Brian O’Hara, 49, is fed up. The Glen Ellen resident believes that California’s politicians are leading the state in the wrong direction and he’s ready to do something about it. And that something means putting his name in the ring for the Governor’s seat.
“In informal polls I’ve conducted, it seems that many people are tired of having to hold their noses when they go to the polls and vote for someone who ‘isn’t as bad as the other guy’,” said O’Hara. “I am completely confident that California citizens are ready for change and are affecting it right now. As evidence, I offer up the last election where voters made it abundantly clear that they are tired of the same old thing. Californians want and are looking for new ideas. I’m hoping I fit that bill.”
O’Hara signed and filed his letter of intent last February officially putting his name on the ballot for the November 2010 election. Since then, he’s been doing the meet and greet and handing out business cards with his web site address (brianoharaforgovernor.com) at shopping malls and other locations around the state.
For the past two years, O’Hara has worked as a division manager for Gardeners Guild, Inc., an employee-owned full-service landscape company based in Richmond. Prior to that, he ran the grounds crew at Sonoma Mission Inn.
With little political background and even less funding, O’Hara knows he’s got a tall order to fill. But, he feels the disconnect between the state’s elected officials and what he calls its “five-digit” earners (those earning between $10,000 and $99,000 per year) is too large to ignore.
“This group is the financial backbone of California and someone needs to be their voice,” said O’Hara, whose campaign slogan is “I Am You.” “The government of this state has recklessly spent our money and now, when we have this enormous deficit they come to us yet again to foot the bill. And when we turn them down, they punish us by closing our parks and taking more funding away from our children. It’s wrong and it’s irresponsible.”
O’Hara goes on to point out that California actually spends more to incarcerate its prisoners than it does to educate its students, currently ranked 47th in the nation for per-pupil spending.
There are about 12 candidates registered for the Governor’s race at this point. Some appear to be people like O’Hara, tired of the current state of things and willing to work for change. Others are bigger names like Gavin Newsome, Jerry Brown and Tom Campbell. O’Hara is registered as a non-partisan candidate on the ballot. Right now, he is working to get the word out about his candidacy and to raise funds.
O’Hara, who is affectionately known to family as Bo, moved to California from Iowa with his family when he was ten years old. He has been a resident of Glen Ellen for almost 10 years, where he lives with his wife, Karen, and 18-month-old son, Riley.
“I decided, and was encouraged by friends and family, to step into action rather than just talk about doing something,” said O’Hara, who has been getting a lot of support for his action. “This is just the beginning for me and I’m not going to stop until I reach my goal.”
