Local 'carpetbagging' is alive and well

http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x1029066004/Local-carpetbaggi...

Carpetbager describes opportunistic Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War to loot, plunder and politically manipulate the defeated states for personal gain.

The word applies today to a politician who runs for public office in an area in which he is not from, or in which he has lived for only a short time. Depending on the politician, the area and the circumstances, the word can either enrage voters, or make them yawn.

Campaigns in the 30th Assembly District and the 16th state Senate District -- two sprawling political jurisdictions that include portions of Kern County, as well as neighboring counties -- have attracted candidates some might call carpetbaggers. But the candidates' residencies will likely cause more yawns than outrage, according to political observers.

Former Kern County Supervisor Pete Parra has rented an apartment in Hanford, and moved his residency and voter registration from Bakersfield to that city to run in the June Democratic primary for the 30th Assembly District seat being vacated by Republican Danny Gilmore of Hanford. Parra will face Fran Florez, a Shafter city councilwoman and member of the California High Speed Rail Authority, for the Democratic nomination.

Phil Wyman, a former Republican assemblyman and state senator, has moved his residency and voter registration from his Tehachapi ranch to Hanford to seek the Republican nomination to succeed 16th District state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, who is termed out of office. So far, Wyman is the only Republican in the race. He is expected to face Kern County Supervisor Michael Rubio, a Democrat.