.
3/27/14, "GOP
candidate for Calif. governor is sex offender, served decade in jail
for manslaughter," Fox News, Stephanie McNeal
"At the California Republican Party’s convention earlier this month,
chairman Jim Brulte announced 2014 would be the year of “pushing the
party outside of its comfort zone,” and introduced four candidates vying
to take on incumbent Gov. Jerry Brown in November.
One of those candidates may be way outside that comfort zone -- a
businessman, who also is a registered sex offender who served a decade
in prison for voluntary manslaughter.
Glenn Champ, who is listed as an “engineer and businessman” on the
state election website, has a lengthy rap sheet. He was nabbed for
picking up an underage prostitute in 1993, which resulted in him
pleading guilty to two counts of assault with intent to commit rape and
becoming a registered sex offender.
In 1998, Champ also pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter. An
Associated Press article at the time said authorities accused Champ of
running over a competitor in the garbage collection business with his
truck after an argument, killing him. Champ told FoxNews.com the
incident was a "tragic accident."
He received 12 years in prison and says he served 10 and three-quarters before he was released in 2009.
Champ is now running against several established politicians and
government officials for the GOP nomination, including Laguna Hills
Mayor Andrew Blount, ex-Treasury official Neel Kashkari and state
Assemblyman Tim Donnelly. Despite his past, he stood alongside them and
delivered a 10-minute speech at the GOP convention.
Champ, though, says he's a changed man. He told FoxNews.com that
during his time in prison both his faith in God and his love of politics
grew. He said he knows how to effectively deal with lawmakers he claims
are violating the political system and the Constitution, because of his
time in jail.
“My past is good, it's bad and it’s ugly,” Champ said. “I don’t have
any problems with people scrutinizing it.” But, he added, “You should
also look past it and see what I’ve learned.”
Champ said he is running on a campaign that promotes “American
Christian values,” supporting tax breaks for businesses and gun rights
and opposing same-sex marriage and abortion “99 percent of the time.”
Champ said these issues are what California voters should be focusing
on.
“They shouldn’t dwell on my past. They should be looking at the future of California and what I can do,” he said.
Champ also addressed his stance on issues that hit close to home --
namely, California's treatment of registered sex offenders. He said he
is fine with requirements that say he and others must register every
year with law enforcement, but opposes the online sex offender registry
enacted in 2004 as part of Megan's Law. He said the Megan's Law registry
is "counterproductive to society," as it creates a fear in the public
and prevents registered sex offenders from becoming productive citizens.
As a registered sex offender, Champ is required to register with
local law enforcement annually but says he personally has no
restrictions on travel. He also is not allowed to live within 2,000 feet
of a school or park.
A spokesman for the California Republican Party told FoxNews.com that
they are aware of Champ’s past, but the party is required to remain
neutral during the primary and opened the speaking opportunity to all
candidates who have filed with the state. He said it will be up to the
voters whether Champ is worthy of being their nominee.
However, the immediate former chairman of the state Republican Party
Tom Del Beccaro did not mince words. He said while an open primary is
good overall, it does allow candidates like Champ to slip through the
cracks.
"That doesn’t make them a serious candidate and doesn’t mean they
represent the constituency or the view of the Republican Party," he told
FoxNews.com.
His competitors also raised eyebrows at Champ’s campaign. Blount told FoxNews.com Champ’s candidacy is indicative of the
problems with the state GOP; namely that officials do not pay enough
attention to statewide races. He said he found out Champ was a sex
offender the first time he searched his name in Google, but worries
voters won’t do the same.
“There will be people who will vote for him without any idea what he stands for,” he said. Donnelly, for his part, dismissed the notion that Champ is a serious contender.
“The only sex offenders I'm worried about are the one's (sic) that
Jerry Brown has let out of prison with his early release program,” he
said in a statement to FoxNews.com.
Any GOP challenger to Brown has an uphill climb. The Democratic
governor enjoys an approval rating of 58 percent, according to a December poll,
and has about $17 million banked for his campaign, dwarfing the
fundraising of any GOP contender. Champ has not yet filed a campaign
finance report with the state." via Free Rep.
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