LAKEPORT, Calif. – Two hopeful “citizen legislators” are challenging the region's incumbent state and federal representatives for a shot at putting to work their vision of how to govern the region.
Loren Hanks, a major in the Air Force Reserve who is running for the First Congressional District seat currently held by Congressman Mike Thompson, and Karen Brooks, who is seeking the First State Assembly District seat Wes Chesbro has so far held for a term, were in Lakeport last week, hosted by the Lake County Republican Party.
About two dozen people came to hear what Hanks and Brooks had in store should they buck tough odds to win the federal and state seats, respectively.
Hanks and Brooks, both Republicans with that party's nominations, have been traveling around the North Coast, speaking to voters, knocking on doors and trying to win over the heavily Democratic area.
Strong Republican-run campaigns are known to the area. One example – Lake County's own Rob Brown finished second to Patty Berg in the 2002 Assembly race, with an 8-percent difference that amounted to less than 10,000 votes, a thin margin of victory in what's been considered a Democratic stronghold in recent years.
This year, the campaigns of Hanks and Brooks are gaining some momentum from what Hanks called “a reinvigorated silent majority,” some of which has been given a voice in the Tea Party.
But they're facing unique challenges that come partially from being outside of the political machine, having smaller war chests than their opponents and what some people in the room at the Republican Party event blamed on a liberal media bias that favors the Democratic incumbents.
Hanks, a military reservist since 1984 who has worked in intelligence and counter intelligence, said he wanted to start looking at the government and its problems from within. Born in Washington state, his family moved to California when he was a child, and he's since lived in Sonoma, Humboldt and Marin counties. Hanks said he lives today in Sonoma county.
When he decided to run, “It seemed to me that the gravest threat we had was a Congress that was not providing advice and consent and, quite frankly, an administration that is inexperienced and immature and has made some very bad decisions.”
He proposes to hold three, two-year terms and then step aside, with another citizen legislator on deck to take over from him. That's the better alternative, he suggested, than establishing term limits in the US Constitution, a document he didn't want to see changed or altered.
“I think we've got a shot at it this year,” he said, explaining that the Tea Party is “an amazing wild card” that the Democratic Party leadership initially discounted.
Hanks wants to see legislation revamped so amendments unrelated to the main bill can't be added. In addition, he wants to see citizen summary sheets that include the bill's intent, cost and constitutional authority, as well as the legislation's expiration date.
Pointing to Thompson's $1.5 million war chest, Hanks said he has been paying for his campaign out of his own pocket, and wants to see the kind of large spending that's typified congressional runs ended.
After walking portions of the district and hearing peoples' concerns, Hanks believes the race against Thompson is winnable through grassroots efforts.
“Let's start a movement here,” he said.
Brooks wants to take back state government
Brooks, like Hanks, has been spending a lot of time on the road to canvass her prospective district of 400,000 residents. The Humboldt County resident has driven more than 35,000 miles in doing so.
She said she finally had it and had to stand up, leave her family, home and business, and run for state Assembly.
“It's not because I have the money to do it,” she said, adding, “We just feel like this is our stand,” and as she's listened to peoples' stories around the district, “We know that it's your final stand, too.”
When Brooks found out that no one was going to run against Chesbro, “something just clicked” and she decided to run, springing the news on her family after dinner on a Sunday night following her husband's and son's return from a ski trip. Her husband didn't take the news well – he didn't speak to her for three days – but eventually he agreed to support her effort.
Brooks said there is a reason citizen candidates don't stand up – it's hard and they don't have a political machine behind them.
But Brooks, a businesswoman who prides herself on asking no one for handouts – not even her parents when she worked her way through college – was up to the challenge.
It's been an eye-opening experience being on the campaign trail, Brooks said. She's encountered many people home and unemployed as she's knocked doors during the day. She's also come upon plenty of marijuana grow houses.
She said the state is stealing dreams and livelihoods by overregulating businesses. Brooks, who assesses businesses for a living, said the biggest barrier for business owners is what the government will do next.
She would like to see the “alphabet soup” departments like the Air Resources Board and the State Water Resources Control Board go away, and also have a review of how the state handles worker's compensation and education.
Both candidates fielded questions from the audience, discussing everything from bringing funds to the district to immigration.
Brooks talked about public-private partnerships as a way of meeting needs. “Looking at the government to solve our problems, those days are over.”
She also anticipated the next few years will be even rougher economically, and said she has told faith-based organizations and service groups to be prepared to step up. “That's how we're going to ride this thing through.”
Hanks took the opportunity to criticize Thompson for reportedly having stated he was proud to be a member of the Democratic majority that would bring “fiscal sanity” to Congress. But Hanks alleged that it's been on the Democrats' watch that the national debt has risen from $8.6 trillion to $13.4 trillion.
He said he would like to share the video of Thompson's remarks on his Web site, but campaign laws prohibit it. “Look at this entrenchment that we've allowed these people to have.”
Hanks noted that such rules are discouraging for those wanting to run for office. “I did this against a lot of advice, let me tell you.”
They were asked about what can be done about the media, which one woman in the audience noted was one of their biggest enemies. Brooks said the media has let the country down by failing to expose corruption and ask tough questions.
Hanks said his effort with the media is a “work in progress,” with his message getting out in some outlets. Mainly, he's focusing on the Internet and radio as important avenues.
The candidates also were asked about how to fix infrastructure like roads and what to do about border security.
Hanks said he is a proponent of the border fence, adding that as for immigration policy, “The front door works just fine,” but people must be required to follow the rules.
Brooks said she supports guest worker programs, but doesn't want to see bad behavior rewarded. She's also a “tough love proponent” who wants to help people who truly need it, not those who use the system.
Both also expressed their support for the Second Amendment, and plans to cover their districts in person if elected.
Hanks said later that he thought it was “a real solid event.”
He's also looking forward to having more town halls and would like to host a telephone town hall at a future date to be determined, with what he guarantees will be unfiltered questions. The Hanks camp also is pushing for a debate with Thompson.
Lake County News has extended interview invitations to both Chesbro and Thompson regarding this fall's campaigns.
For more information about the candidates, visit Brooks' Web site at www.karenbrooks2010.com/ or her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=112768748740990&ref=mf; and Hanks' site at www.hanksforcongress.com/ or Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Hanks-for-Congress/351342586968.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .
