Candidates Running Against Hunter Outline Platforms in Ramona

Corporate greed, the Occupy movement, lobbyist donations and the military industrial complex were key issues Wednesday night, when three people running against Rep. Duncan D. Hunter in the June primary appeared at a forum in Ramona.

Hunter represents the 52nd Congressional District which includes northeastern and central San Diego county. Much of the area will be renumbered as the 50th Congressional District under redistricting and will go as far north as Temecula for the June election.

Terri Linnell of Ramona, Connie Frankowiak of Julian and David Secor of Crest gave their platforms at an informational presentation hosted by Ramona Forum, a liberal progressive interest group, at Ramona Library. The group's president, Dave Patterson, said the forum was not a debate between candidates or between the audience and the candidates, but was just to hear what the contenders had to say about why they are running for office.

Linnell is a Republican and the other two are Democrats. Linnell and Frankowiak challenged Hunter in 2010.

Hunter was not invited to the Wednesday forum, Patterson said, but the group would like to invite him in the future to debate his opponents. Patterson said he invited Michael Benoit, a Libertarian thought to be running, but he didn't receive an answer before the forum. Benoit also ran against Hunter in 2008 and 2010.

The three candidates on Wednesday said the country has major problems and change is needed. However, they disagreed on how to get there.

Frankowiak said she believes the United States is no longer a republic but is now a plutocracy. She said she is concerned about a "security industrial complex" and she stands with the so-called 99 percent.

"I'm very much involved in the Occupy movement because I think it's the only way Americans will get their republic back," she said.

Linnell said she wants to see legislation that states that lobbying with money is bribery.

"They should not be lobbying our Congress, our city, our state governments," she said. "As a congressman, I'm not a king; I shouldn't be able to dole out money to any lobbyists or businesses."

Linnell said her husband was out of work for a long time and just got a job.

"I've lost my home. I've had long-term unemployment. I know how to cut costs," she said. Linnell formerly worked in property management and held a real estate license. She said she has a bachelor's degree in business.

David Secor, who is retired now and has held a variety of jobs, said the country is heading down a path that is "dark and dangerous."

"We have the vote," Secor said. "The people have the power. We the working people, the real victims of the crime, are made to pay restitution to the perps (perpetrators) ... the bill that we alone are expected to pay. We must stand up because conscience tells us that this is right.

"There's cronyism and nepotism," Secor said. "There's a Congress with an elite and a permanent underclass. It sounds like Stalinism. What will your life be like when corporate Stalinism takes over? We will be working slaves.

"The man we sent to Washington to represent us has failed. He's a nice young man, but he has not only done nothing to stop corporate Stalinism, he's either blind or in over his head."

Questions from the audience

Question: How would you get the money out of politics?

Linnel: We need to pass a full bill, not just an amendment. Anyone accepting bribes needs to be immediately removed from office and put in jail. They cause so much destruction.

Secor: This went over the ball when the Citizens United case (Citizens United vs. Federal Elections Commission) was decided, in which money was called speech. (The Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that the government cannot ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections.)

Frankowiak: I don't think we have time for a constitutional amendment. I think the only way is for the American people to get involved in the Occupy movement. American people must make the decision that they have to totally reform the government, then they can do it.

I was involved with the [Equal Rights Amendment] and it took a long time to get it passed. I believe this country is in a state of corruption. The legal system is corrupt. Those people who stole trillions of dollars never went to jail. Our country must get back to the rule of law. We have to get out in the streets.

We're in these crazy wars, spending billions. We're spending all that money over there to repair. We need to repair things here. It's crazy!

Question: We live in a war economy here in San Diego. A lot of constituents work for the military industrial complex. Apparently they're not suffering what the 99 percent are suffering. How do you think you're going to survive in a room with Bilbray and Issa if you can survive an election?

Secor: I do not want to spend $300 million a week in Afghanistan. In the past 10 years, the defense budget has doubled. That money could go into infrastructure. If I worked for a contractor that was a war profiteer, then I'm a traitor. But any defense contractor that is doing valuable work, they shouldn't have any problem with a Democrat in Congress.

Linnell: I don't think anyone means to be destroying our country, so I'm not going to be treating them with disrespect.

Frankowiak: I'm 70 years old. I was born at the beginning of World War II. My country has been at war most of my life. What happened? We used to keep out of other countries' lives. That was a very smart policy. After World War II something happened in this country. We had a policy in which it was good to supply a lot of arms. I don't believe the American people want that. We can be a peace time economy. We can rebuild America. That's what should be happening with that money. We can change what we're doing. A lot of these wars were started by a bunch of liars. And that should make the American people very angry.

Secor: It's no coincidence that there is a defense contractor in every district. They know what they're doing.

Linnell: We can think of things differently. We don't have to come up with the same solutions. Right now, it's an undeclared war and our troops need to come home.

