Three Republicans seek state assembly seat

BARSTOW — On Nov. 4, 2008, voters will go to the polls to elect the next candidate to represent the 34th Assembly District, which covers parts of Kern, Inyo, Tulare and San Bernardino counties including the Barstow area. Republican and Visalia resident Bill Maze currently holds the seat but current laws prevent him from running for re-election due to term limits. Three Republicans candidates — Bob Smith, Connie Conway and Becky Maze — have announced their intention to compete for the seat. No Democratic challengers have filed their intention to run for the office with the Secretary of State. The Republican challengers will face off against each other in the June 3 primary election

• Bob Smith, a retired San Bernardino Sheriff’s deputy with 27 years of experience and longtime Barstow resident, said that he seeks the seat because he believes that the Assembly is a place where he can get things done for the state’s citizens. After retiring from the sheriff’s department, he held positions in county government and worked for Assemblyman Bill Maze’s office. Smith said that he thinks immigration, water supply issues and crime prevention are the major concerns for the district’s citizens.

“I think we need some stability in the state economy, and we need some good people to do that,” he said.

He said that crime and economic issues are major concerns in Barstow.

“We have to look at our crime stats for Barstow, I think a lot of that is gang-related,” he said.

He has been campaigning for several months and has raised $245,000.

• Connie Conway, the second district supervisor for Tulare County and a longtime Visalia resident, said that she’s running for the assembly seat due to an interest in state issues and because the opportunity presented itself. Before entering politics, she held leadership positions in the health care and insurance industries. She currently serves on several state boards and is serving her second term as county supervisor.

She said she thinks California residents are most worried about quality of life issues.

“People are worried about jobs, worried about how they’re going to take care of their children,” she said.

Conway said that though she is just becoming familiar with the Barstow area, she thinks that economic and education issues are important to area residents.

“Barstow I think is challenged by location. The coast gets all the attention in California,” she said.

She has raised about $10,000 for the campaign so far.

• Becky Maze, the wife of Assemblyman Bill Maze, recently announced her intention to run her husband’s seat when his term expires. The longtime Visalia resident said that her political experience mostly consists of her 15-year assistance to her husband’s political campaign. She is a former substitute teacher with several decades’ involvement in state Republican politics. She said that she hopes her campaign will build on her husband’s interests on issues such as keeping public lands open for public use and strengthening the state’s foster care system. She said that she feels Barstow area residents worry most about economic issues and would like to see the Veterans Home of California in Barstow maintained.

She said her campaign is just getting started and she has raised less that $10,000.

Although she plans to campaign for the seat, she said that in the event that a pending ballot initiative may put her change her plans. An initiative likely to be placed on the February 2008 ballot could extend the number of terms which representatives can serve in the assembly. If enacted, Maze said that will withdraw her candidacy to allow her husband to run for re-election.