Ose announces run for Congress

AUBURN - Promising low taxes, austere government and tough immigration laws, Doug Ose announced Friday on the old courthouse steps that he will run for Congress.

"We need to make certain that people who come to America do so legally," Ose told a crowd of about 100 on the steps of the Placer County Courthouse. "We need to respect taxpayers and their personal freedoms."

Within hours, the coming GOP battle began taking shape, with Ose's biggest rival, front-runner Thomas "Rico" Oller, declaring the June primary for the party's candidate would "be a contest for the heart and soul of the Republican Party in this congressional district."

Ose, a former 3rd District congressman, is running for the Republican nomination for the 4th District to fill the shoes of Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville. Doolittle recently announced he would not run again after becoming politically vulnerable over the past few years.

Northern California's Republican heavyweights are lining up behind Ose and Oller, who declared his candidacy more than two weeks ago. The lineup promises a clash within local party ranks as the two candidates seek to differentiate themselves before the voters.

Ose was surrounded by Placer County Republicans and was introduced and endorsed by State Sen. Dave Cox of Roseville and 3rd District Congressman Dan Lungren of Sacramento. Lungren beat both Oller and Ose's sister, Mary Ose, in a three-way fight for the 3rd District seat in 2004 when Ose left - as he had promised - after serving three terms.

Ose also has been linked to Doolittle, though the congressman was absent from the gathering in Auburn and has said he would not endorse anyone for the GOP nomination to succeed him.

Ose and his firm donated $4,000 to Doolittle's defense fund, according to papers filed in Washington, D.C. Doolittle staffers were at meetings this week with local Republicans to inform them of Ose's coming announcement, party insiders have said.

Oller, meanwhile, has received the support of State Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley, Assemblyman Rick Keene, R-Chico, and other Northern California legislators. He also has received the endorsement of the Club for Growth, a conservative organization that raised money for Oller in 2004 and has been critical of Doolittle, according to published reports.

After Ose's announcement, Oller called his rival "a proven moderate and Washington, D.C., insider."

"I'm not cozy with all the D.C. insiders who waste our tax dollars but an outsider who'll fight to reform the way business is conducted in Washington," Oller said.



Distance from Bush

Ose supporters highlighted his position on illegal immigration, a theme that resonates in the largely white 4th District.

Ose "was an initial stalwart in the fight against illegal immigration," Lungren said.

"He fought those against construction of a border fence," Cox added to GOP cheers.

Both Lungren and Cox repeated Ose's promise to deliver low taxes and tighten government spending.

Ose also distanced himself from President George W. Bush.

"Today, we are at a crossroads," said Ose as his wife, Lynnda Ose, looked on. "America is adrift, and it is stifling our entrepreneurial spirit and economic growth. ...

"My commitment to you today is to help set a clear new course for our nation so that we can rebuild our economy, secure our borders, defend our national security and restore faith in our government."

"We need integrity in Washington, D.C.," Lungren added.



Other contenders

Ose and Oller are considered the GOP front-runners but will have to contend with votes split off by Eric Egland of Roseville and Theodore Terbolizard of Cedar Ridge.

Terbolizard calls himself a "paleo-conservative" who harks to core Republican values of personal freedom, small government, low taxes and fiscal restraint. Egland has served in the Air Force as a major and is a counter-terrorism consultant offering "the experience we need to defeat radical Islam."

Neither Ose, from Sacramento, nor Oller, from San Andreas, nor Egland live in the 4th District. Terbolizard lives in Cedar Ridge at least half his time, he said, but he is registered to vote in Alameda County, where he has a business.

Ose and Oller have said they would be moving into the district soon. According to the U.S. Constitution and the California Secretary of State, a candidate must only be a resident of California to run for the U.S. House of Representatives and does not have to live in the district to serve it.



No Democrats to

challenge Brown

The political downturn for Doolittle started several years ago when he and his wife, Julie, were drawn into the federal investigation of Jack Abramoff, who is now in prison for illegal lobbying. Doolittle considered Abramoff a friend and intervened for him in Indian gaming issues.

Although Doolittle has never been charged or indicted with anything, his vulnerability showed up in 2006 when he won by only 9,000 votes over Democrat Charlie Brown of Roseville in a district he used to easily dominate. When Julie Doolittle's office was raided by the FBI in connection with an ongoing investigation of Abramoff, his stock fell even further.

Brown, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, is expected to easily win the Democratic nomination again in June, and no one has said they would run against him.

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To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com, or call 477-4237.