Written by Will Seykora
Monday evening the Republican Party of San Diego County held its bi-monthly Central Committee meeting. For the second meeting in a row, they also held a Gubernatorial forum, this time featuring speakers Caitlyn Jenner, Jenny Rae Le Roux, Sarah Stephens, Joseph Luciano, and Anthony Trimino.
To start off the meeting Paula Whitsell introduced Elizabeth Heng, candidate for U.S. Senate as a guest speaker. Elizabeth Heng called out the politicians who pushed the lockdowns on Californians last March calling them “Unapologetic, career politicians, that are completely out of touch with everyday Californians.” Heng continued for roughly ten minutes speaking on her history in politics, where she hopes to take California, and how she will ensure that Californian issues are heard in the Capitol.
First to speak for the night was Caitlyn Jenner. Introduced by Gina Roberts, caucus chair of the 75th assembly district. Jenner started off by joking “Bet you a couple of months ago you didn’t see this one coming did you?” She then explained her reasoning behind running for Governor during this recall election. “The number one reason, why I’m doing this is I’m a patriot. I love this country. I love this state.” Jenner explored her background talking about her first move to California in 1973, she talked about how she is saddened by what is happening in California. The job market leaving, and the destruction of California back “The socialists up in Sacramento.”
Jenner spoke about Newsom failing as a Governor, comparing his response to COVID against other Governors. She finished off her ten minutes by stating “California is sick right now, and you know what? California is worth saving.”
Sarah Stephens spoke next, she mainly talked about how the past year has “Been a nightmare for Californians.” Talking about how COVID has impacted the California economy, calling the response to COVID “Nothing less than a socialist, communist takeover by the leadership of those that are in control of this state.” She spoke about Antifa coming to San Diego last year, and mentioning California’s broken criminal justice system “What world are we living in where they’re releasing criminals and putting business owners behind bars?” She continued by talking about her plans for California and where she believes she could take the state as Governor.
The third candidate for the night was Anthony Trimino. He mainly spent his time speaking about his family escaping Cuba, and why he would be the perfect candidate for Governor. He asked the crowd to imagine their perfect candidate, and described a lot of points relevant to himself “Couple of kids, no better yet how about four children?” He says he “Brings to the table something that is incredibly unique and relatable, I’m electable.”
Next on the agenda was Joseph Luciano, he talks about what he can do for Californians and what he can provide to help them “Get back to focusing on making this state great, and doing good from where you are.” He later talks about his family, his background as a hard worker, and his history of responsibility. His most popular point of the night came when he mentioned his plan to get rid of the state income tax, which garnered applause from every corner of the room.
Last but certainly not least, Jenny Rae Le Roux finished off the night with a speech focusing on her children, her history and start as an activist, her background, and her plan for California. She talked about how last March she began paying closer attention to what Gavin Newsom was doing. She mentioned that she is a data modeler and that when she crunched the numbers she realized there was a better way to treat California during the COVID pandemic. She said according to her model and the way she would have handled the situation there would have been 43 counties open on April 30th, ten closed, and five closed. However, with the resources saved they would have been able to better help those counties. She then goes on to talk about how she has been preparing to run for Governor of California. Despite not having previous experience in elected office she talks about the culture she has built at work, in her home, and with her friends and groups she is involved in. She emphasized the importance of the people of California, and how Gavin Newsom has driven some of California’s most brilliant workers out of their homes and into other states.
Photo Via Nick Luzi
