October 26, 2004: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Politics: Congress: Election2004 - Farr:: Santa Cruz Sentinel: Despite his 11 years in office, incumbent U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, faces five challengers for his 17th Congressional District seat

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Colombia: Special Report: Sam Farr: Sam Farr: Archived Stories: October 26, 2004: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Politics: Congress: Election2004 - Farr:: Santa Cruz Sentinel: Despite his 11 years in office, incumbent U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, faces five challengers for his 17th Congressional District seat

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Despite his 11 years in office, incumbent U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, faces five challengers for his 17th Congressional District seat

Despite his 11 years in office, incumbent U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, faces five challengers for his 17th Congressional District seat

Despite his 11 years in office, incumbent U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, faces five challengers for his 17th Congressional District seat

Farr runs on his record; so does his opponent
By GENEVIEVE BOOKWALTER
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER

Despite his 11 years in office, incumbent U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, faces five challengers for his 17th Congressional District seat.

While the candidates from smaller parties said they’re running to encourage discussion and debate, Republican Mark Risley wants voters discouraged with Washington "politics as usual" to choose him to serve.

"I really want to be an activist and make some noise," Risley said.

Other candidates include Ray Glock-Grueneich of Soquel for the Green Party; Joel Smolen of Pebble Beach for the Libertarian Party; Joe Williams of Santa Cruz for the Peace and Freedom Party; and write-in candidate David Munoz of Salinas.

The 17th Congressional District covers parts of Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties. Of the 100,615 registered voters, Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 3-to-1, according to the Santa Cruz County Elections Office.

Besides belonging to the prevailing party’s ticket, Farr said his accomplishments over the years should persuade voters to keep him in Washington.

"I think that the voters in this district have always shown that they judge candidates on their commitment to public service," Farr said. "In order to win their approval, the candidates have to demonstrate that they’ve done something."

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Affordable housing is the biggest challenge facing his district, Farr said. While much of that responsibility is left to local government, Farr said he has played a small role in finding a solution by working with the Fort Ord Reuse Authority to ensure at least 20 percent of the new homes built on the former base are affordable for middle-income residents.

Along with those challenges, Farr said he plans to continue his focus on the three E’s — environment, education and economy.

In his las term, Farr said, he is proudest of securing money for a Center for Stabilization and Reconstruction Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey.

That center should teach students how to stabilize and rebuild war-torn countries, Farr said.

Despite his opponent’s popularity, Republican Risley point to what he says are Farr’s trouble spots — approving military spending and taking money from special interests.

If elected, Risley said, he would work to improve international relations, protect the environment and decrease the United States’ dependence on foreign oil.

He said he would discourage vacation-home sales, to make housing more affordable for residents, and would keep refusing campaign donations from corporations, Risley said. He accepts money only from individuals in the district.

Risley faced some controversy recently when ads in newspapers, including the Sentinel, directed voters to "stop person-per-minute Calif. Growth," and cast their ballot for Risley. He said he has no idea who paid for them.

"I denounce the racial profiling that is so apparent in this ad," Risley said.

Other candidates offer their own ideas on Iraq, minimum incomes and why current U.S. policies don’t work.

Peace and Freedom Party candidate Williams said he wants the United States to immediately withdraw troops from Iraq, and to secure a basic income guarantee for all Americans, ensuring no one’s income falls below a certain level.

"It would free up people’s time. Instead of polluting our air and the environment on the way to work, they can devote more time to their family, to creative activities, to the environment," Williams said.

Libertarian Party candidate Smolen said he espouses the basic Libertarian principles — conservative spending with liberal values.

"The same old programs and plans are not working. New and creative thinking is needed," Smolen said.

Green Party candidate Glock-Grueneich said he would like to impeach President Bush on charges of lying about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction.

Also, he said, "I would immediately require that we bring home American contractors. Not troops, contractors."

Iraqis should be the ones making money from restorating their country, Glock-Grueneich said.

Write-in candidate Munoz wrote in a statement that, as a 30-year-old living in the district’s largest city, he represents the average constituent.

"If someone really has the support of the people then those people should be able to remember the name of the person they want representing them and be able to write it down on a piece of paper," he said.

Contact Genevieve Bookwalter at gbookwalter@santacruzsentinel.com.





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Story Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Colombia; Politics; Congress; Election2004 - Farr;

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