A Political Plagiarism Mystery; Wussup with Mollie? Doomsday Looms for House Dems
By Jerry Roberts of Newsmakers
Not since John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day -- July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence -- has there been such a political coincidence as recently surfaced in Santa Barbara's 2022 election campaign.
Amazing but true, two local candidates -- one for the state Legislature and one for county school superintendent -- provided reporters with virtually identical statements about the rationale for their campaigns without, each says, peeking at the other's paper.
On Friday, March 11, former Supervisor Mike Stoker announced he is running for Santa Barbara's 37th district seat in the Assembly, and included this statement to supporters and the media, as reported by Josh Molina at Noozhawk:
"Whether you're Democrat, Independent or Republican, if you think California is headed in the right direction don't vote for me...But if you think California is headed in the wrong direction and you want to see our state take a reset and rethink these policies, if you think California is worth saving and turning things around ... then I am your man."
Four days later, teacher Christy Lozano spoke to the Independent about her just-launched campaign for County Superintendent of Schools, and stated the following during the March 15 interview with staff reporter Jun Starkey:
“Whether you’re Democrat, Independent, or Republican, if you think schools are headed in the right direction, don’t vote for me. But if you think our schools are headed in the wrong direction and you want a reset and rethink of school policies…then I am your candidate."
Coincidence? You be the judge.
Do great minds think that alike?
We phoned up Stoker, the first to utter the immortal verbiage above, and he expressed bafflement at the similarity, saying that he had only recently met Lozano and spoken to her just briefly.
"I've been around a long time and if you know me, you know I write my own stuff," he said, "and I wrote my own campaign announcement."
A short time later, Newsmakers emailed Lozano, seeking her help in unraveling the mystery.
"LOL," she wrote back. "Your question is a compliment, while I admire Mike Stoker, this is my statement."
We sought clarification in a follow-up email, asking specifically if there had been any contact or communications with Mike or his campaign involved in crafting her comments,
"Jerry, draw what conclusions you wish but your comments and assumptions are yours," she wrote back. "So, in the court of Jerry Roberts I have been clear with my messaging to voters continuing to state that I don't believe schools are headed in the right direction of which many parents and teachers share the same concern."
Mulling the timeless phrase, "non-denial denial," Newsmakers took one more stab at solving the puzzle last night, asking Lozano for "yes" or ."no" answers to several key questions, including:
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Did you see Mike Stoker's comments before you gave your statement to the Independent?
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Do you wish to claim you wrote your comments yourself?
At post time, Christy hadn't responded. Update: Lozano responded late last night but, alas, didn't answer the questions we ask. Instead she wrote this: "I think a great story for you to use your sleuthing skills for would be figuring out who hired Molly (sic) Culver to sue me and try to undermine and destroy our democratic process." So there's that.
The litigious Mollie Culver
Big wave threatens Dems
Big brains Back East who follow such things tell us that Democrats are headed for a major wipeout in November's mid-term congressional elections, with Trump-allied Republicans all-but-certain to flip the House from blue to red - and well-positioned to take back the Senate too.
Get ready for Joe Biden's impeachment, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and Intelligence Committee Chair Marjorie Taylor Greene (ok we made that last one up - but nothing would surprise Newsmakers at this point).
There are all sorts of explanations for this state of affairs - midterms are historically a referendum on the party of the incumbent President, which nearly always loses seats and, shockingly, Biden's approval rating, is worse than Trump's was at this point in his presidency.
The common sense problem
Newsmakers sez: check it out.
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Apr 01, 2022 10:29 AMChristy Lozano's values do not match the values of the majority of families in Santa Barbara. From what I can tell she is another far-right ideologue who is looking for 15 minutes of fame on Fox News. I would also want to see someone with a higher level of qualifications than PE teacher and home school principal. Maybe if she relocates to Kentucky or Missouri she could gain some momentum with her CRT boogeyman platform.
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Apr 01, 2022 11:42 AMIf this rant was in paper, I'd line my birdcage with it.
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Apr 02, 2022 09:09 AMCoastwatch, that's the best comment on this thread. I concur.
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Apr 01, 2022 12:17 PMIt is looking more and more like the November election will be decisive. Now that even the left wing media has finally admitted the hunter biden laptop is genuine and not “Russian disinformation” there will be ample grounds to start the impeachment process. I expect we will learn much more about the Biden family’s shady business dealings. The second half of Biden’s term will be interesting indeed!
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Apr 01, 2022 01:12 PMWe will learn that everything they accused Trump and his family of, Biden and his family actually did. Will they accept the truth? Unlikely but we shall see...
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Apr 01, 2022 01:20 PM1:12 - What exactly did "they" accuse Trump of, but Biden actually did? Grab em by the XXX? Make fun of a reporter? Watch an insurrection take place and do nothing to stop it? Just curious......
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Apr 01, 2022 04:41 PMLot's of talk no proof. The right is a walking Q billboard.
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Apr 01, 2022 09:35 PMLMAO Hunter Biden's laptop. Why don't you go and find D.B. Cooper and see if he's behind all the chemtrails. What a crock of nonsense. Didn't Giuliani or some likeminded clown (can't keep track) trot out some "IT expert" who claimed to have "Examined the contents" then when pressed further said he was legally blind? Maybe Marjorie Green should focus on the a Jewish space lasers instead, that seems like a bigger threat.
