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WHILE OTHERS STUMBLE, BRIAN FLEMMING CAMPAIGN GAINS MOMENTUM LOS ANGELES, July 30, 2003 -- With KFI-AM tonight declaring "This guy's for real" following an interview with candidate for governor Brian Flemming, and the authoritative election guide Politics1.com listing Flemming among such announced and rumored candidates as Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Rep. Darrell Issa and popcorn-movie actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brian Flemming's candidacy is gaining momentum while other campaigns stumble and fall. The appeal of Flemming's platform is its simplicity and common sense. As the Long Beach Press-Telegram wrote, "His sole platform would be, if elected, to resign so Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante would become governor." Bustamante, who voters chose in November 2002 to succeed Gov. Gray Davis should Davis leave office, has stated he will not put his name on the recall ballot. Flemming, who takes no position on any issue except the recall, said that his candidacy is about "principle, not politics." "As a Democrat, I admire Bustamante's loyalty to the Democratic party," said Flemming, "but he's the one who should be in that office if Davis leaves. That's what the voters said in November 2002. Anything else--especially any candidate's winning by a fraction of the vote Bustamante earned in 2002--is a subversion of the will of California voters. "My candidacy may be unusual, but these are unusual times. If Lt. Gov. Bustamante ends up as governor, even by unusual means, that will be the best result both for democracy and for the stability of this state's government. I would say that voting for me would be crazy--if not for the very real possibility that a dim actor or socialite could be in charge of the California government on October 8. "A vote for Brian Flemming is a vote for Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante. A vote for Brian Flemming is a vote for sanity." ABOUT BRIAN FLEMMING Brian Flemming, 37, is a lifelong Californian and Democrat who has long engaged in political activism as a private citizen. He is a widely respected playwright and independent film director who has won the New York Times Claiborne Pell Award for Original Vision (2002), the Richard Rodgers Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1999 and 2000) and numerous other awards, including L.A. Weekly's Musical of the Year in his hometown, for "Bat Boy: The Musical," a 2001 Off-Broadway hit he co-wrote that is currently playing in legitimate theaters nationwide. He recently founded Free Cinema, a not-for-profit organization that assists filmmakers in producing digital feature films at no cost. Flemming graduated UC Irvine with a degree in English. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Writers Guild of America. His personal weblog is at http://www.slumdance.com/blogs/brian_flemming/ Brian Flemming for Governor http://www.flemmingforgovernor.org/ ABOUT LT. GOV. CRUZ BUSTAMANTE (Excerpted from Bustamante's official biography: http://www.ltg.ca.gov/about/biography.asp ) Cruz's rise from the fields of California's Central Valley to his elections as an Assemblyman, Speaker of the Assembly and then California's Lieutenant Governor was, "…the direct result of the lessons I learned about work, honesty and loyalty from my family and my community. I worked hard. I took advantage of opportunity when it came my way. And I benefited immensely from all of those who preceded me in the constant struggle for fairness, equality and opportunity that has allowed working-class kids like me to pursue the American dream." In the Legislature and the Lieutenant Governor's office, Cruz has focused on education, the environment, health care and consumer protection issues. He worked with Republicans and Democrats to reduce class sizes in California schools, to enact a $1.7 billion middle-class tax cut, to reform welfare and to lower student fees at state universities and colleges. Cruz wrote the law that provided $1 billion to put updated textbooks into California classrooms. When the state's Attorney General refused to participate in the multi-state litigation efforts against tobacco companies, Cruz wrote the law that forced him to join those cases. While others argued over what to do about the energy crisis, Cruz sued the energy companies that were gouging California consumers and sponsored legislation to make their activities a crime. As Chair of the State Lands Commission, Cruz used his authority to shut down an offshore oil operation that threatened California's coast. REFERENCED STORIES: http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204%7E21474%7E1534108,00.html http://filmthreat.com/News.asp?Id=1330 http://www.politics1.com/ca.htm KFI interview, "John and Ken Show," 6 p.m., 7-30-03 |
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