Chris Mitchum formally declared his candidacy for the 24th U.S. Congressional District on March 6. This will be his second time running against incumbent U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) in the last two years.
The actor and political hopeful held a brief press conference in the parking lot of Hardy Diagnostics in Santa Maria, joined by employees of the manufacturing company. A popcorn machine, a plate stacked with brownies, and cold beverages with fruit slices were provided.
Mitchum opened with inspirational quotes from politicians like Ronald Reagan, and alternated between stories of his Hollywood past and a question-and-answer session with the sparse audience.
One of the first topics to be discussed was medical marijuana, for which his comments were brief.
“If what’s in marijuana really helps you medically, doctors should be prescribing it to patients,” Mitchum said. “It should be available in a pill, not smoked in a joint.”
Border control, however, was something
the candidate addressed at length and with more fervor.
“This country’s military is being dismantled by [President Barack] Obama,” he said. “We need to seal our borders so we have a much safer nation!”
Mitchum would like to see returning veterans from Iraq stationed at U.S. borders.
“They’ve already been trained,” he said. “I mean, if a company like FedEx can find me in Timbuktu, we should at least be able to find someone crossing the [U.S.-Mexico] border.”
Mitchum called for a return to the basics of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, stating that socialism is failing.
“We need to downsize government, control spending, cut taxes and restriction, and unleash the private sector to create wealth and jobs,” he said in a recent press release. “We need to return to peace through strength so that Russia and China will again respect us.”
This article appears in Mar 13-20, 2014.