Political Notebook

Avila Beach

Controversial political author and commentator David Horowitz will be guest speaker at a $100-a-person cocktail party for incumbent 3rd District Supervisor Jerry Lenthall on March 29.

The event will take place from 5 to 8 p. m. at the Custom House at 404 Front St.

Lenthall is running against Cal Poly lecturer Adam Hill in the June 3 primary.

Horowitz grew up as a so-called red-diaper baby—his parents were communists—and became a well-known Bay Area 1960s leftist who, after a break with the Black Panther Party, moved gradually to the other end of the political spectrum.

He is a regular guest on Fox News and has made 300 appearances at colleges and universities. He was a key player in anti-Fascist events at Cal Poly and 100 other universities last fall, warning against the dangers of Islam.

His books include “Hating Whitey: and Other Progressive causes” and “The 101 Most Dangerous

Guests receive one of Horowitz’s books. Tickets are $500 for a party of four, each of whom will receive the book and a photo with Horowitz.

The 3rd District includes Pismo Beach, Grover Beach, Avila Beach and parts of San Luis Obispo.

—Bob Cuddy

Atascadero

Debbie Arnold, a candidate for 5th District supervisor, is scheduled to be the keynote speaker for the Atascadero Republican Women Federated.

The group’s monthly lunch meeting is set for March 25 at the Carlton Hotel on El Camino Real.

Check-in time is 11 a. m., and the meeting begins at 11:30. The cost is $16.

Arnold is running against incumbent Jim Patterson in the June 3 election.

For details, call Heather Moreno at 460-9537.

—Tribune staff report

Atascadero

Businesswoman and former Cal Poly budget analyst Valene Mathews will serve as Supervisor Jim Patterson’s campaign manager as he seeks re-election in the 5th District.

Mathews retired from Cal Poly on Feb. 8 after 30 years as budget analyst and assistant to Vice Provost David Conn in the academic programs department.

Patterson, a long-time friend, said he quickly asked her to take the post.

“Valene has excellent organizational and people-management skills, which I believe are critical to my reelection campaign,” Patterson said.

Since 1977, Mathews and her husband, Rick, have owned Madrone Landscapes in Atascadero.

For more information, visit www.winwithjim.org . —Bob Cuddy