Ben Dewell

Ben Dewell was born in Burbank, California. He graduated from McLane High School. Dewell earned a bachelor's degree from the California State University at Fresno in 1976 and a graduate degree from the University of California at Davis in 1986. His career experience includes working as the director of the Stallion Springs Community Service District, the director of the Variance Hearing Board for the Eastern Kern Air Pollution District, and the chief meteorologist with WEATHERx.[1][2][3]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have called both the north and south of the 20th home, having been raised in Fresno and now living rurally in Kern County. I hold a Bachelors in Biology from Fresno State, and a Masters in Atmospheric Science from the University of California, Davis. My company, WEATHERx, was the first professional meteorologist staffed company to offer targeted forecasting directly to San Joaquin Valley agriculture. I am currently serving my second 4 year term as Director with the Stallion Springs Community Service District where I have been making and shaping policy within that semi-rural community since 2018 for police, roads, water, sewer, solid waste, parks and rec – in short, being responsible for all the basic infrastructure required of any modern community. Stallion Springs is one of only 5 Community Service Districts out of 2000 within California with its own Police Department. In August of last year, we successfully sought a $275 per year property tax raise from the 80% conservative residents of Stallion Springs to maintain our Police Department with an unheard-of landslide approval of 85%. I was until recently also a Hearing Director with the Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District, where I adjudicated variance air pollution violations from entities such as US Borax, National Cement and Edwards Air Force Base.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I am a third time candidate for the 20th Congressional District, having placed third in my first primary in 2022 running as a lifelong Democrat against Kevin McCarthy, after concluding that he could no longer represent me in Congress. That nascent experience, and my understanding of the overwhelmingly conservative nature of the 20th’s electorate, convinced me that the only way to win the 20th as any kind of progressive is as a No Party Preference candidate. At only 24% of voters in the 20th with 27% Independent, and Republicans at an overwhelming 46%, Democrats in the 20th just do not have the numbers to win. Quite simply, running as an Independent, No Party Preference, candidate allows me to appeal to the widest array of possible voters.A vote for Ben Dewell is a vote to re-establish the balance of powers necessary to the preservation and operation of representative democracy – the voice of the people. Independent, experienced leadership responsible not to party partisanship, but to the voice of the people, is necessary to the restore the fundamentals of democracy envisioned by the Founders. I am the only candidate for California's 20th qualified to to represent the entirety of the the 20th's constituency in rebalancing power abrogated by Congress at the federal level and to push back against an unrestrained executive branch. Please join me on the Independent Bridge – a bridge for compromise and to the future.Democratic candidates have not ever succeeded, and cannot succeed, in California's most conservative, largely rural, 20th Congressional District. It is quite simply, and inarguably, mathematically impossible given the voter makeup. What is that definition of insanity again? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. The 20th is NOT in play for the Democratic Party. I am asking that moderates and progressives declare their independence from party dogma and vote for a candidate who is aligned with their priorities – the survival of democracy, affordable housing, the cost of living, common sense gun laws, comprehensive immigration reform, the increasing inequity of those very few at the top of the economy.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Affordability (General Economy, Health Care, Property Insurance), Science and Technology (A.I.), Environmental Protection, Restoration of American Respect through Communication among Nations in the World.

Kern County Board of Supervisors

Ben Dewell did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

U.S. House regular election

Ben Dewell did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Dewell’s campaign website stated the following:

DEMOCRACY

None of the positions stated below will be worth a Kangaroo Rat’s spit if the right-less march towards despot wannabes and authoritarianism perseveres and democracy is not preserved. Our forefathers gave us a wonderfully malleable scaffolding upon which to build and maintain a just and enduring republic – a governing republic long the envy of the civilized world. A republic nurtured by the intellectual honesty, integrity and good will of the members of Congress with whom this representative trust has been placed by its citizen voters. Partisan grab for ever diminishing individual votes increasingly lining the margins of an overwhelmingly moderate electorate – from their appointment of sympathetic, litmus-tested judges, to their gubernatorial redistricting of voter maps, to their installation of biased elections officials willing to overturn legal election results – is an existentially clear and present danger to the continuance of democracy. As a native Californian and 11th generation American, one who has taken the Oath of Office 3 times in the last 3 years and fully comprehends the gravity of its meaning, I will abide unreservedly by that oath – to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, not any political party nor moneyed lobbyist. Current geopolitical events ought to remind us of the fragility and preciousness of our own democracy, how real patriots are willing to fight and die for the freedoms we yet enjoy, and the right to determine their own future. I only hope that at the end of a desperate struggle supported by the world’s greatest democracy, we may send them a gift of friendship as once meaningful as France gave unto us some seven score years ago. Or perhaps, we we’ll just send them ours, if it no longer has meaning to us.

BORDER SECURITY

We’ve all heard it before, again and again… the two political parties cannot come together to pass meaningful, effective immigration reform. This is the political problem of our time. Unyielding partisanship from either side is strangling this country and making democracy appear to nothing more than an exercise in futility.

These legislative changes to US immigration law are made by Congress, not the President – whose primary function is to enforce the laws made by Congress, or the Courts – who are responsible for interpreting laws made by Congress. Congress has abrogated its responsibility to make reasonable immigration law for decades, due to self aggrandizement, extremism and partisan stalemates based on the current makeup of Congress. The remedy is for the voters to place Independents in Congress capable of responding to voters needs and not the the whims of grandstanding partisan extremism.

Let’s start with the fact that it is recognized that we are all immigrants, or come from immigrants, to this land. In my case, perhaps a bit earlier than most, that specific year being 1620, when immigration standards were shall we say, quite lax. America needs strong, effective borders capable of protecting America from an increasingly dangerous world as well as being welcoming to those seeking political and economic asylum.

1) Asylum seekers of both political and economic stripe must be accommodated within our justice system. Funding for immigration judges must be increased (by Congress) to handle existing political asylum claims. Anyone not able to prove clear and present jeopardy, should be returned to their country of origin, credible DACA excluded. Those economic migrants seeking work in the United States unfilled by citizens, should be allowed temporary work/stay status for the duration of the work. Employers of temporary workers will share responsibility assessing legal status. Non-adjudicated asylum seekers within U.S. borders shall be required to report to immigration authority at regular intervals, or face permanent deportation from the country and loss of any chance for citizenship.

2) Border strengthening through increased Border Patrol and electronic surveillance.

3) The overview of America’s current immigration problems is rooted in hemispheric problems. This must be addressed if any long term solutions are ever to be realized. Foreign aid to nations with citizens who feel compelled to migrate to the United States must be contingent upon humanitarian and legal changes necessary to keep their populations from emigrating and strengthen democracies. This may perhaps be loosely interpreted to be a “Marshall Plan” for third world Western Hemisphere countries.

Am I married to this proposal? No I am not! I will work tirelessly towards any fair, rational solution which will provide the United States with strong borders and effective immigration policy. As an Independent first and foremost, I am responsible only to my oath to the Constitution of the United States and you the voter. I am not beholden to any party, lobby, campaign contributor, or partisan authoritarian executive.

THE ECONOMY

While money given to people by both parties to survive during the pandemic has likely been a contributor to inflation, it should be remembered that folks were being paid to remain home, away from public contact, in order to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading widely and uncontrollably. It is likely more causal that the re-establishment of lagging supply chains and recurring disruptions in world markets by unstable players has provoked a perfect storm of international world trade leading to inflation of pricing of all goods. Elements of the problem may be changed over time, if we are willing to retain critical production at home, albeit at perhaps higher prices. There is little, if in fact nothing, that cannot be made in America, and should be, to avoid further unpredictable pricing fluctuations.

