Congressional reform long overdue
California Political Desk
October 27, 2008
by Tim Prince, Democratic nominee for California's 41st Congressional District
Americans have important choices to make on Nov. 4 to define not just what character traits they want in a president and members of Congress, but who we are as a nation.
Each presidential candidate insists we must change the culture of corruption in Washington by seeking true ethics reform in Congress.
Only one of the two candidates in the 41st Congressional District agrees that we need to change Congress, and I am the one. To change the way Congress does business it is time to retire 30-year incumbent Jerry Lewis.
California Republican Party vice chair and publisher of the popular Flashreport.org, Jon Fleischman, calls for Lewis' ouster and said Lewis "symbolizes the `big spending mentality' of the House (and) should gracefully retire from Congress ."
Lewis has voted repeatedly to raise his own taxpayer-funded salary nearly $100,000 since taking office, while he has voted against bonuses for active duty soldiers and increasing the minimum wage and voted for cutting veterans benefits and sending our jobs overseas.
Lewis hires his wife as his Chief of Staff for more than $130,000 a year. His stepdaughter was given a job by lobbyists whose clients received contracts worth millions of dollars through Lewis.
Lewis was named the most corrupt member of Congress by the nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
He has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from big oil, drug companies, banks and the insurance industry.
He voted in favor of the $850 billion Wall Street bailout without offering financial assistance to middle-class Americans struggling through the economic crisis.
He has spent $1 million to fight ongoing investigations by the U.S. Attorney, federal grand jury and the FBI.
He has been under federal investigation for his involvement with lobbyist Bill Lowery and former Congressman Duke Cunningham, who is in prison for accepting bribes, because he accepted nearly $90,000 from the same corporation that bribed Cunningham and gave multi-million-dollar contracts to the same lobbyists and their clients
Lewis has delivered hundreds of millions of federal dollars in earmarks to friends and former staffers who are big contributors to his campaigns. He even earmarked $2 million for a park and flower garden down the street from his home in Washington.
Many of Lewis' out-of-district earmarks benefit defense contractors who could not make their case to a congressional committee, the Pentagon, or through competitive bidding. If our Defense Department determines that a proposal is unworthy of precious defense dollars because of other demands on national security, House Appropriations Committee members should not overrule them via an earmark benefiting their political contributors.
Meanwhile, Lewis has not authored or sponsored one significant piece of legislation in multiple terms in Congress. He views his role in Congress as an earmark distributor rather than a voice for the citizens in our district.
He has done nothing to leverage our district's vast resources for renewable energy or reduce our dependence on foreign oil. He has done nothing to reform No Child Left Behind.
After all this, Lewis questioned my motivations for wanting to enter public service. With all the evidence against Lewis he should not question someone else's ethics for public service.
We do not want a congressman who perpetuates the power of contributors and lobbyists.
We want a Congressman who is part of the solution, fighting for ethics reform, renewable energy, education and other legislation which benefits our district.
My reason for running for office is simple. I think voters deserve better, and I want to clean up Lewis' corruption and restore principles and ethics to Congress.
I grew up here where my father, Ralph Prince, was elected seven times as San Bernardino City Attorney. My mother still lives in the house where I was raised, and my daughter attends kindergarten in the same classroom I did.
I defeated Measure S, a permanent property tax that would have cost millions to local businesses and citizens without accountability.
As president of the downtown Rotary Club, I founded the Earth Day Fair & Expo and the San Bernardino Summit to create a framework for the revitalization of the downtown area as advocated by Mayor Pat Morris.
In this election the voters have a clear choice. If they want Congress to continue serving the lobbyists, financial industry and out-of-district contributors, they can vote for Lewis.
Voters who want ethics reform to change Congress for the better will vote for me.
Americans have important choices to make on Nov. 4 to define not just what character traits they want in a president and members of Congress, but who we are as a nation.
Each presidential candidate insists we must change the culture of corruption in Washington by seeking true ethics reform in Congress.
Only one of the two candidates in the 41st Congressional District agrees that we need to change Congress, and I am the one. To change the way Congress does business it is time to retire 30-year incumbent Jerry Lewis.
California Republican Party vice chair and publisher of the popular Flashreport.org, Jon Fleischman, calls for Lewis' ouster and said Lewis "symbolizes the `big spending mentality' of the House (and) should gracefully retire from Congress ."
Lewis has voted repeatedly to raise his own taxpayer-funded salary nearly $100,000 since taking office, while he has voted against bonuses for active duty soldiers and increasing the minimum wage and voted for cutting veterans benefits and sending our jobs overseas.
Lewis hires his wife as his Chief of Staff for more than $130,000 a year. His stepdaughter was given a job by lobbyists whose clients received contracts worth millions of dollars through Lewis.
Lewis was named the most corrupt member of Congress by the nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
He has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from big oil, drug companies, banks and the insurance industry.
He voted in favor of the $850 billion Wall Street bailout without offering financial assistance to middle-class Americans struggling through the economic crisis.
He has spent $1 million to fight ongoing investigations by the U.S. Attorney, federal grand jury and the FBI.
He has been under federal investigation for his involvement with lobbyist Bill Lowery and former Congressman Duke Cunningham, who is in prison for accepting bribes, because he accepted nearly $90,000 from the same corporation that bribed Cunningham and gave multi-million-dollar contracts to the same lobbyists and their clients
Lewis has delivered hundreds of millions of federal dollars in earmarks to friends and former staffers who are big contributors to his campaigns. He even earmarked $2 million for a park and flower garden down the street from his home in Washington.
Many of Lewis' out-of-district earmarks benefit defense contractors who could not make their case to a congressional committee, the Pentagon, or through competitive bidding. If our Defense Department determines that a proposal is unworthy of precious defense dollars because of other demands on national security, House Appropriations Committee members should not overrule them via an earmark benefiting their political contributors.
Meanwhile, Lewis has not authored or sponsored one significant piece of legislation in multiple terms in Congress. He views his role in Congress as an earmark distributor rather than a voice for the citizens in our district.
He has done nothing to leverage our district's vast resources for renewable energy or reduce our dependence on foreign oil. He has done nothing to reform No Child Left Behind.
After all this, Lewis questioned my motivations for wanting to enter public service. With all the evidence against Lewis he should not question someone else's ethics for public service.
We do not want a congressman who perpetuates the power of contributors and lobbyists.
We want a Congressman who is part of the solution, fighting for ethics reform, renewable energy, education and other legislation which benefits our district.
My reason for running for office is simple. I think voters deserve better, and I want to clean up Lewis' corruption and restore principles and ethics to Congress.
I grew up here where my father, Ralph Prince, was elected seven times as San Bernardino City Attorney. My mother still lives in the house where I was raised, and my daughter attends kindergarten in the same classroom I did.
I defeated Measure S, a permanent property tax that would have cost millions to local businesses and citizens without accountability.
As president of the downtown Rotary Club, I founded the Earth Day Fair & Expo and the San Bernardino Summit to create a framework for the revitalization of the downtown area as advocated by Mayor Pat Morris.
In this election the voters have a clear choice. If they want Congress to continue serving the lobbyists, financial industry and out-of-district contributors, they can vote for Lewis.
Voters who want ethics reform to change Congress for the better will vote for me.
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