A Greeting from Michael Jackson

November 25, 2006: We took a few days off, contacted a few people, talked to a L.A. County Pollster and sent out thank you emails. So far from the votes that have been counted, we received 44,602 votes. I have filed to run again for 2008, appropriately signed on Veterans Day. Expect huge deficits to start appearing as taxpayer funded giveaways approved by many of the current legislators will have to be accounted for in 2007. This will make it easier to get rid of the free spending Democrats that have control of the legislature and Long Beach.

Thank you so much for your hard work, support and encouragement. We all did a fantastic job under difficult circumstances.

We received 39.4% of the vote (currently 41,075 votes), which is the highest percentage of any Republican challenger in an assembly district completely in L.A. County. Many were surprised we did so well with limited funding.

Your work and support were not in vain; my wife and I will be working to rebuild the Republican Party in the district as members of the central committee. We have already started planning for the rest of the year, 2007, and 2008. Please keep a stiff upper lip, we have lost this particular battle, but we have a new and energetic central committee to lead the battles in the future. We also have a core of volunteers and community activists to start building for the future.

What happened in AD54?

It appears that the headwind created by the Iraq war, failure to secure our borders, and the congressional scandals contributed to an opposition against almost all Republicans which caused many Republicans to either stay away from the polls, or not vote for republican candidates.

Also, Karnette spending >$460,000, plus numerous mailers from the Democrat Party, were too much to overcome. We had limited funds because of the non-competition agreement so we could not get Karnette’s actual record sufficiently before the public. Also, the media would not expose Karnette’s record or the fact that she opposed Jessica’s Law, which passed with 70.5% of the vote.

We will continue the fight for the People and we are filing for State Assembly in 2008, appropriately signed on Veterans Day.

In service to California,

Michael A. Jackson (U.S. Navy Veteran)

State Assembly District 54 Candidate

President of Government for the People

November 6, 2006: By all indications, the door to door feedback has been extremely positive and supportive. We seem to have a lead in absentee ballots over the opposition and now we need to get our team to the polls. That is probably why the Press Telegram's front page article in the Sundays paper on the 55th, had no mention of the close race in the 54th. Others are trying to convince people that none of the races are competitive or going to change hands. They should know that we have the lead and the only way for Karnette to win is to depress our vote on election day.

Please make sure that you go out and vote, we have a tremendous Get Out the Vote effort. With your dedication to get out and vote we will most assuredly win and restore representation to the district. I have done all I can, the rest is up to you.

November 5, 2006: Our Freedom March and Rally assembled at Bixby Park at the corner of Junipero and Ocean. Marching down Ocean to Lincoln Park at Pacific and Ocean, we were well received! I spoke at the rally. along with Raymond Herrera, a Vietnam Veteran, who spoke on the effects of illegal immigration from the perspective of an American Hispanic and Marvin Stewart, a Black Preacher and Coast Guard Veteran, spoke on the failure of the current elected officials to abide by their oath of offices and to defend the constitution. We need to fix the system we have by electing true representatives of the people.

October 26-November 4, 2006: We have been walking neighborhoods, going to meetings, and sending out emails in the district for the last week. There is a huge anti-Karnette ground swelling across all parties. The old Lincoln saying seems to be effect. You can fool all of the people some of the time. You can fool some of the people all of the time. But you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. Karnette is no longer able to fool enough people and all parties are tired of her.

Most people that we've talked to say it is time to have real representation. I have lots of folks that have never voted for a Republican, but are going to vote for me. As I said in my candidate statement "Most concerns of citizens are not party based; they are community based." I will represent the community.

I attended an Air Quality Management District (AQMD) meeting in Long Beach. We have lots of work to do around the ports, to protect the health of our neighbors.

October 25, 2006: We attended a Los Angeles County Republican Women Federated meeting. I spoke about our judicial recommendations and why we are winning the race for State Assembly.

