the candidates from the 42nd district and the 67th District. I was investigating their platform. I do my homework thoroughly.

10. Zorina and I have found many signs thrown into fields for most candidates. We have picked up the signs, put them back up and I notified the campaigns.

11. This gentleman Roy, called me and threatened me regarding stealing signs. My cell phone is automatically on speaker when I am driving so I had a witness. We filed a police report.

12. I have NEVER done any “liberal” petitions and NEVER will. At present I am working on Stop SB48 and part time legislature petitions.

God Bless this country and pray everyone votes to save our country and freedoms.

As a result of the fireworks, a number of people associated with my Constitution Classes, and others because they know I am friends with both Clay and Eva, have asked me about my opinion on this mess. My response has been as simple, and as neutral, as I can make it:

I have been keeping up with what's going on, but there are a lot of accusations from both sides that can't necessarily be substantiated. In other words, it is word against word. That said, as I told Suzanne on my radio show at KCAA last Saturday when she called in, I am staying neutral. Both candidates have good things, and bad things, about them. Clay is more solid on the Constitution. Eva has more experience in her involvement with local government. Both are educated, but Eva's education is more geared towards running for office, and her education is more extensive, having a doctorate. Clay is a better speaker, and has a better handle on the overall issues. Eva is a Christian, while Clay is a Mormon. Eva lives permanently in the local area, while Clay has a local address simply for running for office. Clay has done more research on the federal issues. and so on and so on. Therefore, I must say that I like Clay more because of his constitutional understanding and grasp on the issues. And Eva more because of her experience in the local political scene, and her position of faith.

As for the back biting, and attacks. Are we surprised? I'm not. But I refuse to get sucked into it. I consider all parties to be my friends and valued acquaintances, and can simply say, "May the best candidate win."

Added Note: Prior to the posting of this article, I had a conversation with Diana Serafin where she added the following tidbits:
In regards to deep local roots, Clay has over 40 years in Riverside county. Eva has only been here I think 17 years. Clay has two Master Degrees. Masters Degrees in Business Administration and Education. Eva has personally attacked members of Clay's team, and though Eva served on local committees she never showed up to the meetings. She did not help with Measures C D E and Ban the Cams. She did not attend regularly the commission and quit it. Never finished out the term.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary