Report on Arthur Schaper's Bid for State Assembly (Reflection)

This article was released in October 2020, a month before the election.

I was really impressed that the article had some degree of balance to it.

I do not apologize or regret one statement that was written in the article. The reporter actually got some pretty accurate information written about me.

2020 elections: L.A. County’s Assembly races at a glance

 

Al Muratsuchi, Arthur Schaper

District 66: Al Muratsuchi (D) vs. Arthur Schaper (R)

·         The District: District 66 is home to approximately 467,745 people living in Alondra Park, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Racho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Torrance, West Carson, and portions of Gardena, Harbor City and Harbor Gateway. About half of the district is White (46.33%), and the other half is primarily Asian (25.73%) and Latino (21.02%). The remaining residents are are mostly Black (4.84%). Despite a Democratic majority (42.72%), a Republican nominee won the seat in 2014.

·         The Incumbent: Al Muratsuchi (D-Rolling Hills Estates) has a mixed record over the last year, during which he voted for measures that capped rent increases at 5% a year, and forces debt collectors to leave the final $1,724 in bank accounts, but he also voted against bills that allow formerly incarcerated people to serve on juries, and expedited the process to obtain records of police misconduct in criminal trials. He’s received $31,000 in campaign contributions from the Los Angeles Police Protective League, and $37,000 from PORAC, which is the largest statewide law enforcement organization.

A  It's strange that the reporter spent so much time focusing on how much money and support Al Muratsuchi had receivevd from police officers and police associations. Was the press trying to push the whole "defund the police" narrative, too?

·         The Challenger: Arthur Schaper is running as a Republican, and has only managed to raise around $1,800 dollars for his campaign. Schaper, a supporter of President Donald Trump and a blogger, is against same-sex marriage, transgender bathroom rights, illegal immigration, and sex education in schools, which he claims was “foisted on us by the LGBTQ agenda.”

I    Inthe end, I raised $4,500. So far, I am within two percentage points of the previous GOP contender for this state assembly seat--and he spent $1.5 million! He also had the endorsements of the LA County and the California GOP. They Establishment did nothing for me, and I got nearly the same percentage, and I earned more raw total votes.

    

     I am also pleased to share that I stand by everything that was written in the above paragraph. Yes, I do support Donald Trump. Yes, I am a blogger. I do oppose same-sex "marriage", the notion that confused men deserve to use women's bathrooms and vice versa. This is absolute madness. Since when did we actually think that men could become women, or that we had to trip over ourselves to normalize and embrace this madness?!

    Yes, indeed, I do believe that we should simply remove sex-ed from the government schools, and put the responsibility back in the hands of parents and other local communities (churches, particularly). I don't recall where I stated that sex-ed was "foisted on us by the LGBTQ agenda", however ...

·         The Outlook: In the primaries, Schaper received about half as many votes as Muratsuchi. Additionally the majority of voters in this district are registered Democrats. While not impossible, without the major campaign contributions of his competitor, it seems unlikely that Schaper will be able to overcome Muratsuchi.

It would not  have been impossible to overcome. But hey --- I had to work a job, and I had grassroots support at the most. It was just not going to be the easiest road to hoe. That's life. I am glad that I ran, and perhaps I may run for office again. Who knows?

Final Reflection

The corporate media, including the SoCal News Group, is on its last leg. The Daily Breeze, which was bought up by SoCal News, has moved their headquarters at least two times: first from their flagship headquarters on Torrance Blvd. at the intersection with Palos Verdes Drive.

Then they moved to a set of rooms in a larger corporate building at the corner of Torrance and Hawthorne Bvld. Now they are somewhere in Hermosa Beach, in the same office as the Beach Reporter. Ouch! Oh, how the mighty are fallen!