McNerney launches grassroots campaign for Congress McNerney launches grassroots campaign for Congress (July 30, 2004)

Pombo foe seeks votes at Farmers Market
by Jeb Bing

It doesn't get much more grassroots than this - Congressional candidate Jerry McNerney standing with his wife Mary at Angela and Main streets last Saturday to shake hands and solicit votes as he launches his campaign.

McNerney, who lives on Menlo Court, is the Democratic Party candidate to the 11th District Congressional seat on Nov. 2, when he hopes to unseat seven-term veteran Republican U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo. McHenry admits it's a long shot, but with the state expected to vote heavily Democratic, he feels he has a chance.

"Actually it was my son Michael, who is a second lieutenant in the Air Force, who talked me into running," McNerney said. "We were both concerned when we realized the Democrats had put up no candidate in the March primary to oppose Pombo. We both felt that wasn't right and that it was my responsibility as a concerned citizen over the direction this country is going to jump in the race and work for the progressive values I believe in."

It wasn't easy. He made the decision just two weeks before the primary balloting. Sending out fliers and making hundreds of phone calls, he worked to get at least 10 percent of the number of registered voters who cast ballots in the previous 11th District election - or 1,740 - to write his name on their ballots. It was so close that he asked for a recount, and enough uncounted or missing ballots were found in Contra Costa County to qualify him as the official Democratic candidate.

Since then, McNerney, 53, who holds a doctorate in mathematics and is a well-known consultant on alternative energy resources, has picked up endorsements from Bay Area labor and Democratic organizations, as well as local Democrats in Congress and the state legislature, including U.S. Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D., 10th) and State Sen. Tom Torlakson (D., Antioch). Last week, Pleasanton Mayor Tom Pico also endorsed McNerney.

"I can tell you that going out on the campaign circuit is both exciting and a life-changing experience," McNerney said. "I've done nothing in politics before. But this is a really critical election and a critical period in our country's history, and I have a duty to win this congressional seat and try to implement my progressive policies in Washington."

As a progressive Democrat, McNerney said he would support legislation to protect the environment, and to provide affordable health care, quality education and a fair taxation system "so that everyone is taxed fairly."

After receiving his doctorate from the University of New Mexico, McNerney worked as an independent contractor on wind energy and national security programs at the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque. He and his wife moved to Pleasanton in 1990 when he accepted a position with Kenetech Corp.'s US Windpower division.

"Alternative energy sources is an area where I believe I have strong qualifications," he said. "I'm anxious to move into Congress to help secure the energy independence of our country, which isn't happening right now. I want to make this 11th District the center for renewable energy, solar energy production and the site for alternative manufacturing."

McNerney has set up a campaign office in Stockton in the center of San Joaquin County, where he said 56 percent of the registered Democratic voters live. He also plans to continue his grassroots campaigning in places like Pleasanton's Farmers Market. He can be reached by e-mail at jerry@jerrymcnerney.org.

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