Santa Cruz joins fight against property-rights Republican Pombo

SANTA CRUZ — It may not be a local race, but some in Santa Cruz are lining up to support congressional hopeful Pete McCloskey, the Republican primary challenger to Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy.

Pombo, who has proposed bills to sell 15 national parks, abolish protection for 150 million acres of wilderness and weaken the Endangered Species Act, has irked the national environmental community to the point that it is rallying for his Republican opponent, even here in Santa Cruz.

Pombo is "not a desirable congressman," said Democrat and Santa Cruz resident Eleanor Wasson, 98. Wasson is hosting a fundraiser for McCloskey on Saturday and expects many in the county to turn out.

McCloskey is accepting individual donations up to $2,100 per person, and had raised about $205,000 at the end of the first quarter, which finished in March. Pombo, on the other hand, has raised $1.4 million.

As chairman as the House Resources Committee, Pombo, a rancher and property-rights advocate, reviews bills related to fisheries, forests and waterways, to name a few. Legislation on offshore drilling, subsidies for oil and gas companies and easier access to public land for mining exploration could have ramifications for the Central Coast and elsewhere.

"McCloskey realized that Pombo really shouldn't be going on with destroying the earth as he is doing," Wasson said.

That's why the almost-80-year-old McCloskey, a longtime congressman from the San Francisco Peninsula, moved into Pombo's district to challenge him.

Democrats also question Pombo's connections to indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

When told of a Santa Cruz fundraiser, Carl Fogliani, spokesman for Pombo's campaign, chuckled and accused McCloskey of doing the Democrats' bidding.

Fogliani said McCloskey is "out of the mainstream of Republican voters throughout the district." That includes residents in and around Tracy, parts of the east San Francisco Bay Area, and south of Morgan Hill.

In the past, Pombo has supported development, tax incentives for businesses and farmers and a statewide rail system.

When asked about Abramoff ties, "I think we're just focusing on the truth and what the congressman's record is and letting the voters decide," McCloskey said.

"The Republican party is full of mavericks," said Mike Rotkin, Santa Cruz city councilman and a lifelong Democrat. "Nobody's going to mistake McCloskey for a liberal Democrat, but he's certainly not a Bush Republican. The guy he's running against is a Bush Republican."

Many in town remember McCloskey's more than seven terms as a Republican congressman from the San Francisco Peninsula. He was a strong voice against the Vietnam War, started the first Earth Day in 1970 and made the first House speech in 1973 suggesting the impeachment of President Nixon.

"Such a win over Pombo, by a progressive like Pete, will send shock waves through the corrupt Republican power structure in the Congress, into the White House, all the way to Karl Rove's desk," reads Wasson's fundraising invitation.

WHAT: Fundraiser for Pete McCloskey, 11th District Republican challenging incumbent Republican Richard Pombo for Congressional seat.

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