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHAGE

Global warming is settled science, as much a gravity is. We’ve all seen first hand the predictions of increasingly extreme weather, uncontrollable wildfires and crop failures come all too terrifyingly true. We are all climate change “acceptors” now. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-6) I has just reported a 1.7º C rise in temperature, global warming for which there is now no escape. The only salient question remaining is are we willing to even attempt to prevent further warming – another 2, 3 …5 or more degrees Celsius – further disruption to world economies and livelihoods? The only answer is the concerted transition to non-fossil fuels, renewable energy – solar and wind. Requiring all new construction in California incorporate solar in/on its roofing, along with significant subsidies for retrofits feeding into the net grid avoids unnecessary acquisition and the harmful environmental impacts of exploiting large tracts of land. These choices have been made for us by corporate Big Oil’s 30 year political control and fabrication of junk science, and its denial of actual peer reviewed science. Perhaps in lieu of continually benefitting from record profits during times of geopolitical uncertainty and instability, Big Oil should be required to plow “windfall” profits into renewable energy programs.

ENERGY

One definition of insanity being doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, now must surely be the time to throw off the yoke of our fossil fuel masters and begin the full transition to a truly independent, renewable energy policy. A policy geared to both production and use of renewable energy. Private enterprise has been leading the way for over 30 years. Our armed services have long recognized the national security necessity of moving away from polluting fossil fuels to renewables. Kern County is a leader in solar and wind renewable resources. It is time for this nation and its leaders to take up the baton of renewable energy and get us over the finish line of true, sustainable energy independence.

WATER

Whisky’s for drinkin’; water is for fightin’ over – Mark Twain

Those words (unverified as to have actually been Twain’s) have been true for as long as the West has been the West. The vast Central Valley of California, the world’s fruit basket, is climatologically classified as ‘desert’, receiving on average less than 10 inches of rainfall per year. California is already the most dammed state in the union, with reservoir plumbing choking every free flowing river west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada. Building more reservoirs to catch and store ever diminishing amounts of melting snowpack due to warmer winters, seems a fool’s errand. Some low elevation reservoirs may be expanded for more rainfall storage, but the only solution at this time would seem to be continuance and enhancement of statewide water conservation measures, including a shift to less water intensive crops.

California lies at the nexus global warming, water, and the economy. Strong leadership both within and without the state is required to keep the wheels from coming off California’s future – a future inextricably tied to the rest of the country. California has always been the leader, the can-do state of milk and honey. California, and indeed the nation, needs leaders who comprehend the complexities of the problems too long avoided by the the weak and the bought. Leaders who are strong enough to compromise in service of a larger goal. California needs leaders who will lead. California and the nation needs independent leaders who will service both sides of the political spectrum.

DEFUND THE POLICE (NOT)

The only people who may truthfully be labeled as defunding the police are those partisans who did not vote for $350 billion including police funding within the American Rescue Plan. Look no further than the present occupier of the 23rd, now 20th, House seat for a Defunder in Chief. I am the only candidate with actual governing experience, the only one who has a verifiable record of FUNDING the police in my community. I, along with my director colleagues, hire our police chief and have funded every request made of us, including the hiring of deputies. I’ve worked with our Neighborhood Watch to raise money for our police fund. I signed the CSD check for fully outfitted replacement police cruisers myself. I took a Narcan training course and gave my overdose kits to my police department. According to the 2022 BestPlaces.net ranking, my community, Stallion Springs, enjoys the lowest crime rate of any in the region. That scurrilous defund dog won’t hunt, that albatross cannot be hung around my neck.

The covenant the citizenry holds with law enforcement is that while it will provide police with the support necessary to do their job and to keep it safe, they will be held to the highest standards of accountability. Once the coin of social capital is spent it can take a very long time to earn it back from those served. With great power comes great responsibility.

Police are often given too many tasks to perform effectively at their best or within their training. Many incidents are better handled by harm reduction specialists and appropriate psychological support. In this way, potentially tragic consequences involving the use of deadly force may be kept to a minimum – if at all, even to the point obviating further intervention of law enforcement.

SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security is, and has been for over 8 decades, the most successful, universally admired, and lifesaving and affirming of all the so-called entitlement programs. Republicans want to take Social Security and Medicare away from seniors. This is not conjecture. It was already tried for a time in the the last Administration. It was foremost on their regressive agenda to gut its payroll tax funding entirely had another term been won. Recent bills introduced in Congress confirm it is still in the bulls eye of the partisan right. Seniors must vote their own interests, not those of the whoring media fact holes* exploiting perceived culture wars.

fact hole: The gravitational black hole of ignorance, grievance and greed from which logic, rationality and fact cannot escape.

RIGHT TO CHOOSE

I am unabashedly and radically conservative on a woman’s right to choose. I believe in the individual’s dominion over their own body, except in situations of public safety. Regrettably, abortions will always be with us, legal or not. The question is whether they will remain safe or not. If they remain legal to the point of viability, they can remain as safe as possible for the mother. This is a women’s health issue, and should not be subject to political whim or the desire to subject others to personal views. Those who choose to deny the right to choose to others must rationally also be for cradle to grave governmental support of the mother and child. That, seems like socialism to me. It follows that one might naturally assume that “Right to Life” would also preclude the use of the Death Penalty in capital cases. This is hypocrisy writ large.

IMMIGRATION

America needs strong, defensible borders, not walls. Immigrants are the seed and backbone of our country and should be treated with the respect and dignity of any wishing to become legal citizens, no matter from which direction they arrive. Work visas to support temporary and seasonal work, should allow recipients to come and go as necessary, while still being strictly accountable to our laws in support of our economy.

TAXES

It takes me at least four hours each year to do my relatively uncomplicated income tax return. I cannot afford to have it prepared by an expert or accountant. Income tax reporting must become much, much simpler for the average low to middle class wage earning American. Corporations, now judged to be citizens granted the rights of free speech by the Supreme Court Citizen’s United Ruling, must accordingly be required to pay taxes as individuals as well. The economic disparity between the top .01% and the bottom 50% has long ago exceeded that of the Guilded Age. There has been no equitable governmental support of those who have their labor locked in never ending cycles of decreasing economic parity and corporate welfare – no rising tide lifting all boats as blue and white collar wage earners are trickled down upon by the master corporations.

SECOND AMMENDMENT

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

The second of our most fundamental Bill of Rights, as short and to the point as it is, is often abridged to to preclude the context of being framed around the necessity of a well regulated militia in deterring the unconstitutional actions of the federal government. No mention is included regarding the accountability and responsibility of citizen firearm ownership. It is no longer rational to throw up our hands in dismay at the gun violence in America. No other civilized society endures the gun violence America does, because they have dealt with the proliferation and accountability of guns. With increasing gun violence in our cities, we are all witness to what would be next to impossible if guns were not on the streets. I support gun registration, background checks, and the accountability of parents as legal accomplices to gun violence perpetrated by their minor children.[4]

—Ben Dewell’s campaign website (2024)[5]

U.S. House special election

Ben Dewell did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

The people of the 20th Congressional District deserve a representative who lives in the 20th – not in the Washington Beltway, understands the needs of its residents from a very personal perspective – not the moneyed positions of the wealthy elite, and who will uphold their solemn oath of office to support and defend the Constitution of the United States – not the whims of any authoritarian wannabe. I am an 11th generation American and a native Californian, raised in the San Joaquin Valley. I hold a Master of Science in Atmospheric Science from the University of California, Davis and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from California State University, Fresno. I’ve forecasted weather as a meteorologist for the specific needs of the world’s most productive agricultural economy, offering the first privately computer accessible forecasts prior to the existence of the world wide web. I currently serve as Director on the Hearing Board of the Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District, inclusive of mining interests and aerospace industries. I am also a Director with the Stallion Springs Community Service District. I am a fiscal conservative, social progressive centrist, always looking for ways to solve the unsolvable.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I am running in the 20th CD to restore democratic principle an accountability and fidelity to the Constitution of the United States to the seat.I grew up and have lived within the present boundaries of the 20th CD from Kern to Fresno Counties for most of 50 years and know it intimately, understand its complex issues from Ag to immigration, not from an absent seat in Washington, but modest rural residence within the 20th.Integrity, compassion, independence – I am with you because I am one of you.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

DEMOCRACY:

Paramount to any other issue at this moment in time is the future of our Democracy. The survival of our American Democracy, humanity’s first and most durable democracy and the light of the world’s oppressed, must be protected against all enemies, foreign or domestic. The right of self determination and the principle that those who lead do so only by the authority of those led must be held sacrosanct.