I attended a Film screening and "so-called" discussion sponsored by Congresswomen Jane Harmon. I suspected this was just a political meeting to bail out the sinking Betty Karnette campaign and the night before there was another political meeting to prop up Ted Lieu in the 53rd Assembly district. I was correct, Harmon mentioned the election, November 7th (election day), how much Betty has done [not], and what a great group of representatives that are here [not]. I hope Karnette files this in her financial report, it was another tax payer subsidized get out the vote effort for her. I did hear them talking about me, and amazingly, no one came near where I was sitting so that I could hand in a question. They are worried, as well they should be. I believe that we are ahead and with our continued perseverance, we will win this election to get a real representative in the district.

October 24, 2006: Completed sending out judicial and ballot measure recommendations to LA County Republicans that do not have AOL email. Started setting up for AOL users, American Independent, Libertarian, Decline to State, and Democrats.

Attended the Palos Verdes Republican Women Federated meeting. I related interesting stories from the campaign and spoke to why we are going to win. One story was about when I was spoke to a couple at the North West San Pedro Neighborhood Council who thought they were the only Republicans in San Pedro. Andrea, a Republican volunteer, was standing a ways off and mouthed if the people I was talking to were Republicans. I indicated that they were and I introduced everyone. This district is fairly conservative with Reagan Democrats and Reagan Republicans. Do not be afraid to talk to each other, because for the most part everyone agrees with what our campaign stands for. We need to come together to fix things and not be afraid to speak up.

October 23, 2006: Spent the whole day sending out judicial and ballot measure recommendations via email.

Attended the Kingdom Causes Long Beach/Lakewood meeting. This groups effort is geared towards organizing the faith based community in Long Beach and San Pedro. I am working with the Emergency Preparedness group. The faith based community will be the foundation for post disaster recoveries. As shown in Louisiana, the local and state government will not be able to assist until long after the event has occurred, so the communities will be on their own. Churches and Synagogues will likely be the gathering places to take care of our neighbors.

October 22, 2006: Attended a Palos Verdes California Republican Assembly Ballot Measure working shop. I spoke and handed out more yard signs.

Completed most of the initial database query structure changes. Re-commenced sending out recommendations for judiciary and ballot measures.

October 21, 2006: I attended the League of Women Voters proposition workshop and handed out non-partisan judicial recommendations from Government for the People. As the meeting was breaking up, I went to the public sidewalk and handed out our comparison piece for State Assembly.

October 20, 2006: I attended lunch with the South Bay Lincoln Club and handed out judicial recommendations. I spoke about the how close we are to victory. Another 10 signs were picked up for posting in the district at the meeting.

Friday night, I attended and spoke at the 2006 Community Election Forum. The Community Election Forum, led by Craig A. Huey, is a Christian founded organization that researches and recommends candidates based on their protection of the freedom of religion and family values. I received the 2006 Christian Voter Guide endorsement for State Assembly and I even had a cheering section in the back of the room.

October 19, 2006: I met with a few students at Long Beach City College. All the students I met are going to vote for me. The students that I met were very informed and knew about the problems with illegal immigration.

October 18, 2006: Helped set up for the Carver Elementary School Fall Festival. A few of the parent volunteers requested yard signs.

I ran over to attended a Republican Women's Federated Lunch in Long Beach. Mike Spence, President of the California Republican Assembly, was the speaker. He discussed the ballot measures and judicial recommendations. We agreed on all of the ballot measures and only disagreed on some of the judges which we are recommending not voting on at all.

I went back to help with the Fall Festival cleanup team. Again, a few more parent volunteers requested yard signs.

In the evening I spoke at the Naples Improvement Association. Robbie Bartholomew had the courage and civic mindedness to invite the Congressional and State Assembly candidates. There were some more indications that Karnette is in trouble. Karnette spoke first and one the first items that she addressed was the 2004 Press Telegram quote that we mailed to most of the permanent absentee voters. The Press Telegram took her to task and nothing has changed since then. Karnette also addressed how she helped on Megan's Law and the Amber Alert. The reason that she is spending a lot of time on Megan's Law and Amber Alert is that she opposes the very popular Jessica's Law. If you are voting for Jessica's Law then you should be voting for Michael A. Jackson. One final indication of Karnette's low support is that she stayed in the lobby until everyone had left the meeting.

