Carpetbaggers Gazette Hits Mailboxes in 10th CD

Premiere issue features "cover boy" John Garamendi

WALNUT CREEK, CA - The Mark DeSaulnier for Congress campaign debuted the Carpetbaggers Gazette today featuring John Garamendi on the cover.  Voters around the 10th Congressional District received the premiere issue of the Gazette, which highlights John Garamendi's refusal to run in his own Congressional district against right-wing Republican Dan Lungren in order to run in a district he doesn't live in and doesn't know against fellow Democrats. 

Click here to see the mailer.

"If Carpetbaggers had a magazine John Garamendi would be its number one cover boy," says the Carpetbaggers Gazette.  "John Garamendi lives in Dan Lungren's district. Lungren is a right-wing conservative Republican who opposes health care reform, a woman's right to choose and gun control, and who supports off-shore oil drilling."

The Gazette continues, "Lungren is the number one target of the Democratic Party. But when Garamendi was asked to take him on, he chose to fight other Democrats instead.   John Garamendi thinks he can take the easy ride by running in a district he doesn't live in and can't vote in. Think again, John!"

Garamendi is in fact a cattle rancher from the Central Valley and lives in Congressional District 3, which is currently represented by Republican Congressman Dan Lungren.  Garamendi had been approached several times to run against Lungren, including a Draft Garamendi for CD 3 effort on the web, but he declined. 

Garamendi misled the voters for months about his residency, claiming that his "front yard was in the district," but his "bedroom was not."  After being pressed by the media on the fact that none of his property lies in the 10th CD, Garamendi changed his answer this week to "my front yard borders this district but my bedroom is not in the district."   When asked by the Sacramento Bee recently to respond to the charge that he is running in a district he doesn't live in and can't vote in, Garamendi responded, "So what?" 

In contrast, Mark DeSaulnier has lived and worked in the 10th Congressional District for 30 years and represented the district for over 20 years as a mayor, county supervisor, Assemblyman and State Senator.  He has stood up for the voters of this district to increase access to health care, protect the environment, and fight transportation gridlock.  DeSaulnier is endorsed by Congressman George Miller, Senators Loni Hancock and Lois Wolk, Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, and more local elected officials than any candidate in the race.

The issue of Garamendi's carpetbagger status has been covered widely in the press in the last week, including stories on KTVU, KQED, and in the Sacramento Bee.