I recently received an email requesting monetary or other donation to the Young Republicans Christmas party. I like the Young Republicans and have previously donated to their cause, which is likely why I was on the email distribution list.
What made this request irritating if not brain-dead stupid is that the name under the ask was one “Joe Sheffo”, V.P.
Well heck, Joe isn’t particularly young, but I guess he’s registered as a Republican, and we’ve been courteous to one another over the years in a friendly but guarded sort of way… and then he decided to run for the Encinitas City Council in 2008, the same race in which I was seeking my third term. In a City that has never granted a third term to any Council Member not named James Bond.
Please understand, I have no problem with others running for office when I am, in fact my motto is “everyone in the pool!!” But this guy Sheffo made a whole campaign out of bashing me and good Republican James Bond while simultaneously praising Democrat incumbent candidate Maggie Houlihan and Democrat candidate Collier. It was creepy.
Many in my camp thought he was being paid by the other side to do it, but I rejected that as campaign paranoia… Maybe I was wrong… Never the less, the good voters of Encinitas re-elected me as well as James Bond and rejected Mr. Sheffo.
In fact, after walking precincts for himself as well as the Republican party, and sending mailers, Mr. Sheffo resonated with the voters of Encinitas so strongly that they granted him a mere 2,020 (2.78%) more votes than an environmentally oriented lady named Betsy who quit the race before it got started and had no campaign, but quit after it was allowable to remove her name from the list! Good old Joe didn’t come in dead last, but he gave it a good try…
The bottom line is that if you want to call me names while promoting a Democrat candidate for office, great, but don’t cloak yourself in Republican red and ask me for money later. An elephant never forgets, you donkey.
As we live in a beach community, the phrase “go pound sand” comes to mind.
The YRs may want to look into the campaign activities of their VP, but other than that,
a Merry Christmas to all.