To the voters of the San Fernando Valley:
My name is Arthur Christopoher Schaper, a resident of the South Bay (particularly, Torrance), but I am appealing to all Valley voters: conservatives, libertarians, Republicans, and the disaffected Independents and disappointed Democrats.
Following the costly Congressional race in 2012 for the new 30th Congressional District, which pitted two incumbent Democrats against each other — Howard Berman and Brad Sherman — the voters in the Valley, as well as the state, deserve a representative who will not resort to physical altercations, nor a representative who resists free markets, free people, and free enterprise.
Despite Republican Susan Shelley's spirited run in the 2012 primary, the San Fernando Valley will see more "valleys" of poor Democratic leadership which raises taxes, spending, and regulations, without any respect for the individual voter, the small business, or the limiting options facing families in the Los Angeles area.
Brad Sherman defeated a long-standing machine politician, who had intimidated other rising politicians and siphoned away strength from opposing parties for decades. Howard Berman is gone, and his colleague Congressman Henry Waxman is waning. The Republican Party should take this opportunity to step up and push out the junior Democratic incumbent who won the seat.
Sherman has sparred with Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan about passing responsible spending cuts in Washington. Sherman has lost his cool many times, not just with Berman during a fractious debate at Pierce College, but with his own staff, since he has one of the highest office staff turnover rates in Congress. He is also not too friendly when pressed with pointed questions from "inquiring minds", or even in townhall meetings. When I met a Valley resident in the South Bay, I showed her the "difficult" man that Brad Sherman can be, and that another Congressman, a Republican, would be a proper replacement.
For the Republicans of the San Fernando Valley, the time for grass-roots outreach is now. Valley voters deserve real options, not "more of the same" statist-status quo liberalism, or the ranting and raving of a Democrat who shouts down constituents.
Contact the San Fernando Valley Republican Club. Tell them what's on your mind. Tell them that the hyperpartisan posturing of Democratic incumbents needs to stop, so that the Valley can rise again, stronger than before, with conservative leadership that respect your peace, your place, your privacy, and your pocketbook.