Ashburn re-considers bid for Congress
ASHBURN: Some question his viability
| Saturday, Dec 19 2009 08:24 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Dec 19 2009 08:25 PM
In another political here-we-go-again, state Sen. Roy Ashburn has reversed course and said he's thinking about challenging Democrat Jim Costa for Congress.
Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, said his outlook has changed since October, when he denied rumors he was interested in seeking the 20th District seat again.
He said Costa is vulnerable because he voted for a health-care reform bill with a public option, hasn't acted on his district's soaring unemployment rate and has shown no leadership representing "ground zero in the California water crisis."
"It's very clear he is in lock-step with (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi, (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid and some radical, liberal elements within the Democratic Party, which means he's out of touch with his district," Ashburn said.
Ashburn, who lost the seat to Costa in 2004 when Cal Dooley retired, said people have encouraged him to take another shot at the 20th. He declined to name any, saying those were private conversations.
Ashburn will be termed out of his 18th Senate District seat next year. He's been planning to run for the Board of Equalization.
Costa reacted to Ashburn's news by saying he's not focused on the election yet, that he's busy trying to bring water and jobs to the drought- and poverty-stricken valley and to stabilize the nation's economy more generally.
He defended his record, though.
Costa said he's helped deliver hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water to his constituents through creation of the Kern County Water Bank, the nation's largest, and through transfer agreements between water districts and policies to get additional water pumped here.
He said he's helped produce jobs by funneling stimulus and other money to construction projects on Highways 99, 56 and 198, making sure we get to keep federal transportation dollars secured by former Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Bakersfield, and nabbing high-speed rail money from the feds.
And Costa said the House health-care reform bill wasn't what he would have written, but he voted for it because skyrocketing health-care costs had to be addressed and he knew the Senate version would be more to his liking. It focuses on providing catastrophic coverage, improving insurance portability and preventing denial of services to people with pre-existing conditions, he said.
"Doing nothing is not a solution," Costa said. "I knew we had to keep the process moving and that the Senate would come up with something more incremental and something we could pay for -- which it did."
The 20th District spans the west side of Kern County but includes parts of Bakersfield, plus Arvin and Lamont. Costa beat Ashburn by a margin of 53.5 percent to 46.5 percent in 2004; Costa won Fresno and Kern counties while Ashburn took Kings County.
Local Republican consultant Stan Harper said Ashburn would have an uphill battle against Costa but could pull it off. He said Ashburn's helped by the country's anti-incumbent mood.
"The public is upset with Congress," Harper said. "However, to put that in perspective, they hate congressmen except their own. How that trickles down to every individual representative is hard to say."
Ashburn would have to work really hard, Harper said: "It's going to take someone on the road six days a week for the next 11 months."
He said he'd much rather see Ashburn run for Kern County's 2nd Supervisorial District seat and offer a perspective on how state issues affect the county. Ashburn represented the 1st District on the Board of Supervisors for 12 years; he served in the Assembly for six years.
Costa is also a veteran state legislator.
Local GOP consultant Tracy Leach said that while Costa is vulnerable, Ashburn is not the right candidate to go up against him. She said she checked with Republican "stalwarts" who have supported Ashburn in the past -- and whose support he'd need to win -- and they were "cold to an Ashburn candidacy."
"His vote in the Legislature for the largest tax hike in state history doesn't warm the hearts of the conservative base," Leach said, referring to Ashburn's critical February vote for a controversial state budget deal. Ashburn said at the time it was an extremely difficult decision, but cuts alone couldn't close the deficit.
Leach said the Republicans need a candidate who is conservative and for small government, and "Ashburn no longer fits that bill."
