FLASHPOINT for August 06, 2006

Sunday, Aug. 6, 2006 | 8:49 a.m.

By Jon Ralston

There may be no precedent for what is occurring in this election as two unknown candidates are about to buy their way into the general election. Those contenders, Jerry Airola and Barbara Lee Woollen, may win their races not based on superior qualifications but for one reason: They have a lot of money. Airola has been inundating the airwaves for weeks touting his bona fides for sheriff: bona fides that have been shredded in media reports. Woollen has been prattling on about illegal immigration, an issue totally unrelated to the job she is running for: lieutenant governor. I wonder if voters are going to fall for this. At least the job Woollen wants is unimportant. Unless you consider she could become governor.

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