October 17, 2006: Set up alternate email accounts with charter. Unfortunately charter limits email to 250/hour from all the accounts. If you exceed this limit, the email is locked and you have to call charter during working hours to unlock your email account. This is not going to work as a solution.

October 16, 2006: Email to AOL users from my campaign email are being blocked, a violation of the political speech provisions of the can-spam act. Spent most of the day changing database queries to sort out AOL and the companies that they have bought. Started sending out the non-AOL emails.

Went to the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council meeting. Introduced myself and left some flyers, I had met most of the people already at other San Pedro Neighborhood Council meetings. An interesting note, Karnette's representative has not shown up at any subsequent meetings after I challenged the utility of a Karnette bill that was supposedly dealing with port security. The bill basically told groups to do what they were already doing.

October 15, 2006: Prepared the database to send out emails. I had conversations with other county activists that were working on evaluating judicial candidates. Worked on updating Government for the People website.

October 14, 2006: A wonderful family joined us on our walk today. We are receiving mostly positive responses across all party registration. I sounds like many people are tired of Betty Karnette and the fact that she has done nothing for the community.

We have heard that Betty Karnette's office is calling everyone saying that she is endorsed by the California State Association of Highway Patrol Officers and also stating that she was instrumental in getting Megan's Law Passed. My CHP, LAPD, and LBPD supporters are just frustrated that the union bosses keep endorsing people that do not support the same values as the officers. Betty Karnette is actively promoting her support for Megan's Law, because she is on record stating that the Jessica's Law initiative was a bad idea. Karnette knows her opposition to Jessica's Law will hurt her.

A volunteer and I were in Belmont Shores on 2nd street Saturday night handing out literature and signs. I was only able to engage one liberal with information. It is surprising how closed minded the supposedly open minded crowd is. I challenged someone to look at our flyer, after which she changed her tune a little and is considering voting for me. With personal contact, we continue to get people on our side.

October 13, 2006: The Long Beach Lincoln Club meeting was cancelled again. This is the third meeting cancelled in as many months. Very interesting that right before an election a group dedicated to help elect candidates would not hold any meetings in the fifth largest city in the state. The South Bay Chapter of the Lincoln Club did provide some financial support, which paid for one of our slate mailers.. I greatly appreciated the very kind note accompanying the donation from my friend Bob Holmes.

So, I spent the entire day researching the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Justices that are on the ballot. This was extremely difficult as my contacts, legal publications, and newspapers in general, did not want to say anything negative about the Justices. I did eventually track down enough information to feel comfortable making a decision on most of the races.

October 12, 2006: I went to the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Council meeting. Everyone was cordial. Having given Karnette a 25% rating in 2005, you think they would help out on our campaign. It has been amusing the way the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce has not only avoided helping our campaign, but has actively discouraged members from helping. I do have a few behind the scenes supporters, which is good enough for now, but it clearly states their position of supporting efforts to elect pro-business candidates.

Pro-business Leadership

- Support pro-business issues and efforts to elect pro-business candidates."

Next I attend lunch with the South Bay Republican Woman Federated and spoke briefly about our campaign and about the judicial candidates that my organization, Government for the People, was recommending. Since everyone in Southern California is only a few people away from connecting to everyone else, I asked them to talk to their friends and family in Long Beach, Signal Hill, San Pedro, PV, and Avalon to please research our campaign and to vote for me.

Later in the day I met with a campaign adviser who is helping out. He also connected us with a fantastic printer in San Pedro.

October 11, 2006: I went to work again today to work on some additional details of the new project. When I came home, I started researching the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Justices that are on the ballot.

October 10, 2006: My wife and I attended a lunch hosted by Stephanie, a wonderful supporter in Long Beach. She had invited many of her neighbors and friends to attend. After a brief introduction, I was peppered with questions. The ladies and one gentleman were so pleased that they all committed to voting for me and a few took yard signs. The attendees included Democrats, Independents, and Republicans. Stephanie and her friends are outgoing and very well informed, their support and the support of others like them are why we are going to win this race. We are truly running a grassroots campaign.

