'This is not a position where partisanship really should be the first consideration.'
to the national Republican Party. While Chen has declined to state whom he voted for in the last two presidential elections, he has called the Jan. 6 Capitol riots an"abomination" and criticized former President Donald Trump's role in those riots. Prior to the Trump era, former President Barack ObamaHe also stated that the Republican Party isn't welcoming enough, and needs to move beyond personality and politics to focus on policy.
SFGATE: You recently got the Los Angeles Times endorsement. Democrats in this state typically do not vote for Republicans, especially in the Trump era.
So the challenge there is twofold: One is, why do we have these crazy no-bid contracting processes in place in a state like California, where we should expect there to be some transparency around how our state does business? Second of all, why is an elected official getting involved in a contracting process? It's just kind of a weird thing, let alone it being the official who's supposed to be responsible for watching out for taxpayer money.
The broader issue in my mind is about the mentality of Sacramento and the mentality of transparency in the office. I think for too long, the assumption has been,"The public really doesn't need to know some of what's happening, why tell them.