Congressional Candidate Ami Bera Opens Elk Grove Office

Elk Grove resident Dr. Ami Bera opened a local campaign office Sunday in his bid to win election to the U.S. Congress in the newly-created Seventh District.

Volunteers and supporters gathered for a party at the office at 7803 Laguna Blvd, Suite 200.

It was a big week for Bera, a Democrat, who faces a rematch with Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Lungren in the June open primary. (Lungren beat out Bera in 2010 to represent the current Third District, which includes part of Elk Grove.)

The candidate also appeared on a segment of the popular public radio program "This American Life" Friday. The program focused on Super PACs, the independent committees that can now spend unlimited corporate and special interest cash to support or oppose candidates due to a 2010 Supreme Court decision.

Click on the attached Bera campaign video to hear an excerpt from the show, or listen to the whole thing here.

In the first Bera-Lungren matchup in 2010, This American Life reports, a conservative Super PAC called American Crossroads boosted spending on Lungren's side by more than 30 percent in just one day—possibly swinging the race.

Lungren 2012 campaign manager Jeff Wyly offered Elk Grove Patch his own take on the Super PAC phenomenon.

"The Supreme Court has ruled that money is speech and Super PACs are part of that," said Wyly. "Dr. Bera himself has had a ton of money come in from outside the district and outside the state. Whether it's one entity pulling together a lot of money or a bunch of individuals, it's all the same thing."

Wyly added that while the Lungren campaign has yet to open an office in Elk Grove, they plan to have a "huge presence" in the city. He pointed to Elk Grove City Councilmember Sophia Scherman and Cosumnes Community Services District board member Michelle Orrock as prominent local Lungren supporters.

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