Question: If you want money out of politics, would you fight for publicly funded campaigns?

Linnell: I don't think it's fair that some groups won't give money to someone with an "R" after their name because they already have their anointed one. Candidates need gas money to go to places like this. So I think that's the only solution I can think of.

Frankowiak: You require people who use the airwaves to allow others to use them. Do public service and you get all kinds of parties. There are a lot of ways you can get the word out without using the airwaves. The robber barons own those airwaves.

Secor: I don't know why people have been so reluctant to run with this idea. We have to be in this. We have to take part. I think that's a very good issue: public funding. It's the lack of transparency that's worse than the amount of money.

Question: What would you do about global warming?

Frankowiak: These doomsayers, they're not the religious ones any more, they're scientists. Everyone's going to have to make sacrifices. I believe if you appeal to the American people, they'll do that.

Secor: Water's going to be our next fight. The government has to get really serious about investing in alternative fuels. Research and development must go to green and it must go to hundreds of millions of dollars. That's when we get independent.

Linnell: When I was little, I was told it only snowed once in 20 years in Ramona. It has snowed twice in five years. Has the climate changed? It would seem so. I don't believe it's necessarily human caused though. I don't think the technology is there yet to know that.

We have a debt issue. If our currency collapses we won't have money or we'll have rooms full of money and we won't be able to buy a loaf of bread. I'm very focsed on the economy and then we can focus on the other issues.

Question: All three of you sound like you'd support Obama's jobs bill. How would you influence Republicans who oppose it?

Secor: Mitch McConnell (Senate Republican leader) said, My primary job is to see to it that Obama does not get re-elected. They won't put people back to work. Have you seen anything done by Hunter to improve jobs? They'll sacrifice the economy in order to get a Republican in.

Linnell: We had a Cut, Cap and Balance, and then it sat. Cut, Cap and Balance was a decent bill. It would have given some money. It would have required a balance.

Frankowiak: For a decade, our Congress has been criminally irresponsible. It's totally being run by the robber barons. That's why people are in the streets. They know they're not being listened to.

Question: What are your thoughts on the fairness doctrine for the media that was reversed in the 1980s?

Linnell: They're no longer held accountable for telling the truth and they're giving us opinions. I watch various media. They need to be held accountable.

Frankowiak: That's a good point about the fairness doctrine. You had to give time to both points of view. Since then, corporations have taken over the airwaves and there's so much vital information not being given out. People in Europe know more about what's going on than we do. Most of the stuff on TV is lies. If you've heard some of these ads, they're lying. We have to take back the airwaves. we should require them to give all candidates running equal time. You have to pay them a fortune to get on.

Secor: It's difficult in these days to deal with the media. Fox News is simply an organ for corporate Stalinism. I go to Bloomberg TV and most of the time what they have to say is accurate. Financial Times has a trove of information.

Question: Would you encourage our attorney general to bring fraud charges in the financial industry?

Frankowiak: Why are these swindlers not in jail? Hunter ... has done nothing. They stole people's pensions. Why is the legal system allowing people to get away with this? Stooges in Congress are making sure nothing more is done. I would get a special prosecutor because I believe the foundation of a republic is the rule of law.

Secor: First you have to change the law. Then you should go after these people.

Linnell: The banks have no right to foreclose our homes if they've already sold the loans. I'd like to see a full audit. ...

Questions: We haven't had a declared war in 70 years. What would you do to influence the other 434 members of Congress to bring the executive branch into line about Congress declaring war?

Secor: I fault Congress for being the cowards they are and the American people for being the cowards they are. You reinstate the draft. You don't take the certain group of black or brown people because 'I have a deferment.' When they did away with the draft, they made a terrible mistake. Had there been a draft, there would not have been an Iraq War.

Linnell: Get rid of mandated income tax, unless there's a declared war. Let states collect the money, then they have more power. If the states have more control, you have more balance. We're not at war. If we were at war right now, our borders wouldn't be so open.

Frankowiak: We should pass a law that every time we go into a country aggressively, the first kids to go to war are the kids of the members of Congress. The drones are killing a lot of innocent people. They're creating terrorists out there.

Question: Are you saying we should have no federal income tax?

Linnell: Yes, let states collect the money and give it to the federal government. Federal income tax was established when we went to war (in 1861).

Frankowiak: If you do that, you'll lose your Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. There are some very progressive programs that were passed during the Roosevelt era that prevented elderly people from ending up on the street and they have to be paid for. Some of our taxes are used wisely. The best run program in America is Social Security.

Secor: I'm very leery of people leaning toward states' rights. Everybody is in different camps now. Europe is a confederation and it's a mess.

Question: All three of you have mentioned enacting and repealing laws. You cannot do it alone. Will you work together?

