Jan. 2, 2010 By Jason Campbell
Reporter –Manteca Bulletin

LODI – By all accounts Tony Amador had the job that many men would dream of.

For seven years he held a position as a United States marshal after being appointed by President George W. Bush, and had absolutely no reason to do anything but what had become his dream career – being a member of the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the United States.

But there just wasn’t something right about how the politics of the 11th Congressional district had played out over the course of the last couple of years.

“The burning reason I viewed it as a district that could be won back by Republicans – it never should have gone to Democrats,” Amador said. “In that first McNerney election they did a job on Pombo and that’s what turned the tide.”

It was back in March that Amador was first approached and asked if he’d run for the position. He staunchly turned it down to stick with his federal law enforcement career. It is a position that put him in charge of a geographic area that ran from Bakersfield to the Oregon border and Vallejo to Nevada.

Needless to say, he was a busy man.

The more he thought about, however, it  began to weigh on Amador – the lone Hispanic in the race – who began thinking about ways that he could possibly win a district that while typically conservative also played into his favor in other ways as well.

“I started thinking, and there has been a 20 percent decline in voting in the state, and whether that’s because people are upset at the Democrats or the Republicans, it appeals to my campaign,” Amador said. “Plus this district is 24 percent Hispanic and I think that in a general election I could get some crossover votes. By the time I decided in September that this is something that I wanted to do, people thought that I might be behind.

“Since I lived in Sacramento at the time and didn’t want to be labeled a ‘carpetbagger,’ I moved my family to Lodi and I’m now focusing on my campaign.”

But old habits die hard.

Every morning Amador rises at 5 a.m. and runs between four and five miles before working out, and spends the rest of the day working exclusively on his campaign – often until 10 or 11 p.m.

“I’m a fighter – I’ll do this no matter what through the general election,” Amador said. “I’m going to do this, and I’m going to be myself in this election.”

Amador lives in Lodi with Evelia – his wife of 44 years. Together they have 4 daughters and 13 grandchildren, and he still misses coaches his daughters in fast pitch softball.

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
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Business Leader and Vietnam Veteran Seeks 5^th Congressional District

SALEM, OR—Retired Salem business leader and Vietnam veteran Fred Thompson will challenge Rep. Kurt Schrader in Oregon 5th congressional district next year.

“Our community, our state, and our nation are desperately looking for new leadership,” Thompson said as he announced he was running for Congress.  “We have watched the nation move so far to the left, that I can no longer watch from the sidelines.  It is time to for action.  It is time to get involved.”

Thompson said the Democrat-controlled Congress under Nancy Pelosi is a failure.  “From bailouts to buyouts, from unemployment to health care, new leadership is needed.  It’s time to focus on solving real problems, not creating bigger government,” Thompson said.

“Oregonians are struggling to survive, we are losing jobs, and our vast resources are no longer an integral part of this state’s economy.  With every vote he casts, Kurt Schrader acts as if he was representing San Francisco,” Thompson said.  “We don’t need a clone of liberal Nancy Pelosi representing us in Washington.”

Thompson, no relation to former actor and United States Senator Fred Thompson, is a retired president and chief executive officer of a successful wood waste energy facility.   For more than thirty-five years, he helped create jobs, make payrolls, and balance budgets in the agricultural, energy and wood products industries.  Fred Thompson is a successful business leader who understands the challenges of running both a small business and a major manufacturing company. 
Fred Thompson was raised on a family dairy farm and shares the values that make Oregon special.  He understands duty and service to this nation.  During the Vietnam War, he was a sergeant in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division. 

Fred believes we can conserve and use our natural resources wisely and effectively, returning to environmentalism that is based on purpose and common sense.  As president and chief executive officer, Fred was responsible for converting agricultural waste into building materials for the furniture and cabinet industry.  During a 20-year career in the wood products industry, Fred was responsible for every facet of the manufacturing process, including successfully managing the operations of a major urban wood waste energy generating facility. 

Timber, agriculture, and water are the foundations of this state’s history and an integral part of our economy.  “There are those who want us to forget Oregon’s legacy.  I remind them, they didn’t call our nation’s main overland route the Nevada Trail.  They called it The Oregon Trail.”

Thompson received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Linfield College and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University.

"I believe that representing Oregonians in Congress is a mission, not a career," Thompson concluded.