Councilman Gomez to run for county supervisor

Yes, I am! A few people have question my decision to run for First District Supervisor, mainly because of the money raised by Brad Mitzelfelt's committee. Of course this will be a challenging task, but I am ready. I need all of your support during the campaign. I will keep you in the loop the next few weeks. Joe

By JASON SMITH, staff writer VICTORVILLE — Barstow City Council member Joe Gomez announced Saturday in Victorville that he will likely run for the office of county supervisor in the June 2008 election. Speaking at the annual picnic of the Victor Valley Democratic Club, Gomez told club members that he is forming an exploratory committee to consider a campaign against First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt. The first district is composed of 17,000 square-miles of the Mojave Desert, including the cities of Victorville, Barstow, Needles, Twenty-nine Palms as well as many smaller towns and unincorporated areas. “I believe the people of the High Desert have been neglected in recent years by the county,” Gomez said in a short speech to a crowd of 15 Victorville democrats. He said that he felt the smaller communities and unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County do not receive the support of the county politicians that the bigger cities do. He specifically mentioned the supervisors’ unanimous approval of a permit for Nursery Products, LLC., to build a biosolids-composting plant in Hinkley over the strong objections of residents. Gomez opposes the facility and traveled to Sacramento in August to testify before the state waste board against issuing a permit for the plant. Gomez, elected as a council member in November of 2004 with 2,301 votes, said that his political experience and previous history of community involvement has prepared him for county office. “I know enough about politics. I’ve learned enough about government during these past three years. I know what goes on behind closed doors and I don’t like what I’ve seen,” Gomez said. As the second-longest serving member on the City Council, second only to Mayor Lawrence Dale, Gomez has dissented against the majority of the council on topics including Indian gaming and the use of eminent domain for economic redevelopment. Gomez opposes allowing the use of eminent domain which the council recently voted to reauthorize and prefers the plans of the Chemehuevi Indian tribe to build a casino in Barstow rather than the dual casino project of the Big Lagoon Rancheria/Los Coyotes tribes supported by Dale. In the race for county supervisor, Gomez acknowledged that his biggest challenge will be overcoming the name recognition and approximately $464,000 reportedly raised by Mitzelfelt. Gomez said that he has just begun raising funds but believes he can win and announced that in the coming months he will temporarily close his insurance business to concentrate full-time on the campaign. “It wouldn’t be fair to my Allstate customers because my focus will be in politics,” he said. Gomez said that he and yet-to-be-named members of his exploratory committee will attend as many local government meetings as possible throughout the district in order to listen to constituents’ concerns. “It’s going to take a lot of meetings, a lot of homework,” he said. John Putko, chairman of the Victor Valley Democratic Club said that he met Gomez for the first time recently but said he likes what he sees so far. “I believe he knows what the issues will be to the county,” he said. Putko said that name recognition and fundraising will be the biggest challenges for any candidate. “It’s a big district; it takes a lot of money, but it’s doable,” he said.