Linnell: I already have been working with everybody. I've been going to the Tea Party. When the Occupy movement started up, I went down and encouraged them to stick to their roots and not let the big operatives get in. And there were some pretty big operatives in there.

We don't hate people because they did well in this country. That's the American Dream. Both movements are people movements. I don't necessarily agree with the methodology of the Occupy movement—civil disobedience—because I think we're in a police state and I'm concerned people will get hurt.

Frankowiak: People know they have no say in their government and they're taking it to the streets. People are getting rid of corrupt governments all over the world. Hey, we had a revolution, and we got rid of the big boys—the Britons. we shouldn't be afraid of change. I think it's a great promise for the future of this country.

Secor: People will have to take it to the streets. I'm not talking violence; I'm talking numbers. People in power don't listen.

Question: What do you think about people who never paid into the Social Security system but are collecting from it?

Frankowiak: There are millions of people who used to have good jobs. Now they have minimum wage jobs. They can't afford to pay for anything. The middle class has been so undermined. There are a lot of qualified people with college educations that can't find a job and can't afford to pay into programs. Does that mean that when they get sick we shouldn't help them?

Secor: Social Security is a very good program and can be easily fixed. People who paid in should be the ones who get the payouts.

Linnell: Social Security has expanded in a lot of ways over the years, such as for the disabled. I have a cousin who is deaf and she got Social Security and got a college degree and is working. There is a way to balance the budget without removing all those programs. The way it's going, they're going to collapse our currency and that's going to be the biggest bail out yet. We have to focus on keeping the money sound.

Question: What do you all think about illegal immigration?

Secor: One thing I hate is hypocrisy. The people who talk about undocumented workers and want to build a double fence to keep them out—the only reason they come here is to work. If people here would pay a decent wage then people wouldn't come here. I picked oranges. There isn't a man in this country that's going to stick with that job, but the immigrants will do it. The problem is the person who hires them. Mexicans get worked to death and sent home and they're lucky if they don't get sick, and the guys on top make the money.

Linnell: There needs to be a balance. I don't believe in rewarding people who have broken our laws. I don't believe in sending kids born here out of the country. The kids have a right to stay but the parents need to go. I see kids breaking our laws because their parents did.

Frankowiak: The illegal aliens work the hardest in this country. They've been doing this for generations. There are ways of doing this in a humane way. in this administration they're separating families, sending parents home. Unless we find Americans to do those jobs, we won't have crops. These businesses will go under. If you know of any Americans who will do those jobs, that's your answer.

Question: What would you do to counter partisan gridlock?

Linnell: Congress isn't the place to be dealing with party politics. We need to call them out. We've got too much going wrong right now. We've got a people in turmoil. This is a people's movement. This isn't about the left or right. We need to elect the right people.

Frankowiak: I don't think it's possible to fix the partisanship as long as we have the corrupt government. It cost $1 million on average for a House seat. Who is giving them that money? It is the corporations. That's why Occupy is good. I think there'll be some extraordinary changes in this country for the better.

Secor: Politics is the art of compromise. You have to compromise. Purists—no matter whether it's religion or politics—you can't deal with them. Nobody ever gets all of what they want.

Closing Speeches

Secor: We have a golden opportunity to send a message to the nation with a new representative. Mr. Hunter has totally ignored his people.

"By their fruits, you shall know them." When we look upon the tree that is Hunter's record in Congress, we see a tiny, unripened fruit ... Surrounding it are many damaged fruit. 

Would veterans back me? I think so. I went at age 19 and landed in the Tet Offensive. I came back an E5 platoon leader.

I refuse to take contributions from any PAC ... Why would you working people elect me? Because it takes one to know one.

Linnell: This was an amazing experience. It gives me hope for our country. I got to meet people who are all in line with what needs to be fixed in this country. I think we agreed on 75 percent of the issues. We'll deal with those first. We'll do it through collaboration not compromise. It takes dedication. It's much harder.

I want to go to Congress. I want to collaborate not compromise. I want forums set up regularly. I don't want a tele-town hall. That's what I'm getting from Duncan Hunter.

Frankowiak: Win or lose this election, I will keep engaged in the 99 percent Occupy movement. I believe that's the way America will get back its republic. Get engaged with your neighbors and friends. I'm very hopeful for the future of this country because of the movement.

*****

Ramona Forum intends to hold another of these informational candidate panels in Julian in January.

Audience comments on Wednesday

"I think this was great," said Pierre Beauregard of Ramona. "We should have more of these. These people have a base. I think Hunter will be terrified of this. He was a shoe-in because of his dad. There was no other notable Republican. Now he has some legitimate opponents. He is the 1 percent of people locked into the corporate financial grip that the banks have on the citizenry."

"This was interesting," said Alice Buelna of Ramona. "I can't say that I agreed with everything they had to say, but it was interesting. We need more of these. More candidates like this. And more people in the audience."