Would-be governor an all-in Trump fan
Southern California Republican and gubernatorial hopeful Travis Allen said he supports President Trump’s proposed border wall during a stop Thursday in San Francisco, a place where he’d find wide disagreement.
Unfazed by the Bay Area’s well-known distaste for the president’s immigration agenda, the blunt, 44-year-old assemblyman insisted there’s a quiet supermajority beyond San Francisco’s “political elite” that backs strong measures to keep undocumented immigrants out of the country.
“Don’t let anybody tell you if you build a 10-foot wall they’re going to come with an 11-foot ladder,” he said during his hour-long appearance at the Public Policy Institute of California.
In this year’s crowded governor’s race, which includes at least two other Republicans, albeit all long shots, Allen is perhaps the candidate to most align himself with Trump.
From Allen’s criticism of the media to such controversial statements as calling for the arrest of those under 18 who solicit sex, often also known as victims of child sex trafficking, his outspokenness is not far off from the president’s. His campaign slogan is also familiar: “It’s time we take back California.”
And policywise, Allen has supported Trump’s tax plan, pushed for strong law enforcement and, recently, backed the administration’s efforts to drill for oil off the California coast.
“People say, ‘Travis, where do you disagree with President Trump?’ ” he said. “I got to tell you I don’t.”
Answering questions from Public Policy Institute President Mark Baldassare, Allen portrayed himself as a common-sense Californian just wanting what everyone in the state wants: less-congested freeways, a more affordable housing market and better schools.
The resident of Huntington Beach (Orange County), who worked as a financial planner before entering politics in 2012, said he’s seen too many of his friends and family leave the state because of their increasing dissatisfaction.
His solution is standard Republican fare. He said he wants to cut regulation so that more homes can be developed, wider roads can be built and parents can have greater choice when it comes to their child’s education, including vouchers for private schools.
“Sacramento has been taking California in the wrong direction — four decades now,” he said, referring to the state’s longtime Democratic rule.
One of Allen’s notable recent political moves is his pursuit of a ballot measure to repeal Gov. Jerry Brown’s gas tax, which he said is only wasting money.
Acknowledging that Republicans don’t have the ability to make significant changes because of their lack of numbers in the state Legislature, he said his party needs to win the governorship.
That won’t be easy, however. Allen, like the other Republican candidates, hasn’t gained much traction with voters, polls shows. The Berkeley IGS Poll from December shows him tied at 9 percent with fellow Republican John Cox. Former Rep. Doug Ose, a Republican from the Sacramento area who entered the race last week, was not included in the poll. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa lead the poll at 26 percent and 17 percent, respectively.
Add to that, if their party doesn’t unite behind a single candidate, it’s unlikely that any Republican will survive June’s top-two primary and make it to the November election.