THE ECONOMY:

From the price of gas to the cost of milk and eggs, inflation is eating away at American’s incomes at a startling rate. Nobody knows this better than those of us on fixed incomes, and families. I am with you because I am one of you.

CLIMATE CHANGE:

Anthropogenic (man made) climate change is settled science – as much as gravity is. What man hath wrought, man can correct. Although fossil fuels will continue to be an important resource, the continued transition to renewable alternatives must be encouraged and supported if further warming is to be avoided.

IMMIGRATION:

In America, unless we are Native American, we all come from somewhere else. Immigration and citizenry demands accountable and orderly policies so that both citizens and immigrants understand their responsibilities and obligations. The dignity of work and family must be upheld for those willing to come to this nation to do the jobs that Americans won’t.

AMERICA’S WILDLANDS:

America’s wildlands, the envy of the world, are our heritage. We protect them because our children have a r

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Both, and many others, made unpopular decisions based in integrity and morality at great personal risk, rather than popular acceptance.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

U.S. Constitution, Team of Rivals

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity, compassion, independence.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Integrity, Compassion, Independence

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Integrity, compassion, independence, observance and adherence to the oath of office to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I don't think about legacy, only doing what is right, now.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Astronaut John Glenn's earth orbits. The third grade teacher brought a television into class where we watched the fuzzy black and white images live.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I was pulling weeds and landscaping during middle and high school to get enough money to eat. These jobs became problematic when I when as a high school swim team athlete my coach could not understand why I wasn't improving.

What is your favorite book? Why?

"Cadillac Desert" by Marc Reisner – required reading for anyone who hopes to comprehend climate and water history in California and the American West. Also, every bit as good a story as "Chinatown".

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

George Bailey

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Every struggle is an opportunity to improve oneself.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The House represents the country specifically per its 435 Districts' unique identity and needs. This is why it is so important to have a representative who's master is it's citizens and not multi-billion dollar corporations, a representative not walled off in Washington's lobbyists.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Beneficial, yes. But not necessary. It is more important that they adhere to their oath of office. That said, I do have elected experience at the local governing non-partisan realm where we must all work together. So, government yes, politics no.

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Sad to say, the American democratic experiment, which has improved the lives of so many, is now faltering. While there are so many other as important issues to be solved, we are now in five alarm jeopardy of losing our right to self determination through the efforts of despots and authoritarian wannabes. Although the move to authoritarianism worldwide has increased, this nation must preserve the principles of democratic rule, rule by the people, for the world to come back to – as they surely will..

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Science, Space & Technology Natural Resources, Select Committee on Climate Crisis, Natural Resources, Agriculture, Ethics, Defense

If you are a current representative, why did you join your current committees?

N/A

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Although I'd like to say yes, given the current election cycle madness of constantly running and raising funds for office, I must say no. Perhaps a longer 4 year term with enforced term limits may reduce the chaos of endless pandering and politicking.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I believe in term limits. They are necessary to freshen the pool of government. Career politicians only become subservient to their money masters.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I'm always listening.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Kevin McCarthy.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Compromise is absolutely necessary to progress. It is grease to the wheels of policy. It has never been, and can never be, any other way in a civilized society which purports to provide for the common welfare.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

I live on a budget, and so should government. With rare exceptions in times of undeniable crisis, the power of raising revenue places the House in the unique position of driving Congressional action.

Campaign website

Dewell's campaign website stated the following:

DEMOCRACY

None of the positions stated below will be worth a Kangaroo Rat’s spit if the right-less march towards despot wannabes and authoritarianism perseveres and democracy is not preserved. Our forefathers gave us