Civic Engagement Taskforce: Nancy Pearlman

Nancy Pearlman is an environmentalist and grassroots candidate running for the LA Community College District Board of  Trustees.

This is a pretty important position but like many of the county-wide offices, most people are not paying attention to it.

Jerry Brown served on this college board before ascending into statewide politics. A seat on a county college board can springboard a candidate into higher office.

Nancy Pearlman announced upfront that was she was a former member of the college board, and she was running again to get the board back on track. She also made it clear that she was not seeking higher office:

            

Her opponent is a well-financed, union-backed incumbent.

She was lively, wily, and spritely throughout the entire debate. She talked a great deal about her prior experience as an educator, as well. Somewhat like me, she had taught every level of education, from kindergarten to college, and she had the chops and experience to prove that she could serve on the community college governing board.

                 

 I must admit that most of her positions were very left-leaning. She wanted to make college free, including the textbooks. That kind of thinking is fundamentally flawed, since someone is going to have to pay for it (you and me, of course, the vast majority of whom are not attending community college to begin with).

I do agree with her stance on getting rid of all the administrative overhead. Too many white-collar administrators going to meetings are sucking up all the money from the students.

          

 I also liked that she wants to oppose enrollment quotas.

Unfortunately, she also gave the same left-wing pablum about the need for more women's empowerment, even though the majority (vast majority) of students attending community college and universities are women:

            

I liked her spirit, and I liked her dynamism. She is connected to the community college movement, and she wants it to prosper. Community colleges in general are good for students, especially because they can help you save money for long-term university enrollment.

She was too liberal for my taste, but at least she showed up and spoke up.

Civic Engagement Taskforce Forum: Melissa Toomim for Congress

Melissa Toomim

In California's newly designed 36th Congressional district, an independent journalist and researcher is taking on Lyin' Ted Lieu. Lieu has been an eyesore in the Westside for ten years now, and he is still holding on, pushing pro-terrorist propaganda while holding up costly progressive regulations and anti-constitutional edicts on the voters of the South Bay and Santa Monica.

I can't wait to get rid of that guy. 

Unfortunately, in the last election cycle a shameless grifter named Joe Collins ran for Congress, pushing out a qualified conservative candidate named Derrick Gates: a pastor who had been ministering to the poor and homeless throughout the country for years, then settled in spiritually troubled California to make the difference. Collins was running to make consultants rich. He didn't put out yard signs. He didn't debate with anyone. He was just grifting, then he moved to Texas to run for state rep, where he lost badly to a real Texas conservative. Good riddance to that guy.

And now we have Melissa Toomim!

She announced her bid for Congress fairly early, to her credit.

I first met her at a meeting of the South Bay Republican Woman Federated in Torrance, CA in September 2023. She was collecting signatures in early for her Congressional bid, so that she would qualify for the ballot.

I was glad to see her launching her campaign as soon as possible, since too many Republicans do not get started soon enough, and then they fail to get into the general election.

She had some novel ideas, as well, on rolling back the surveillance state and treating individuals who refuse vaccines as a protected class under the Civil Rights Act.

And she was the only Congressional candidate who had the courage to show up and debate for the 36th Congressional District seat.

Here is her opening statement at the Civic Engagement Taskforce Forum:

             

She did a lot of research and investigative work in to terrorist groups, and she found out that the current Congressman Lyin' Ted was connected with these groups. Let's not forget that Lieu supported giving terrorist-sponsor Iran lots of money to appease them from building nuclear weapons (which has not worked).

Check out below her answers to other questions at the forum.

She goes into greater detail why she decided to run for Congress:

            

To her credit, she helped Dr. Kenneth Wright when he was challenging Ted Lieu, in large part because no one else had the guts to step up and take on that corrupt progressive. Toomim made it clear to the audience that she is a team player, not seeking to be the center of attention but rather focused on doing what is best for everyone else.

Kenneth Wright left the GOP in 2020, and he did not advance to the general election that year. I mentioned the failed grifter Joe Collins earlier.

She also pointed out her interest in focusing on federal issues: stopping illegal immigration and international terrorism. She knows these threats, and she understands what it takes to stop them.

She also talked about economic issues:

            

It's time to cut the regulations, and it's time to restore a more welcoming atmosphere for the entertainment industry. I really liked that she talked about the attacks on freedom of speech as well as crime.

This was my favorite response from Melissa Toomim:

                

Here, she had the courage to talk about the gender attacks on boys and men, particularly in education settings. She has the novel knack to point out serious concerns in public policy, ones which too many people in government and think-tanks are content to ignore.

Good for her! Boys, men, and masculinity are under attack like never before, and she called that out!

She also talked about education:

             

And she made some great points about infrastructure issues in Los Angeles County:

             

She faced a distinct challenge when answering some of these questions, because of the subject matter does not necessarily fall under federal authority, like improving education, but she did her best.

Civic Engagement Taskforce Candidates Forum: (Judicial Nominees, LA Community College District, Congress)

October 26th, 2024, a group called the Civic Engagement Taskforce hosted a Candidates Forum at the Culver City American Legion Hall.

Candidates for LA County Superior Court, Congress, and LA Community College Board showed up to make their case for office.

I really liked the opportunity to question and scrutinize the judicial nominees, since all too often they are overlooked or dismissed as unimportant, when judicial officers serve a very important role in Los Angeles County. Even if LA County residents elect a strong district attorney (which they most likely will this year), his efforts and the work of his deputy district attorneys can still be thwarted by liberal, woke, or rogue judges who ignore the law and push their own preferences.

The event started out with a great show of patriotism and respect for our country: Pacific Palisades Scouts Troop 223, led by third-year Scout Bryce Young. Unfortunately, I arrived, late, so I could not see the show of colors or the Pledge of Allegiance. Members of the audience appreciated the service of these young men, so I know that they started the event on good footing.

Hope Howell began the event laying down the ground rules for the debate/discussion among the different candidates:

                    

 and here:

              

I will post specific comments regarding the candidates and their comments in the next posts.

For now, I just want to give a general overview of the forum.

1. Some of the candidates showed up late, and many of the invited candidates did not show up at all. I do not blame the Civic Engagement Taskforce for that outcome. Too many candidates, especially for countywide office, seem to think that answering questions and engaging with the public is beneath them.

That is really shameful, and LA County voters should start expecting more from their elected officials, and from all their candidates.

2. Hope Howell and the rest of the Taskforce team did a great job running the debate. They made sure that every person had a chance to speak. The only criticism I would offer is that they should provide placards indicating how much time each candidate has left to give their answers.

3. The judicial nominees were unusually candid in many of their answers, but also disturbingly uninformed for other answers. In order to run for judicial office in California, a candidate must have been a member of the state bar for at least ten years. It's a growing concern that many lawyers, and thus judicial nominees, are not prepared for running courtrooms or have a weaker understanding of case law than previous generations.

4. Nancy Pearlman was very entertaining and honest in her bid for LA Community College Board, even if I found her views too left-wing for my support. Of course, I don't live in that Community College district, so I was not going to vote for her. I did find her honesty very refreshing.

5. Melissa Toomim was prepared and consistent in her delivery. Like Nancy Pearlman, her opponent for office did not show up to the debate, so she could make the case for herself without any challenges.

6. Some of the audience members suggested after the event that the judicial nominees offered uninformed or even incriminating remarks because the audience was not as large as they expected. That unintended audience certainly works in the voters' favor!