GOP tries to unify message
November 26th, 2008
After painful losses in the November elections, California’s Republican Party stalwarts are trying to decide whether to head for the beach or hole up in the Central Valley.
Between the two camps, a few Republicans – such as Jeff Gorell, a Camarillo attorney running for the 37th Assembly District in 2010 – say the question facing the party is simply one of which issues to amplify. Done skillfully, Gorell said, no part of the party’s coalition has to be alienated.
To be successful in 2010 and beyond, all camps agree that Republicans must re-establish themselves as the party of limited government, low taxes and fiscal responsibility. They agree that the party’s focus should be stimulating the economy and fixing the state budget. “When the issues of job creation and economic development are spoken about, we’re the adults in the room,” Gorell said.
Jeff Gorell getting Early Start in his second Assembly bid
April 14th, 2008
Jeff Gorell learned his lesson in 2004.
That year, the Camarillo attorney ran for a 37th Assembly District, losing the GOP primary in an area so reliably Republican the race for the nomination constitutes the contest. Gorell jumped in the fray in January 2003, only to find opponent Audra Strickland whizzing along to the nomination, helped significantly by her well-known last name: Her husband, Tony Strickland, had just termed out of the same Assembly seat.
With an endorsement list long and deep, Gorell surged in the last six months of the 2004 race but lost by a slim margin made up mostly of absentee ballots cast earlier. So, this time Gorell is getting in early - two years early. Last month, he threw his hat in the ring for the 37th District race in 2010, when Audra Strickland will term out.
Early start like Jeff Gorell’s is reality of legislative politics
March 30th, 2008
Jeff Gorell, a local attorney, announced earlier this month that he has created an exploratory campaign to run for state Assembly in 2010 in the 37th Assembly District, which runs through most of inland Ventura County.
Gorell's early exploratory campaign is not by accident. He is an adjunct professor here at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks and teaches the basics of public policy and politics to California's future government and political leaders.
He reckons that to win in 2010, he will need to develop early and strong support in the community. It looks like he has read the tea leaves and is doing just that.
Gorell plans run for Assembly in 2010
March 19th, 2008
Hoping to lock up support from prominent Ventura County Republicans, Camarillo attorney Jeff Gorell on Tuesday formed an exploratory committee to run for the Assembly in 2010 and announced he has already received endorsements from 31 current and former government officials.
Gorell, 37, acknowledged it is exceptionally early to kick off a campaign but said the realities of modern campaigns have made an early entry imperative.
Jeff Gorell Creates Assembly Exploratory Committee for 2010
March 19th, 2008
Jeff Gorell, a Camarillo attorney and small business owner, announced today the creation of an exploratory committee to build the foundation required to win election to the 37th Assembly District in 2010, when the seat will again be open due to term limits. Gorell filed campaign finance forms necessary to begin raising money and also announced an impressive list of early endorsements from 30 prominent local elected leaders and public officials, including former Governor Pete Wilson, Ventura County Supervisor Peter C. Foy, Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks, and Ventura County District Attorney Gregory D. Totten, who has agreed to serve as campaign committee chair.
Gorell works 3 jobs, serves in reserve
September 28th, 2007
Between his three jobs, Jeff Gorell keeps busy: He’s a partner in the Oxnard-based community relations firm Paladin Principle, an adjunct professor at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks and a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
At Paladin, the 36-year-old partner helps develop strategies for businesses and organizations as they interact with the public, media and political leaders. The firm helps companies reach goals such as securing a development permits, pushing through a ballot initiative or gaining higher community visibility and good will.
Brain trust brings connections: Public affairs firm has diverse clientele
June 11th, 2007
So what makes Paladin Principle, a recently launched public affairs and consulting company based in Oxnard, different from other firms offering similar services?
The group has the luxury of being choosy with its clients at least in part because three of its four founding members – Trueblood, Ernie Villegas and Lin Graf – are all retired. Jeff Gorell adds a splash of youthful energy at age 36. The firm, launched last September, has become something of a go-to company for mid-sized companies’ public relations needs, especially concerning pressing California issues. Its current roster of seven clients includes businesses as diverse as the Cabrillo Economic Development Corp., a company that provides affordable housing, the Gold Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Limoneira Co., an agribusiness company, and Clearwater Port, the company vying to put a liquefied natural gas port off the coast of Ventura County with minimal environmental impact.
“We’re less like Aerosmith and more like John Fogerty: a little more grassroots,” Gorell said. “This community is very sophisticated. They’re not fooled by the gloss and pomp and circumstance of these larger run campaigns and issue management efforts. They see right through that. We connect with them one on one, one handshake at a time, one organizational summit at a time. That’s our method of
CLU students’ project may have shot at lawbooks
May 19th, 2007
This was not your typical final.
Instead of taking an exam, graduate students in a public policy class this spring at California Lutheran University had to write their own statewide ballot initiative, then defend it before their classmates in a PowerPoint presentation.
The idea was to give students a first-hand look at the state's initiative process, said Jeff Gorell, a local attorney who taught the class at the Thousand Oaks university.
"We wanted them to do more than write a paper," Gorell said. "We wanted them to see that participating in the democratic process is not outside their reach."
After presenting their initiatives, which covered issues ranging from illegal immigration to healthcare reform, the class voted last week on the best to send to the state Legislative Counsel's Office, which will rewrite it in proper legal language.
On the heels of firm PR push, asphalt plant application withdrawn
June 23rd, 2006
On the heels of a firm PR push by Lemonwood Industrial Park business owners and others, a Santa Maria-based company has withdrawn its application to build an asphalt concrete plant in Santa Paula just north of the Santa Clara River.
Former Deputy District Attorney and Assembly candidate Jeff Gorrell of Gorrell Advocacy was retained by Citizens for Santa Paula’s Future, who feared the impacts of the projected 236 truck trips - up to 984 trips on peak business days - on Lemonwood Industrial Park enterprises.
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