Plain talk

A high-profile Republican candidate running for California governor did not hold back last week during an hour-long talk in Mariposa.

Chad Bianco, the current sheriff of Riverside California, spoke to a group of people gathered at the Masonic Lodge in Mariposa during an event organized by the Mariposa County Republican Party.

“We should not be punished because we choose to live in California,” said Bianco at the end of the gathering.

Bianco has been in the news a lot lately after his department seized ballots in Riverside County following a claim the sheriff said showed a discrepancy in ballot numbers during the special redistricting election earlier this year.

But that investigation is now on hold after a court ruling though Bianco said he still seeks to pursue it as a police investigation.

Bianco and Steve Hilton, a former FOX News host, are the two high-profile Republicans running in a wideopen gubernatorial race that features a long list of Democrats.

Some polls indicate both Bianco and Hilton are leading. Should that hold true, they could break a long string of elections by being two Republicans running for governor. In California, the top two vote-getters compete in the general election no matter party affiliation.

In the beginning

Bianco ran a little late for the planned meeting because he was delayed by a severe traffic accident on Highway 49 South last Friday afternoon.

When he arrived, the head of the local Republic Party, Richard Westfall, thanked everyone for coming and asked Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese to introduce Bianco.

Briese told the audience he was “proud” to be the county sheriff and that he knew Bianco through various statewide law enforcement organizations.

He introduced Bianco as “the soon to be next governor.”

Bianco began his talk by telling the audience about the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. Riverside County is located east of Los Angeles and stretches into the Inland Empire including Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park.

Bianco said his office has 4,400 employees and is the fourth largest sheriff’s office in the nation. He oversees five jails with some 4,000 inmates and has an annual operating budget of $1.3 billion.

“I have an idea how to lead a massive organization,” he said.

Bianco said he doesn’t believe “government should ever spend money it doesn’t have,” noting the state is billions in debt while counties and other entities have to balance budgets.

“California government is failing all of us,” said Bianco. “It started decades ago and has gotten progressively worse.”

He then quipped: “I can’t believe I said progressive.”

Bianco’s California vision

The candidate then went on to outline, in detail, his main visions for California should he be elected to the state’s highest office.

First, he said, is to “keep people safe.”

Bianco said the state has a “revolving door” of criminals and “that has to stop.”

He said the state is closing prisons but that means local jails are being overcrowded.

He also said the state has to better handle wildfire prevention as well as what happens following a fire.

Bianco said he would “take restrictions away” from fire agencies he claims the state has throttled them with over the years.

He also noted how the state stepped in following the Palisades Fire that “destroyed an entire city.”

Bianco claims fires in the state are the fault of “environmental restrictions. It’s not global warming.”

The scientific community has overwhelmingly concluded that climate change is one of the causes of the increase in the intensity and severity of fires.

The second focus for Bianco was about the state’s infrastructure.

He called California’s roads “dilapidated” and said that was because of “corruption, waste, fraud and abuse.”

Bianco said the state has to “build more roadways,” but also noted there is a need for more waterways and water storage in California.

He then made an interesting claim: “We have never had a drought in California.”

The reason? “Seventy-percent (of the water) goes into the ocean.”

The natural runoff into the ocean is a part of the cycle of nature, which drops moisture over land and then it returns to the sea to start the process over.

Bianco also said there have been no new dams built in California since 1979, blaming “environmental activism.”

He blamed “weeds and bugs and animals that don’t exist” as the problem.

“We’ve had a water management problem, not a water problem,” said Bianco.

On our own?

The sheriff them made a claim that “California is the only state in the country that can be independent on its own.”

He called electricity “a joke” in the state, noting it is the highest priced in the country.

But, said Bianco, it’s not the power companies who control the rates, it’s the California Public Utility Commission.

“Power companies generate more revenue for their shareholders,” he said.

He promised “on day one” he would replace all of the board members of the CPUC.

Bianco added: “I will cut your rates on day one.”

The candidate also pledged to “move away from” solar and wind energy, instead focusing on nuclear power as the main source of energy in the state.