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Apr 01, 2022 12:47 PMJudge rules Lozano plagiarized
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Apr 02, 2022 04:03 AMPlagiarized? What did she plagiarize? Can you clarify what you're referring to?
I'm not supporting her, but I have absolutely no idea what you're referring to.
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Apr 01, 2022 01:22 PMHA, that joke Christy Lozano is running for superintendent? Amazing. This is the dolt that went on Fox News recently to spread misinformation about SBUSD's antiracism training. You can Google her and see all the other stupid things she's been up to locally, including threatening to quit her job over vaccine mandates for school employees.
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Apr 01, 2022 01:35 PMWhat was the misinformation part? What she showed was on a private/password protected portion of the school website and only accessible by school staff (i.e. not accessible to parents).
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Apr 01, 2022 02:24 PM@1:35 - the issue is she made nothing into something. That portal she showed is where teachers request their time off and schedule meetings, etc. I'm not sure about your job but my office database is password protected and not accessible to the public even though we serve the public. It has nothing to do with transparency. Plus those links were to news articles for optional teacher education, not curriculum.
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Apr 01, 2022 03:28 PMI understand access to the materials were password protected. Still not answering what the misinformation was, did she not show actual materials available to teachers to utilize if they choose?
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Apr 01, 2022 03:52 PMThe misinfor.ation is she said they are curriculum.
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Apr 02, 2022 09:49 AMSo it’s misinformation if materials available for teachers to use is referred to as “curriculum” and defund the police doesn’t really mean “defund” the police. This is tough but I think I got it!
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Apr 02, 2022 03:20 PMYes, there is a difference between curriculum and optional reading material.
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Apr 01, 2022 02:38 PMOl’ Cristy was a guest speaker at some right wing group up in lompoc. One California State ? These are the wing nuts supporting her. Like minded anti vaxxers on Next Door were calling her the savior of our schools. She needs to go out on leave and get some rest and counseling. Another big mistake by Joe Holland.
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Apr 01, 2022 03:53 PMIf you look at some of her social media stuff Lozano is totally in line with far right Q activism.
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Apr 02, 2022 08:50 AMDems have "abandoned common sense" on issues like defunding the police, transgender surgery for teens and categorical accusations about racism, and thereby are "losing the plot relative to the median voter." If the Progressives push the left to run on these issues they will lose bigtime...poll after poll bear this out. We need to get back to a center approach, where both sides work together instead of where the loud fringe voices overtake the parties on both sides of the aisle.
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Apr 02, 2022 03:22 PMNone of these are a thing. The dark right publishes this propaganda so folks like you have something to be upset about - anger and fear are known to help motivate people.
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Apr 02, 2022 08:55 AMSo, if I understand Lozano's position about being a principal correctly, it is that someone home-schooling a child can claim to be both a teacher and a school principal. Or did I miss something in her statements?
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Apr 02, 2022 09:04 AMThe economy is thriving, jobs have returned, the United States is recognized again as a respected leader in NATO, Europe and the world..... and yet we want right wing Republicans back because a few kids get genital surgery, and racists are unhappy with the "big tent" Democrats. The police defunding is just a big lie. In fact, Biden's budget has $32 billion in increased funding for police. From 538 website: "According to Marist/NPR/PBS, Biden’s approval/disapproval spread on the issue of Ukraine shot up from 34/50 in mid-February to 52/44 in early March. His overall approval/disapproval increased from 39/55 to 47/50. And according to Morning Consult/Politico, his approval/disapproval on Ukraine went from 42/45 in late February to 46/42 in early March. His overall approval/disapproval went from 41/56 to 45/51 over that same span. "
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Apr 02, 2022 09:42 AMIt’s a challenge to come together when two people live in the same place but see two very different realities.
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Apr 02, 2022 09:07 AMWhat an enormous crock this article is. Far right drivel that does NOT represent the majority of people.
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Apr 02, 2022 04:58 PMBiden campaigned on being in the middle and then went far left…
The people want a centrist… not an idiot madman (trump) or a bizarrely acquiescing to the vocal insane far left of the party Biden.
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Apr 02, 2022 09:28 AMA bit about the credential issue - Jerry explains it well. Lozano has been unable to get her actual admin credential because she has not been offered employment. In general, if there is a strong respected teacher with an admin credential, they are asked by other admin to step-up and apply to the numerous admin openings each year. Notably, she's had her certificate of eligibility since 2018 and has not been offered a position. This says a lot about her lack of qualifications. I am surprised at the judge's decision because she is expected to have the appropriate credential to even run for office which she does not have yet. And sorry, but declaring yourself the principal of your homeschooling is not really the same as having an administrative position.
As an anecdote, my child had her as a teacher this year and she would rate her as the worst teacher she has encountered because she does not seem to like kids (and talks on the phone the whole period complaining about her divorce)... Fortunately, she went on leave and never returned so the students in her class were much happier. Not sure why she continues to be on leave, but she is not leadership material...
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Apr 02, 2022 03:24 PMFrom what I understand she was upset about vaccinations and was terminated.
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Apr 02, 2022 10:10 AM"Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the lawsuit was that Culver, a hard-nosed campaign operative who much prefers operating below the radar, emerged as the plaintiff." Operating below the radar is an understatement. Wasn't this Mollie Culver targeted in an FBI investigation for forging two separate Department of Veterans Affairs forms in an effort to get her immediate subordinate, Raymond Victor Morua III, a District Representative for Mrs. Capps, out of jail and into a VA-funded treatment facility. http://peterlance.com/wordpress/?p=4412