GOP congressional hopefuls
face off in first debate/forum

By Greg Eichelberger
The Alpine Sun

     SANTEE — When is a debate not a debate? Basically, when there’s nothing to argue about.
     This was the situation when the four Republican candidates for the 52nd congressional seat meet for the first time in a gathering held on Saturday, Feb. 2 at the Ranch House restaurant in Santee.
     Except for a slight disagreement here and there – slight being the operative word, here – the quartet flashed its conservative credentials as a badge of honor in a district with overwhelming GOP voter registration.
     “Party unity” and “congeniality” were certainly the watchwords at this event, with only Alpine independent businessman Ken King (who owns a pool service), offering what little opposition there was.
     The affair was not only held in the East County, but seemed to celebrate this location as all the hopefuls hailed from this area.
     The four men hoping to establish a second residency in Washington, DC next January included King; Santee City councilman Brian Jones, Bob Watkins, a member of the San Diego Board of Education and Alpine resident; and another Alpiner, Duncan D. Hunter, a former U.S. Marine and son of Duncan Hunter, the man who has occupied the 52nd seat since 1980.
     Moderated by Frank Hilliker, president of the California Republican Assembly (CRA), the forum had the candidates questioned on a variety of subjects including illegal immigration, Indian gaming, national security, abortion, gay marriage, the upcoming presidential race, term limits, fluoridated water, the Randy “Duke” Cunningham scandal, foreign aid to Israel and mandatory child-safety locks on guns, among others.
     One surreal audience-submitted query even asked what the candidates thought of elected officials who “cheat on their wives with 23-year olds.”
     And while that last inquiry was dismissed as a moral dilemma rather than a legislative or constitutional problem, the foursome did comment at length on the issues of immigration, gaming, security, gay marriage and the role of the federal government.
     All of the candidates openly declared that they were pro-life, against any gay marriage proposals (Hunter called them a “multi-pronged homosexual, secular, liberal attack on American family values,” and proposed an amendment to make such marriages illegal) and vowed to keep the border safe.
     “It would be nice if the President had a plan on illegal immigration,” said Jones, who supports a fence, a no amnesty policy and the use of the military to secure the Souther border.
     Hunter added, “”It’s hard to believe that seven years after 9/11 we still have no protection on our borders. My father worked hard to get a fence built, and so will I.”
     To that, however, King retorted, “Duncan Hunter has been pushing that fence for almost 20 years and it still isn’t there. I oppose the President’s amnesty plan, but I don’t know if a fence will solve all of our problems.”
     Another contrary issue taken by King was on the topic of term limits. He promised to only serve 10 years, asking the others to make the same pledge — none took him up on his offer.
     “The Founding Fathers already had term limits in mind when they formed this nation,” Jones said, “these are called elections. We have a natural process of eliminating unqualified candidates.”
     On the topic of support for Propositions 94-97 (the Amendment to the Gaming Compact initiative), both King and Watkins supported the measure, Watkins saying, “Yes, I will support them. This is a free enterprise system, and this is good business. This is a federal issue, not a state one, but I can support it.”
     Hunter and Jones, however, took a different viewpoint. “I oppose them,” said Jones. “This is not a free enterprise situation since these tribes have a monopoly on this activity. We cannot balance the state budget on the backs of of Indian gaming; it’s an unreliable resource.
     Hunter concurred, saying, “It’s pretty bad when California has to rely on gambling and people’s addictions as a source of revenue. There is also no environmental curbs or federal oversight here.”
     A series of such forums are expected throughout the campaign, right up until the June 10 primary.

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