Bakersfield.com

If you're new to Bakersfield, you may have no idea how bizarre our politics are.
If you've been here a while, you've probably sensed that they're way different from any other place in California - maybe even the country.

Your first clue should have been the defiant "Alamo/Tombstone" message and the fake missile that until recently adorned the top of the old Padre Hotel downtown. It was the legacy of a fierce battle during the 1960s and 1970s between the city council and the hotel's former owner, Milton "Spartacus" Miller, one of the stubbornest men that ever lived.

Bakersfield is still the political equiavalent of the Wild West.
In local partisan politics, this is a time of transition away from more than two decades in which just-retired GOP Congressman Bill Thomas called most of the shots.

We now basically have four major political parties, instead of two.
There's the dominant local Republican Party establishment, founded by Thomas and now led by Congressman Kevin McCarthy and political consultant Mark Abernathy. Then there's the smaller conservative wing, headed by State Sen. Roy Ashburn. It is constantly battling attempts by the GOP insiders to freeze it out of power and influence.

User Name:politicsanyone
Member Since:May 03, 2007
Last Signed In:September 04, 2008
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