Story Tools

Email this story | Print this story

Indexes

Today's Stories

Last 7 Days

Top Blogs

• Tracking down the best eats at Lodi Grape Festival

• Lodi Grape Festival's manager reminisces about early years

• Times a-changin' at junior colleges

• Third Republican hopeful joins race to seize Jerry McNerney's post

• Lodi man pleads not guilty to threats, sexually abusing wife

• Regional Roundup

February 9th, 2010

• Middle College High School rated one of the best — and a bargain, to boot

• Lodi decathlon boasts top team in county

• Man who sparked counterfeit case pleads guilty

• Local businessman will visit Haiti to look for family

• Man who claimed to be Yosemite Sam pleads guilty to meth charge

• David Harmer seeks Republican congressional nod

• Lack of evidence in case against suspect in 'drug deal' stabbing

• Regional Roundup

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Regional Roundup

February 2nd, 2010

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Correction

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Jumpers across California

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• President Obama's first year (45)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (44)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
• We need to conduct respectful conversations (30)
• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam (25)

ADVERTISEMENT

Third Republican hopeful joins race to seize Jerry McNerney's post

A third Republican candidate for Jerry McNerney's Congressional seat announced his candidacy Thursday morning.

Tony Amador, a patrol officer for the Los Angeles Police Department for 13 years and U.S. Marshal the past seven years until his retirement in July, announced he is running for the 11th Congressional District seat held by McNerney, D-Pleasanton, who is serving his second term. It's the first time he's run for public office since his bid for the Orange County Republican Central Committee several years ago.

Amador, 65, said he moved to Lodi a month ago. Published reports indicated that he previously lived in Elk Grove. It's not a requirement to live within the congressional district — you only have to live in California — but it's the right thing to live in the district you represent, he said.

Amador hasn't officially filed for the seat because he hasn't registered to vote in San Joaquin County, where he now lives, according to Bassem Nakhla, an election technician for the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters.

Amador joins two other Republican candidates, Brad Goehring, of Clements, and Jon Del Arroz, of Danville, in the race against McNerney. The primary election will be in June 2010, with the general election taking place the following November.

"I'm not running against the other two Republican candidates," Amador responded when asked what separates him from his opponents. "I'm running against Jerry McNerney and (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi."

Nevertheless, Amador says he's the best Republican candidate due to his experience with the U.S. Marshal's Office and with the Narcotic Addict Evaluation Authority, Youthful Offender Parole Board, the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board and Public Employment Relations Board.

Amador doesn't seem to be too well-known in the Lodi area. Mayor Larry Hansen, a Republican, said he received a phone message last week from Amador. Lodi City Councilwoman JoAnne Mounce, who is also an active Lodi Republican Women member, said she doesn't know anything about Amador either.

Ann Mehrten, another Lodi Republican Women member, said she heard a rumor that someone was moving into the 11th District, but she didn't know who it was.

Mehrten said she was trying to find out who the candidate was because the Lodi Republican Women hosted Amador's two Republican opponents at their monthly luncheon on Wednesday and would have liked Amador to join them.

However, Sara Blicharz, District 3 chairwoman of the county's Republican Party, said she knows Amador and knew for several months that he would probably run for McNerney's seat. Amador had reached out to Republican leaders in the county, Blicharz said.The News-Sentinel was the only member of the media to attend Amador's announcement. And there was no contact information on his Web site on Wednesday, though an e-mail address was added to the Web site on Thursday. His address is amadorforcongress.com.

Amador expressed traditional Republican values in his remarks on Thursday, criticizing Congress' spending habits and government's intrusion into people's lives.

"We have to tell Washington that when someone lies, you need to call him out," Amador said. "My Achilles heel is my honesty."

Amador said he retired in July because he believed he couldn't be an effective candidate.

The 11th Congressional District includes much of San Joaquin County, including the Lodi area, plus the San Ramon Valley, parts of the Livermore Valley and the city of Morgan Hill in south Santa Clara County.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.