I attended the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council meeting. I had already met many of the people in attendance. As folks were leaving, I handed them our new flyers. One of the ladies in attendance told me that she had never voted for a Republican before, but she was going to vote for me. She was also going to try to get her husband to vote for me based on my Navy experience and the fact that I am concerned with our port security. I am truly honored by the support that I am receiving, its heartening to be able to get people to believe in representative government again.

October 9, 2006: A contract is coming in, so I went to work to prepare the way for commencing the work on this contract.

I attended the North West San Pedro Neighborhood Council meeting. I spoke out against L.A. Measures R and J.

Measure R relaxes term limits. Until we can restore some fairness in the current system this is our only protection from corrupt politicians taking too much power. If they show a proven track record, they can run for some other office.

Measure J so called "affordable housing" would result in less affordable housing for everyone to benefit a select few. This is also a bond measure and we should not be mortgaging our children's future. If this was such an important need, why did the Los Angeles City Council use the housing bubble money to finance this instead of borrowing. A large part of this bond (tax) would likely go to house the huge illegal immigrant population. We need to stop taxing Americans to continue to financing foreigners.

October 8, 2006: We updated our ballot measure recommendations, so they are also ready when we send out our judicial recommendations. We took the kids to Pa's Pumpkin Patch in Long Beach. The kids have been little troopers during this run for office.

October 7, 2006: We walked a couple of precincts and then continued with our planning.

October 6, 2006: We worked on print materials and mailers, our database, and reviewing and coordinating our battle plan for victory today.

October 5, 2006: I went to work to a review some work a customer/partners was doing and to ensure that they understood the current proposed design for the Next Generation Cryocooler Electronics. I am taking time off from my job to ensure a victory in this race. It would be nice to be paid while campaigning and have a paid staff, but that is the perk of an incumbent.

October 4, 2006: At the invitation of the Associated Students, Incorporated I spoke at the CSULB campus. I coaxed questions out of the audience and tested their knowledge of California Government. I picked up some votes talking one on one to some students.

The most interesting part of the day was later that afternoon when I came back to see how my opponent faired speaking to the students. (Side note: Karnette refuses to debate and most groups are afraid to call her on this failure of letting the voters see the candidates in real time.) I handed out flyers to the new crowd that was mainly there to do homework. I have been at many events that Karnette has been at and I have talked to her staffers. When they saw me, they talked to Hironao Okahana, the Vice President of the Associated Students and he sent a friend of mine, also in the Associated Students, to ask me "not ask any questions". Having expected something along this line, I selected a table off to the side to observe.

It is sad that Karnette even after nearly 12 years in the Legislature, she still cannot speak very well and just kind of rambled about a few points. Of course one point was that we were not adequately funding schools. This is a talking point without foundation, the school system gets more money per student than most private schools, so funding is not the issue. It is accountability for where the money goes that should be the issue. It is the failure to insist on discipline being maintained in our schools, and it is a failure to have higher expectations of our students.

She also talked about having to compromise. I believe that she was referring to the Karnette vs. Jackson flyer that I handed out (copy located on the Jackson Vs. The Competition page) which has as one point that Karnette is O.K. with up to 100 items child porn. Who is she compromising with? She had a hard time getting questions from the audience and when she could not get anymore questions she actually asked her staffer if she could quit talking. Following that exchange, she rambled on about some other items and then just kind of trailed of and said goodbye. There were questions that I would have loved to ask, but I was respecting the Associated Students request.

Is Karnette the kind of representative that you want? One that is afraid of an honest debate or even some tough questions. If not what are you going to do about it? My family, friends, and supporters are doing everything that they can to get a real representative, the rest is up to you.

October 3, 2006: Welcome to Jackson's Journal! I will be talking with you until Election Day to inform you about the campaign and what I will do once elected. Please check back daily for an update on the campaign!