PRESS RELEASE Gill CA09: GILL CALLS ON MCNERNEY TO ACCOUNT FOR ANOTHER YEAR OF BROKEN PROMISES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 8, 2011

Ricky Gill (R-CA-9)

GILL CALLS ON MCNERNEY TO ACCOUNT FOR ANOTHER YEAR OF BROKEN PROMISES

LODI, CA, December 8, 2011 – Congressional candidate Ricky Gill today called on his opponent, Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton), to account for another year of broken promises to residents of the Valley and Delta communities of the 9th Congressional District.

“Representative McNerney has neglected this community for far too long,” said Gill. “Looking at Representative McNerney’s record — from his failure to create jobs or address the deficit, to his broken promises on ethics reform — it is clear that we can no longer afford to outsource our Congressional representation to the Bay Area.” McNerney, who announced in July that he would move to San Joaquin County after living in the East Bay for 20 years, still has not moved — despite claiming that he considered San Joaquin County his “home.”

McNerney promised in 2006 that alternative energy development would bring “unparalleled prosperity right here in the Valley.” Yet the costly green-jobs programs that McNerney advocates have utterly failed to curb unemployment, which continues to hover at 16 percent — 85 percent higher than the national average — in San Joaquin County.

McNerney also claimed in 2006 that “eliminating” the federal budget deficit would be one of his top priorities. Yet he has advocated runaway spending policies, including voting for an $800 billion stimulus package that has failed to create jobs or to grow the American economy.

McNerney pledged in 2006 to “promote the export of American-produced commodities, so that our farmers and ranchers have better access to foreign markets.” Yet he has consistently voted against free-trade agreements — including most recently with South Korea, Panama and Colombia — that will boost California agriculture exports and create jobs in the 9th District.

McNerney, who won office in 2006 promising a platform of ethics reform, claimed his “first priority” would be to introduce legislation mandating “[n]o more secret meetings between lobbyists and lawmakers, no gifts, no privately funded travel, no outside financial relationships, no exceptions.” Yet McNerney never introduced that legislation. And while he purports to advocate transparency in government, McNerney has failed to respond to Gill’s request for release of his Congressional schedule, including any meetings with lobbyists.

While he neglects his campaign pledges, McNerney continues to promote himself by sending highly political, taxpayer-funded mailings to residents of his district. Although his campaign expressly promised in 2006 that McNerney would not abuse this privilege if he were elected, he now refuses even to divulge how much his Congressional office has spent on such mailers.