Assemblyman Candidate Connects with Students

Larry Dick, republican congressman candidate for the 60th District, in which Biola is situated, spoke at a Biola Political Parties class tonight. Dick and his campaign manager, Barrett Tetlow, discussed campaign issues, answered questions, and provided an opportunity for the students to learn about the process of running for office.

Dick’s visit was highly anticipated by Nate Mitchell, a Biola junior working on his campaign, who arranged the visit. Originally Mitchell was in the race for congressman and was competing against Dick; when his campaign fell through on a technicality, he was hired as a consultant for Dick’s campaign.

“Larry is somebody who I can relate to on almost every single issue regarding the state.” “He’s a Christian…definitely a family man—believes in the strength of the family unit,” Mitchell said.

Dick has been married to his wife, Sally, for 31 years, and has two children: a daughter working on his campaign and a son who postponed a move to the East Coast to support him.

“He’s very charming, very personable,” Mitchell said, describing how Dick makes it a point to get to know the people around him. “I’ve noticed that constituents are very comfortable around him, which is key when you’re running for office.”

Barrett Tetlow, his campaign manager, who has experience with several successful campaigns, accompanied Dick.

“That guy knows the campaigning systems like no other,” said Mitchell.

Mitchell thought Tetlow’s discussion was particularly useful to the Political Parties class because they have heard a lot of speeches about party organization, but not about the actual process of running for office.

The professor of the Political Parties class and former mayor of La Mirada, David Peters, was also optimistic about the visit.

“I think this will be good for my students because they will be able to actually see a political candidate running for office,” Peters said. “I hope that they get a greater sense of what the issues are before the State Assembly of California.”

Peters also said that this was a prime time to meet Dick.

“This is the time to talk to a candidate because he has not yet won and he should tell us where he stands,” Peters said.

Peters had offered students in all of his classes extra credit for attending the event, and 13 students showed up—five more than the class size of eight; a turnout that Mitchell said he had expected.

Dick is the elected Director of the Municipal Water District of Orange County and is a representative on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. This meant that a significant part of his time was used to discuss California’s water issues. He had a thorough knowledge of this subject, and talked about local and international water consumption.

He joked around with the students, but answered their questions seriously. This included a query about what made him decide to run for office. He said that he had been active in the O.C. and met a lot of leaders in the community. One day an assemblyman called him and asked him to run.

“I was pretty tickled about it,” Dick said. He said that he and his wife spent many sleepless nights over the decision, and many nights in prayer, and eventually decided he should run.

Dick said that the main political issues of a California state assemblyman are the economy, protecting the border, and infrastructure. He and his main opponent, Curt Hagman, both have similarly conservative perspectives on these issues because they are both Republican.

“These things come down to small nuances,” Dick said, concerning their similarities. Their differences lie in their backgrounds—Dick the successful businessman and water expert, and Hagman the bail bondsman— and a few small issues. He likened his race against Hagman to the presidential race between Clinton and Obama.

“Nobody really likes a bail bondsman,” he humorously concluded. Despite this comment, he said that he has a neutral relationship with Hagman.

“I would say that we are cordial to one another.”

Barrett Tetlow, his campaign manager, discussed how to run a successful campaign through being personable with constituents, especially high propensity voters. He said that door-to-door campaigning is the best way because it really makes an impression. He also talked about the extensive amount of calling and mailing that is necessary.

Dick closed the discussion by giving out contact information for anyone who wants to help the campaign. Anyone interested in contacting Dick’s campaign can write to barrett@larrydickforassembly.com.