Last Saturday, on the 28th, the annual “Unite IE Patriots Summit” returned to Ontario in San Bernardino County, reuniting about 25 guest speakers to discuss various topics such as California education and parental rights, law and order, fraud, faith and politics, and the Iran conflict.
Former Thousand Oaks Mayor Kevin McNamee is advocating for the “Children’s Educational Opportunity Act,” aiming to establish savings accounts for all school-aged children in California. The proposal includes depositing $17,000 of education funds in the first year, gradually increasing annually.
“Why can private schools, church schools, and homeschooling ensure that 100% of children have reading, writing, and math skills, while public schools cannot?” McNamee questioned. He pointed out that only about 13% of public school funds are used for teaching, with the majority going to high-paid managers and large administrative teams. He emphasized the need for public schools to focus on basic education rather than engaging in “social engineering.”
Facing significant pressure due to the proposal, opponents accuse McNamee of “going down a dangerous path” by reallocating funds inadequately provided to public schools to private schools.
Sonia Shaw, who was elected to the Chino Valley School District Board in 2022 and has been the board chair since 2023, is currently running for California’s Director of Education. She revealed that media recently exposed former and current California education officials illegally issuing graduation certificates to students in “sister schools” in China, guaranteeing admission to top American universities, including the University of California system.
An external audit uncovered issues orchestrated by these officials, where some staff members were put on unpaid leave with promises of salary increases and promotions upon completing overseas teaching assignments. Shaw criticized the allocation of taxpayer money to foreign students over locals and giving them preferential treatment.
Assemblymember of District 75 and Chairman of “Reform California,” Carl DeMaio, reported that as of the 27th, the signature validity rate for the voter identification initiative was 82.6%, and for the “Save Prop 13” initiative related to property taxes, it was 75%. He urged signatures to be collected promptly for the “Stop the CA Savings Tax” initiative to form a coalition of three ballot measures.
Describing the California “Savings Tax,” DeMaio explained in an online video that it involves establishing a new tax to scrutinize individuals’ checking accounts, savings accounts, 401k retirement accounts, stock portfolios, and property values for taxation. The initiative also prohibits retroactive taxation and requires collecting one million signatures by May 1st for it to appear on the ballot.
Assemblymember of District 58, Leticia Castillo, introduced the AB1998 bill she helped launch. The background stems from Tish Hyman encountering an individual in the women’s changing room of a Los Angeles gym whose biological gender was male. However, when Hyman raised concerns to the management, her membership was revoked. Hyman later disclosed that the individual had a history of domestic violence, having broken his ex-wife’s jaw, pled guilty, and served one year in prison.
Castillo stressed the need to ensure businesses are not confused by regulations, maintaining gender-neutral restrooms as is and labeling toilets based on biological gender, which she deemed common sense, yet a rarity in California.
Gubernatorial candidates Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton addressed public concerns about law and order during their speeches at the summit.
Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, now running for reelection as a Republican after switching from the Democratic Party, acknowledged the challenges he faces given the party ratio of 3:1 in Los Angeles County. He expressed gratitude for the significant support he has received, quoting former President Reagan’s statement, “I didn’t leave my party, my party left me.”
Villanueva emphasized the importance of increasing frontline police officers to restore the force to full capacity and the necessity of prosecutors willing to file charges. He recounted struggles during his tenure when facing conflicting opinions with prosecutors and the Department of Justice but expressed optimism with the improvement following the defeat of the former district attorney.
San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson discussed how Proposition 36 brought significant changes to his office, granting the authority to enforce mandatory drug treatment and prosecute repeat offenders of theft and drug trafficking with serious charges. The measure received unanimous support from voters in all 58 counties of California during the 2024 election.
Anderson attributed the continuous rise in the county’s homeless population to drug abuse and highlighted the effectiveness of sending these individuals for treatment to break the cycle of addiction.
Acknowledging the efforts of the county sheriff’s department in monitoring homelessness over the past decade despite financial constraints, he commended the detailed data they possess. The Department of Behavioral Health also collaborated in the initiative to secure state funding for treatment programs, focusing on gradual positive changes despite initial reluctance from some.
The Unite Inland Empire, composed of over fifty organizations, including the Republican Party, Tea Party, and local groups, stands for unity among freedom-loving Americans, aiming to uphold America’s greatness, freedom, and prosperity at a pivotal historical moment for the nation, state, and communities.
The summit was co-hosted by talk radio stations “AM 590 The Answer” and “AM 870 The Answer,” along with the Reagan Gold Group.