San Ramon: Congressional candidates meet with constituents

Residents of the Tri-Valley and the rest of the 15th Congressional District got the opportunity to hear from both general election candidates during separate meet-and-greets last Saturday.

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) held an “Expresso Yourself” town hall over coffee in downtown Pleasanton late Saturday morning, while challenger Rudy Peters (R-Livermore) hosted a public campaign event in Livermore that evening.

The two candidates are squaring off in November after Swalwell, who is seeking his fourth straight term in Congress, earned nearly 70% of the vote during the primary election and Peters finished second with about 26% — well ahead of independent candidate Brendan St. John in third.

Swalwell’s event at Inkling’s Coffee and Tea featured approximately 100 attendees on Saturday, occurring soon after he held a “Hike With Your Congressman” morning trip at the Sycamore Grove Park in southeastern Livermore.

During the town hall, Swalwell discussed several hot topics that are receiving increasing coverage across the country. For the first half of the event, Swalwell gave an extensive overview of the initiatives he is focusing on as a member of the House Intelligence Committee. He then proceeded to answer questions from the audience during the second part of the event.

“There is no doubt that Russia hacked into our election in 2016 and they will certainly do it again in 2018 if we don’t secure our electoral systems,” Swalwell stated. “We cannot afford to have a president who won’t hold the Kremlin accountable for persistent attacks on American democracy.”

A constituent asked Swalwell if there was any evidence that Russia manipulated vote tallies or colluded with Donald Trump’s campaign during the 2016 presidential election. Swalwell admitted that there wasn’t, but he also argued that there isn’t reliable proof that no vote tallies were changed either, and urged special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe to continue.

Swalwell also discussed at length the current immigration crisis affecting the country at the U.S. Mexico border. “We have been told that illegal immigrants steal jobs, but that’s just not true,” Swalwell said. “We need to invest more into secondary education and vocational training, especially in rural parts of America, so that citizens and immigrants alike can fairly compete for good-paying jobs.”

The congressman harshly criticized the president’s current trade policies. He stated that he supported Trump’s objective to get tough on China with regard to their trade practices, but opposed simultaneous tariffs on the European Union, Canada, Japan and South Korea.

Other topics Swalwell touched on included Trump’s nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy (Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals), the president’s recent trip to Brussels and exchange with NATO counterparts, and the Democrats’ prospects in the midterm election nationwide.

“Democrats will take back both the House and the Senate in November,” Swalwell said. “Democratic voters are out on the streets protesting and are more excited than ever.” Swalwell did not indicate whether he would support House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for speaker in the event that Democrats regain control of the lower chamber.

Overall, the event brought both ardent Swalwell fans and conservative critics together, although supporters of Swalwell were more inclined to express their opinions or ask questions during the Q&A.

Then Saturday night, Republican challenger Peters held an event to meet with supporters at the Eight Bridges Brewery in Livermore, with about 75 people attending throughout the event. In contrast to Swalwell’s town hall, Peters focused on greeting supporters individually as opposed to long public remarks or engaging in a Q&A.

Peters, a Navy veteran and business owner who has never held elected office, said there are several core issues in his campaign that he believes will appeal to 15th District voters.

Those priorities include school safety measures, federal block grants for mental health funding, continuing to promote the current rate of economic growth, improving U.S. cybersecurity defense mechanisms and protecting the local environment from plastic materials.

“At the end of the day, it all comes down to the economy,” Peters added. “If you look at the last few midterm elections, the party that is in power when the economy is doing well always wins. I care about local taxpayers and I will always advocate for small businesses, who are the backbone of the Tri-Valley community.”

Peters said he believes that his business background would be a benefit that would allow him to understand economic issues from the perspective of middle class voters.

“For too long, politicians in Congress have been enacting harsh economic regulatory policies that never apply to themselves,” he stated. “I’ve actually experienced running a business so I know just how harmful these regulations are. I will always stand up for the hardworking citizen, not the politician.”

Peters said that he is glad that House Speaker Paul Ryan is stepping down after the November midterms. He argues that Ryan has been ineffective in pushing forward the Trump policy agenda, and that both current House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise would be better alternatives who would fully support the president.

Livermore resident Bill Gibson, a Vietnam War veteran, was one of the Peters supporters at the meet-and-greet — after also attending the Swalwell forum to try to voice his concerns.

“My entire family is liberal, and I grew up being a Democrat,” Gibson said. “I’m supporting Rudy because he stands up for taxpayer rights and opposes wasting money on NATO and other government projects. The European countries are wealthier than us and should be paying their fair share. The president wants to put America first, and that includes veterans like myself. I really like what he’s doing with the VA (Veterans Affairs).”

Sean Roberts, Peters’ campaign chief of staff, also attended his candidate’s event and argued Peters has a better chance than most Republicans to defeat Swalwell because of more moderate policy viewpoints.

“Rudy has lived his entire adult life in the Tri-Valley, unlike Swalwell,” Roberts said. “He didn’t get rich from politics, and he’s been directly affected by policy proposals from Washington. People will be able to relate to him because he comes across as an average citizen trying to provide for his family, while our current congressman is so tied up with the D.C. establishment.”

The general election is set for Nov. 6, with vote-by-mail ballots due out the month before.

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