CA-44 Democratic Candidates Issue Joint Statement

This is a joint statement by California 44th Congressional District Democratic Candidates Bill Hedrick and Louis Vandenberg regarding postings on the California Inland Empire Craigslist and the Daily Kos.  The Daily Kos posting is entitled "Democratic Candidate for Congress Accused . . . and I am Pissed."  The link to the diary posting is: http://www.dailykos.com/... .  Together, we condemn this posting as nonsense and baseless slander.  Our statements follow:

Statement of Louis Vandenberg:

I reject any assertion or suggestion that Mr. Hedrick acted improperly with respect to the incident cited in a DailyKos diary posted on November 4, 2007.  In my view, Mr. Hedrick behaved honorably and professionally in the execution of his duties as the leader of the Rialto Teacher's Union.  It is the responsibility of a person in such a position to address personnel matters in a manner which is as fair and objective as possible to all parties.  The accused teacher, regardless of the accusations, was not convicted in a court of law.  To my understanding, no criminal or civil charges were ever brought in this matter.  Therefore, it would have not been appropriate for Mr. Hedrick to have stated anything other than the facts of the case, which is what he did.  This is standard practice. No responsible person would have done anything differently.  Although I am a political opponent of Mr. Hedrick's in the 44th congressional race, such a smear deeply offends my sense of justice and fairness.  I reject it, and I believe we all should.  This campaign should be and must be about real issues that matter to real citizens in the real world. And this is not real.

Statement of Bill Hedrick:

Normally, this type of dirty trick does not merit a response.  But when false allegations like these impugn the ethics and due diligence of an excellent school district and outstanding police force, this goes beyond personal slander of a political candidate.

As an educator, student safety is my highest priority.  All employees of the Rialto Unified School District—whether the superintendent, the union president, or clerks, custodians, or teachers—are mandated reporters of any suspicion of child abuse.

Rialto Unified and the Rialto Police Department are diligent in investigating every allegation involving student safety.  In the incident cited, both agencies vigorously and thoroughly performed their investigative duties with the full participation of the teachers’ association.  

As a teacher, my first professional, legal, and moral obligation is student safety.  Also, I work to ensure due process and the rule of law—something all citizens deserve in our democratic and free society.

It is unfortunate that posting such baseless allegations damages the credibility of school districts, law enforcement agencies, and teacher associations, all of whom are committed to ensuring the safety of children.

Again, we together, as Democrats and as candidates, seek honesty in our political dialog at this important time.  Therefore, we have taken this unique step--political rivals coming together to condemn and reject obvious smear and slander.  We trust that you will too.

Sincerely,

Bill Hedrick
Candidate for United States Representative in Congress
California's 44th CD
www.hedrickforcongress.com
November 5, 2007
Corona, California

Louis Vandenberg
Candidate for United States Representative in Congress
California's 44th CD
www.vandenbergforcongress.com  (site update coming soon)
November 5, 2007
Riverside, California