Roberts and Baca face off in election; Fontana official hopes to unseat incumbent

By MARIA ELENA KENNEDY Fontana Herald News Updated: Thursday, July 10, 2008 9:33 AM PDT

The 2008 election cycle has been filled with upsets and surprises. In spite of an early lead as the front runner in the Democratic nomination race, Hillary Clinton ultimately lost to Barack Obama.

Similarly, Fontana City Councilmember John Roberts is hoping to also achieve an upset in the November race for the 43rd Congressional District.

Roberts, who is a Republican, acknowledged that the race to unseat incumbent Joe Baca in a heavily Democratic seat won't be easy, but he is banking on his years of service in the community to show the electorate that he is the man for the job.

Roberts said that Baca has never truly been challenged by any elected official of either party. Roberts pointed out that although the seat is heavily Democratic, he is a successful councilmember in a city that is heavily Latino.

Roberts has been on the Fontana City Council for 15 years. “I have been reelected in this town five times and it's been mostly by Latinos. I am taking on the Baca machine,” he said.

“The thing that makes this race different is in the way the congressional districts are laid out. What you have are deliberately uneven congressional districts that favor one party or the other.”

Roberts said that he sees a dissatisfaction with Baca in the district, which includes Fontana.

“In this particular case, I believe it can be done. I don't believe the residents are being represented. He [Baca] is promoting his own agenda,” Roberts said.

Roberts said he is proud of his service to Fontana and the surrounding area. Roberts retired as a division chief after 32 years of service with the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

Roberts is especially proud of Fontana's recent designation as the 24th best city in the country to raise children, according to Best Life magazine. “I have played a role in making Fontana what it is today,” Roberts noted in an interview.

He pointed out that his time on the Fontana City Council keeps him in touch with the community. “When you are a congressman, state senator or Assembly member, you don't talk to constituents.”

When asked what he felt the pressing issues in the district are, Roberts replied: “There are so many issues that need to be addressed. Energy policy is a huge issue. We haven't built a refinery in years. There is a reason that Congress has a 19 per cent approval rating.

“Transportation is another big issue -- improvements are not being made. We need to get some focus in the federal Department of Transportation. Dramatic changes need to be made. In the 43rd Congressional District, nothing has been done since George Brown left.”

Roberts said that Baca has not accomplished much since 1999, when he was elected: “We have been a lot more successful [at the local level].”

Fontana Mayor Mark Nuaimi agreed, saying that Roberts would be a much better fit for the district because Baca has been ineffective on many issues that are of concern to the constituents.

“I struggle to identify a single legislative initiative that Congressman Baca led the charge on.  He has jumped on a number of issues that others have initiated - like perchlorate cleanup - but has been ineffective at addressing the many needs of his constituents,” Nuaimi said.

“As the congressman for our area, it should be Congressman Baca who is leading the charge for the Interstate 10 Coalition and other significant regional projects.  Yet it is people like Supervisor Paul Biane and myself who are leading the strategic and advocacy efforts to arrive at solutions, with Congressman Baca oftentimes offering to ‘write a letter' ... that's not the type of leadership that our region needs or deserves.”

Roberts noted that he has only one motive for running for Congress and that is to serve the people.

“I'm giving the people out there a choice,” he said. “Mr. Baca has become so focused on his personal agenda of making sure his sons are employed, that he is not functional.”

To which Nuaimi added: “John Roberts doesn't play the political games that seem to be commonplace in this district.  He is not interested in establishing a political dynasty.”