City Council supports Santa Paulan Vinick for President
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Published: April 15, 2005
“I never thought I’d write a report asking for support for a presidential candidate,” but the City Council agreed with City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz to not only support Sen. Arnold Vinick’s candidacy for President, but also to declare him a hometown boy.
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula Times
“I never thought I’d write a report asking for support for a presidential candidate,” but the City Council agreed with City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz to not only support Sen. Arnold Vinick’s candidacy for President, but also to declare him a hometown boy. The council took the unusual action at the April 4 meeting.
The city’s quest to adopt Vinick – as portrayed by actor Alan Alda on NBC’s The West Wing – started earlier this year after a January episode aired featuring the California senator. In the episode Vinick – er, Alda – told a crowd that he was raised in a citrus producing area of California.
Mayor Mary Ann Krause sent a letter – and a box of area citrus products - to the producer of The West Wing, as well as Alda, offering Santa Paula as the presidential candidate’s hometown.
“This is our continued campaign to claim” Alda as a native Santa Paulan, Bobkiewicz noted at the meeting. Bobkiewicz’s plan includes designating the Depot as Vinick’s campaign headquarters, complete with signage during the November West Wing “general election,” as well as creation of a Web site celebrating Vinick as the favorite son candidate of Santa Paula. In addition, a Vinick T-shirt and campaign buttons – predominately mentioning Santa Paula of course – would be sold, with the benefits going to the city’s fireworks fund.
“We can produce a photo documentary about Arnold Vinick…a very brief” documentary, suggested Councilman John Procter.
Mayor Mary Ann Krause noted that Santa Paula’s attempts to claim Vinick have already been the subject of several Internet blog sites. “We’re getting a little bit of publicity already,” and one blog, run by “someone very into the entertainment industry,” questioned why Santa Paula didn’t adopt Vinick’s likely challenger, Jimmy Smits, er, Senator Santos. Santos is from Texas and, “We have to go for opportunities that are realistic,” Krause noted.
Bobkiewicz will discuss the possibility of producing the documentary with Adelphia Cable, whose franchise agreement with the city includes five free productions.
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