Local GOP candidates distance themselves from Trump

Correction: This story has been updated to note that the local GOP party has endorsed Donald Trump.

As fallout continues from the 2005 video of sexually aggressive remarks by Donald Trump, GOP candidates in local partisan races are distancing themselves from the Republican presidential candidate’s behavior.

The video made public Friday afternoon by The Washington Post shows an interaction between Trump and then-“Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush in 2005. Trump is heard bragging about groping women without their consent and trying to have sex with women as the two prepared to tape a segment about Trump’s guest appearance on “Days of Our Lives.”

The remarks drew quick condemnation from legislators on both sides of the political aisle.

San Luis Obispo County’s only Republican candidate for federal office, 24th Congressional District candidate Justin Fareed, issued a statement Saturday calling Trump’s remarks “disgusting and inexcusable,” noting that “women should be treated with the highest regard and respect.”

On Monday, Fareed’s spokeswoman, Christiana Purves, told The Tribune that as of Saturday, Fareed no longer supports Trump and will not vote for Trump or his Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8. When asked, Purves didn’t say how Fareed will vote.

Al Fonzi, chair of the Republican Party of San Luis Obispo County, said in an email Monday that the local party has endorsed Trump.

“The official candidate for the (Republican Party) is Donald Trump and while none of (us) approve of his conduct in the latest revelation of a past moral failure, he has apologized and has the full support of the RPSLO,” Fonzi wrote. “As for how the leadership will vote, I can’t imagine ANY Republican leader supporting Hillary Clinton for any office at any level of government.”

He added: “Since she’s the only realistic alternative to Trump, it’s a settled issue.”

Republican Jordan Cunningham, who is running for state Assembly, did not respond to a question Monday asking how he will vote in the presidential election. On Sept. 30, he told The Tribune he had not endorsed a candidate. Then, asked how he planned to vote, he replied that he would not vote for Clinton on ideological grounds, but said he was “waiting to see if Trump had the temperament to lead the country.”

On Saturday, Cunningham — who is running against Democrat Dawn Ortiz-Legg for the Assembly’s 35th District — commented on his campaign’s Facebook page about Trump’s remarks.

“I have a wife and four children. How would I even have a conversation with them about the comments recently revealed that were made by Donald Trump several years ago?” he wrote. “The way he objectifies women is unacceptable. This simply can’t be dismissed as locker room talk.”

He added: “We have an election with two incredibly flawed candidates at the top of the ticket.”

Although Cunningham on Monday didn’t say how he planned to vote, he wrote in an email, “It is more important than ever that we elect new leaders with integrity that are unsaddled by scandal, that will put people on the Central Coast first, and that will start solving problems like inadequate water supply and a poor climate for small business.”

John Peschong, a Republican strategist running against Democratic candidate and Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin for the District 1 seat on the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors — an office typically considered nonpartisan — did not return calls Saturday or Monday for comment.

Dan Carpenter, who is running against incumbent Democrat Adam Hill in the District 3 Board of Supervisors race, is registered as No Party Preference but is considered more politically conservative than his opponent.

Carpenter, whose campaign slogan is “Character Matters,” did not immediately return requests for comment Monday.

Neither Carpenter nor Peschong released statements to their email subscribers or social media followers regarding Trump’s comments.

On Friday, Fareed’s Democratic opponent Salud Carbajal claimed Fareed supports Trump in statements made and published in June by The Montecito Journal, a right-leaning paper in northern Santa Barbara County.

“Fareed supports Donald Trump for president, opining that ‘He’s an executive. We need somebody who is an executive in the Executive Office,’ ” editorial writer Jim Buckley wrote at the time.

Tim Buckley, editor and publisher of The Montecito Journal and Jim Buckley’s son, told The Tribune on Monday that the publication stopped short of saying Fareed “endorsed” Trump during its interview, as that interview occurred before Trump accepted the party nomination.

Fareed’s spokeswoman, Purves, told The Tribune on Monday that Fareed never endorsed a presidential candidate, and was asked in the Montecito Journal interview which presidential candidate he would “personally support” — Trump or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Fareed replied Trump.

“That personal support ended Saturday,’’ Purves said Monday.

This story was originally published October 10, 2016 at 9:05 PM with the headline "Local GOP candidates distance themselves from Trump."