High Desert Perspective

Posted By Press Release on March 9, 2010

The following is the text of the comments delivered by Andy Vidak in front of friends and supporters at the formal announcement of his Candidacy for the 20th Congressional District on March 5th in Fresno:

Good morning and thank you for being here. I am Andy Vidak, a farmer, businessman and Hanford resident and I am here to announce my candidacy for the 20th Congressional District.
The 20th Congressional district, where I live and work, is a place where the American work ethic thrives and people’s values are focused on their faith, their families and their community.
Unfortunately, whether we are talking about our larger cities such as Fresno, Bakersfield or Hanford or smaller towns such as Wasco, Avenal, San Joaquin and Fowler, the 20th Congressional District has been suffering tremendously as a result of what can only be described as failed leadership by the current incumbent.
How has the District suffered?
Not even two years ago a study was released called “The Measure of America” that ranked the 20th Congressional District 436 out of 436 Congressional District in terms of health and well being.
The 20th Congressional District is the worst of the worst.

When the current Congressman was asked about it, his response which was published in the Fresno Bee, was simply “We have difficult challenges; there is no doubt”.

So instead of committing himself to doing something, he just says “whatever” and goes on with his comfortable political-class life in Washington DC.
While he is attending cocktail parties put on by lobbyists, thousands of children in the 20th Congressional District go to bed hungry.
While he is busy voting with Nancy Pelosi 97% of the time, farmers are taking their fields out of production for lack of water and thousands of people are losing their jobs. In some communities unemployment is 40%.
Since the current incumbent took office in 2005, he has sponsored just 29 bills of which 26 never even made it out of committee and only 1, a resolution supporting crimes victims’ week, was successfully enacted.
This legislative record, representing a district with such significant problems, is nothing short of shameful.
The current incumbent boasts about his fighting for increased water for the Valley for the last 30 years. If this is the best he can do after 30 years, I say it is clear we need someone else to do the job.
What makes me the best candidate to stop the Washington assault on the people of the 20th Congressional District? First, I actually live and work in the district.
I am a farmer who actually hires people who live in the District and I understand our basic industry, agriculture. Unlike all of my opponents on either side of the aisle, I actually spend my day in the 20th Congressional District listening and talking to the people who live there.
I have been actively involved in the issue of water and have the knowledge and expertise to hit the ground running when I get to Washington DC. I can assure you I will not be standing by quietly.
It is also important to say what I am not; a member of the elite political class that has lost touch with the real needs of the people of our country.
Over the next several months we will be detailing common sense solutions to many of our Districts issues.

We will be talking about how to provide more water so we can put our friends and neighbors back to work.

We will be talking about the need for quality healthcare for the people of the 20th District that is based on free market principals, fiscal responsibility and making sure a bureaucrat never comes between you and your doctor.
We will be talking about ideas to stop the reckless spending and record deficits that threaten to literally bankrupt our country.
But mostly we will be talking about the 20th Congressional District. As a Congressman, it is your duty to aggressively promote and advocate for the people you represent. It is time for that to actually happen and I am starting today.
Thank you for being here today.

Andy Vidak is a graduate of Texas Tech University. He currently is involved in two businesses located within the 20th Congressional District. He grows cherries on his farm in Hanford and is a partner in a lettuce cooling management group.  As a lifelong Central Valley resident and grower, Vidak has a keen awareness and understanding of the water crisis currently plaguing California and the need to preserve agriculture in our state.  Vidak has been deeply involved with “Water for All” and “Families Protecting the Valley” and community service organizations.

Categories: National World, Politics, State of California
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