Bianco then addressed education in California, saying it has “failed” students for decades. He claims students are taught “what the government wants them taught.”

He vowed to bring trade schools back in full force, an issue that drew loud applause from the audience.

Bianco also said that “never again will there be a boy in your daughter’s bathroom.”

He did not address the issue of whether there could be girls in the boys’ bathrooms.

The sheriff also pledged that children entering schools in California would not have to be vaccinated.

“Parents make the decisions,” he said.

The cost of California

Bianco then addressed the affordability issue in California.

He said the high cost of gasoline, homes, energy and insurance are all “government created. The majority of the problems are regulatory.”

Bianco said when it comes to the gas and oil industry, he has a plan.

“Kern County will be the next Silicon Valley,” he said.

In fact, he said there could be so much oil pumped in Kern County that it would allow him to eliminate the state income tax.

“We are making the Middle East rich,” he said.

Concerning housing, Bianco said the “state government is harming us” because of all the costs for permitting just to start building a new home.

“We’re better than Texas,” he proclaimed, saying many people are moving there and other places that don’t have state income taxes.

Bianco also claims that under Gov. Gavin Newsom, the state coffers have been raided. He said there has been $1 trillion in fraud “under Newsom,” though he did not provide evidence.

“There are people who are going to prison,” he proclaimed.

Fixing the state

Bianco said “we can fix government,” but noted it will take a monumental effort on the part of the voters.

“Every two years we can change government,” he said, referring to the election cycle of members of the California State Assembly.

Bianco also claimed he has established relationships with Democratic lawmakers who he says privately ask his advice on certain bills. The reason, he said, is they fear he will come to their districts and go public via the media which could harm their election chances.

But, Bianco noted, there is a major hurdle yet to come.

“I have to get elected,” he said.

Bianco also dogged on his Republic counterpart Hilton, saying he would have no chance in a general election.

“You only have one choice and that is me,” he said.

Hilton has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, generally a major boon to a candidate.

Not in California, said Bianco.

“People aren’t going to vote for a FOX News host supported by the president,” said Bianco.

He said it will take all Republican votes, many independents and at least 15 percent of Democrats for him to get elected as governor.

Bianco noted that Trump lost California by 20 percentage points to Kamala Harris and he said the same thing will happen if Hilton is on the ballot. He believes because of his position as a sheriff, it will sway voters.

“People will vote for public safety,” he said.

Bianco then went on to call recent polling “fake,” saying it is “psychological warfare” initiated by groups who prefer certain candidates.

Audience questions

He then turned it over the audience for questions.

One question came from a woman who lives in Merced who asked Bianco how he would deal with the homeless crisis in California.

Bianco said he genuinely cares about people who are homeless and believes there are ways to ease the problem.

“It’s not hard,” he said.

Bianco said he would stop giving money to various organizations and nonprofits who deal with the homeless issue because the money is not getting where it needs to be spent.

Bianco referred to it as the “homeless industrial complex” and said cutting that funding and redirecting it to drug and alcohol treatment facilities would make the difference.

He also said many people are in dire straits because of various circumstances, from drug abuse to spousal abuse and much more. But others, he said, are taking advantage of the system.

“It’s the cons on the streets,” he said.

Another question was about rural hospitals, an issue that hits home in Mariposa County.

First, said Bianco, he would “get rid of the ridiculous regulation” concerning seismic upgrades for hospitals.

Locally, John C. Fremont Hospital has to have a new building by 2030 because of those regulations.

Another question was about wildlife management.

Bianco called it “nuts” to be bringing “apex predators” back into California. Those include wolves and grizzly bears.

He blamed environmentalists in coastal cities for wanting predators back in the state. He also took a jab at wildlife officials in California, saying if he is elected “they are all going to be looking for a job.”

To counter the people he claims want predators back in the state, Bianco said he would reintroduce grizzly bears and wolves to “the Presidio,” a National Historic Landmark in San Francisco. He would do the same in “downtown Los Angeles.”

“We’ll see if they want grizzly bears after that,” he said.