Last night, on Wednesday (April 16th), the Santa Barbara County Republican Central Committee made several endorsements for statewide races in this primary election cycle on June 3rd.  First, it endorsed Pete Peterson for California’s Secretary of State position.  Pete had attended our Central Committee meeting last summer, and has ran a solid campaign that has propelled him to the head of the pack in recent polls.  Second, the committee endorsed Ron Nehring for California’s Lieutenant Governor position.  Ron is a former chairman to the California Republican Party and a chairman of the San Diego County GOP Central Committee.  He attended our Central Committee meeting last night as our guest speaker and laid out his reformist message to turn the state around.  Finally, the committee endorsed Tim Donnelly for California’s Governor position.  Tim Donnelly had visited our Central Committee as the guest speaker for our December holiday party, and also hosted a big rally and fundraiser event in Santa Barbara last February.  His hard-working grassroots campaign has toured across entire state of California multiple times and has propelled him as the front runner, leading the polls of likely Republican voters with 34%, while the other Republican in the race only garnered a measly 3%.

A reconsideration vote for endorsing a candidate for Congress in the 24th District was also taken, but no super-majority was reached.  However, Justin Fareed and Dale Francisco were two candidates who had the strongest vote totals.  The endorsement was tabled once again until further notice.

On Wednesday, March 19th, the Santa Barbara County Republican Central Committee held a candidate forum with both County Sheriff candidates, the incumbent Bill Brown and his challenger, Sergeant Sandra Brown.  Both speakers shared their thoughts on the race and what they would do to improve public safety in the county.  Bill Brown emphasized the prison overcrowding issues facing the state, and highlighted one of his crowning achievements of his administration, which has been securing funding to build a new prison in the north county.  On the other hand, Sandra Brown pointed out new ways she would fight crime proactively, enacting new programs the current Sheriff hasn’t considered, while making sure the current prison up in Santa Maria is adequately staffed and funded.

A vote to consider an endorsement for County Sheriff was held, but ultimately no endorsement was made by the Central Committee.

Central Coast Republican Liberty Caucus Endorses Sandra Brown for Santa Barbara County Sheriff

March 18, 2014

The Central Coast Republican Liberty Caucus of California has endorsed Sergeant Sandra Brown in her campaign for Santa Barbara County Sheriff.  Having served in various roles the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department for the past 16 years, Sandra is a veteran public safety officer and will take the tough actions needed to protect our community, while preserving our liberties.  Sandra’s campaign motto is “Actions, Not Words” and this has been displayed by her decision to speak out and run against the incumbent Sheriff and seek a new direction for the department.

The Republican Liberty Caucus stands behind Sandra Brown because of her respect for our Constitutional rights, fiscal responsibility, and her proactive stance in crime prevention.  Instead of working to expand our prisons, Sandra will ensure the current prisons are staffed and adequately funded.  Unlike the incumbent Sheriff who is more reactive on crime than preventative, Sandra will work to create programs to keep people out of prison before they follow the path of criminal behavior.  She understands that the family is the first place we should focus, and as Sheriff will provide resources and training for parents that need help.

Sandra is not a politician, but a leader who will focus on bringing new ideas to the table that the incumbent Sheriff has failed to consider or enact.  Throughout her campaign, she has displayed a willingness to sit down and have a frank discussion about the issues with the voters.  She is open to hear from all sides, and as a public servant this is of the utmost importance.  Overall Sandra has shown she is honest, trustworthy, and humble and as our Sheriff will fight to defend the rights of the People.

The Central Coast Republican Liberty Caucus urges all of our voters in Santa Barbara County to stand behind Sergeant Sandra Brown and offer her their support on election day, June 3rd.

In Liberty,

Stephen Pratt

Chairman of the Central Coast RLC