John Hager’s Congressional Candidacy By Cheri Rae
If he has his way, Capps Country will give way to Hager in the House.
A registered Independent since 1995, John Hager, a civil law attorney in the firm Hager & Dowling, believes in transparency, accountability and campaign finance reform. He refers to the way campaigns are now financed—primarily with special interest money from political action committees, unions and other organizations—as “a major corrupting influence” on the political process. “The parties can’t fix it; they’re addicted,” he notes, adding that politicians typically spend more time fund-raising than in serving the public.
Hager is running a different kind of campaign. “I don’t spend my time fundraising. I am not speaking just to supporters or preaching to the choir. I am meeting with the public, talking to—and listening to—people who disagree with me.” Determined to lead by example, he has pledged to accept donations only from individuals, and in the amount of $250 or less. “I want to elevate the issue to reduce the influence of money in elections,” he said.
In a district that stretches primarily along the coast from Port Hueneme to Monterey County, Hager has a challenge to get the word out about his Independent campaign. But he thinks he has a chance to upset the incumbent Rep. Lois Capps, seated since 1998. “I think there’s enough dissatisfaction with the status quo,” he said, “I’m hearing from a number of Democratic voters who are not happy with political events in Washington.”
Acknowledging the expense, wasteful spending and environmental effects of sending out a slew of printed fliers and campaign literature, Hager’s invested his time and effort instead into a web-based campaign, using targeted ads on Facebook, selected websites and in creating a straightforward website—all self-written—that fully details his platform, background and reasons for running. www.hagerforcongress.org
Number One on his list is ending the war in Afghanistan for several major reasons: the cost of lives, the financial drain; the mercenaries who are there for profit; lack of a defined mission; and lack of a declaration of war. “I am openly against this war and I speak out about it. The silence of the other two in the race is political chicken,” he declared, “they don’t have the courage to talk about it—Capps continues to vote to fund it and [challenger Tom] Watson has a military point of view.”
Education is another major issue for Hager. He observes, “We could be making wiser investments; we don’t place a value of creativity, and not everyone needs to be on a college prep track. There’s a lot of waste and inefficiency, and it hasn’t been handled correctly for a long time. It’s time to elevate public consciousness about what the problems are; the vast majority of people just wants this done right.”
Hager has been running since April, and calls it, “The best thing I’ve ever done. I’m not so concerned about the campaign process,” he says, “I’m focused on the office, and how to effectively and successfully represent the people of this district. I can bring a different view, a different approach to decision-making in Washington, one that’s independent of any party. I can reach across the board and work with people who disagree in a goal-oriented, solution-oriented way, by listening and reaching a resolution—that’s what I spend my life doing.”
NOTE: Hager has repeatedly called for public forums with the other two candidates in the race, incumbent Democrat Lois Capps and Republican Tom Watson. Two have reportedly been scheduled: one City College on October 28th, and an additional one that will be taped at KEYT on October 23rd for broadcast on October 31, just two days before the election.
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