Could hemp-loving Libertarian affect Sieglock-Huber outcome?

Janice Bonser supports less government and much lower taxes, but more than anything, she supports the legalization and industrial use of hemp.

Bonser, 49, was a Libertarian candidate in the 10th Assembly District election and received more than 10,000 votes � seven percent of the total. That figure is significant because the race between Republican Jack Sieglock, of Lodi, and Democrat Alyson Huber, who grew up in Lodi and lives in El Dorado Hills, was too close to call as of Thursday.

Complete local election results.

Sieglock is leading by 1,025 votes, although thousands of Vote by Mail and provisional ballots must be counted in San Joaquin, Sacramento, Amador and El Dorado counties before the results are final. Each county has until 28 days after the election to certify the voting results. But watching the vote has been tedious for some.

"It's gotten to the point that it's like watching eggs boil," Sieglock said.

So could the outcome of the 10th Assembly election be influenced by the "Bonser effect?"

Neither Sieglock nor Huber could really offer an insight as to why Bonser got seven percent of the vote. Bonser wasn't sure either. In fact, she didn't realize she got so many votes until a reporter informed her on Thursday.

"Wow! I've got to thank the voters for that," Bonser said Thursday. "Maybe they liked what I said. I spoke about freedom, abolishing taxes and regulations. Most of all, I spoke about industrial hemp."

Janice Bonser at a glance

Age: 49.
Residence: Carmichael.
Occupation: Lawn artist, gardener.
Other experience: Caring for her father, homemaker, certified brake mechanic, Associate of Arts degree in general studies, children�s theater.
Priorities: �I�ve had it with the war. Bring the troops home.�
�The Roman aqueducts were made of hemp. Let�s make our levies out of hemp.�
�Make taxes voluntary.�
Favorite movies: U.S. Department of Agriculture�s own 1942 movie, �Hemp for Victory,� the new version of �Reefer Madness.�
Heroes: �My mom, my daughters and Art Tuma (Libertarian congressional candidate).�
Source: League of Women Voters, MySpace

Art Tuma, a Libertarian from Antelope who has run for Congress every two years since 1998, said he understands why Bonser may have become well known enough to win 10,250 votes.

"She has been very diligent of taking every opportunity to speak to the voters," Tuma said. "She got a radio spot at one time. She comes across as a very honest person when she does speak."

Keith Smith, an associate professor who teaches American political institutions classes at University of the Pacific, said that third-party candidates usually don't affect elections, especially in the Central Valley. It's a little different this year for Libertarians, though.

"Libertarian candidates were a little more popular because of Ron Paul's run for president," Smith said. "(Libertarians) were discussed more frequently this year because of presidential election. That's a guess."

In the 10th Assembly District, Smith said he doubts that the more than 10,000 voters who supported Bonser realized she ran on an industrial hemp platform. However, many voters probably weren't familiar with Huber and Sieglock, either, he added.

"When people don't have lot of information about the candidates and the contest, weird things can happen," Smith said.

Bonser, who lives in Carmichael, ran for Assembly in 2006. She received 4,636 votes or 3.3 percent, trailing Alan Nakanishi, R-Lodi and Democrat Jim Cook of Elk Grove.

Bonser said she learned about hemp in 1992, when her brother suggested she create paper out of marijuana. After doing some research, she said she discovered that her brother was actually referring to hemp, which is related to marijuana.

"I bought a hemp movie and found out about thousands of things you can make with it," Bonser said.

The idea behind promoting the use of hemp, she said, is that it's biodegradable and much more eco-friendly than petroleum, which is used to create many products.

Bonser said she believes in lower taxes, but more user fees to make it more equitable for taxpayers.

It appears that no candidate will receive more than 50 percent of vote in the 10th Assembly race, but a runoff election won't be needed, said Austin Erdman, San Joaquin County's registrar of voters.

"The winner wins; there is no runoff," Erdman said.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

WY wrote on Nov 14, 2008 5:33 PM:

" Lodian... Looks like they just mowed the grass. "

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