Republican Tony Dolz handily won the 41st Assembly District race against his opponent Adriana Van Hemert in Tuesday’s primary. Dolz garnered more than 75 percent of the vote and will now be campaigning against Democrat Julia Brownley to replace Fran Pavley (Agoura Hills-Dem.) who is termed-out in the coming November election. Dolz , who lives in Santa Monica, ran on one campaign platform: illegal immigration. “I think the vote reflected exactly what the polls have been saying,” said Dolz in a phone interview from his home where he was enjoying his victory on Wednesday morning. “Eighty percent of Americans and some 70 percent of Republicans are now more concerned with immigration than with the war in Iraq and the economy.” Asked how he planned to campaign against Brownley, who was endorsed by both State Senator Sheila Kuehl (Santa Monica-Dem.) and Pavley, Dolz said he had no plans. “I don’t care what Brownley does. I think she represents ‘politics as usual,’ which is out of step for this election. I think immigration is going to be the big issue and the heat is only going to continue, at every level. Washington is not going to settle this before November and the Governor is in a difficult position.” Dolz, himself an immigrant, said that while the governor is “very aware” of the impact, “both good and bad” that illegals have on the California economy, he also recognizes the need for “at least appearing to have boots on the ground, which is why he reluctantly agreed to sent the National Guard to the Mexican border, but only after President Bush assured him the state would not be stuck with the bill.” Dolz said his first order of business is to get the governor to issue two executive orders: to check the immigration status of every state employee, and to demand that any agency providing benefits verify the immigration status of the recipients. Dolz’s campaign demanded the recovery of what he described as the “illegal misuse” of an estimated $10.5 billion of California taxpayer’s money spent annually to provide services to illegals. “This has got to stop,” Dolz said. “It is taking a terrible toll on our health care and education systems.” A Cuban-born Hispanic, Dolz, 47, came to the U.S. as a child and became an American citizen in 1986. His hardline stance is not unexpected considering that Dolz is a founding member of the Minutemen Project, the self-appointed civil defense corps determined to secure our borders. Dolz spent Memorial Day weekend break ground on the Minutemen Fence at the Arizona/Mexican border accompanied be his family, which includes his Danish-born wife, Bettina, who sells a number of high-end health, clothing and quality linen products on the Internet , and his two children’Dylan, 5, and 11-month-old Sienna. Dolz, a businessman who specializes in information technology and telecommunications, said he voted by absentee ballot.
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