John Patrick
Assistant Editor
Democratic congressional candidate Cynthia Matthews greeted citizens at an open house Sept. 25 in Claremont in an effort to get her message to the people.
Matthews’ campaign headquarters, where the event was held, is located on the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Towne Avenue in Pomona, just six doors down from the Claremont Republican Club. Upon arrival, visitors were greeted with music, barbecue and a chance to speak, one on one, with the candidate herself.
Matthews decided to run for congress because she felt there needed to be a candidate who would run with the intent to defeat incumbent David Dreier, whose campaign, according to Matthews, is characterized by “mistruths.”
“Dreier’s campaign contains just enough truth to distract people, but most of it is B.S.,” Matthews said.
Representatives for Dreier did not return calls to comment.
Matthews also attacked Dreier, who has received an F grade on a report card issued by Americans for better immigration on July 27, for “supporting legislation that creates an environment that lures foreigners to our country for highly skilled jobs that could be held by Americans.”
“I want to increase employment and educational opportunities for Americans,” Matthews said.
Matthews also stands against the war in Iraq and the draft, which many experts have said may be necessary if our presence in Iraq is to continue.
It is her position that we need to attempt to work with other countries to rebuild Iraq while pulling out our troops, Matthews said.
“We have created a quagmire, and now it is our responsibility to fix it,” Matthews said.
In addition, Matthews wants to protect social security, civil rights and a woman’s right to choose while working toward the repeal of the USA Patriot Act and the prevention of Patriot Act II from being signed into law.
“What’s surprising is our huge Republican pull,” Matthews said.
“The Republicans For Matthews For Congress stickers have moved faster than any of the others,” she said.
Matthews’ support comes from people with various backgrounds and needs, but many of her supporters side on issues with the policies of the incumbent.
Robert Lausten, a volunteer for the campaign and card-carrying member of the American Independent Party, decided to support Matthews because “Dreier has a score of 0 from the League of Conservation Voters.”
Another volunteer, Jim Murphy, was looking for a candidate who, unlike Dreier, opposes H1-B Visas, which he blamed for the loss of his job.
“Dreier co-sponsored [legislation] changes that removed protection for American [workers],” Murphy said.
In addition to this open house, the Matthews campaign holds a weekly community barbecue every Tuesday night at the Elks Lodge situated right next door to the campaign headquarters.
John Patrick can be contacted at jpatrick@ulv.edu.
Journalism operations manager at the University of La Verne. Production manager and business manager of the Campus Times.