Standing room only for Jessica Morse Town Hall meeting

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There were no seats available and people were standing along the sides of the Lake Tahoe Community College board room Sunday, all to see Congressional Candidate Jessica Morse.

The personable 36-year-old from Pollock Pines is gaining steam as well as endorsements as she makes a bid towards Tom McClintock's seat in Congress, a spot the Republican has held since 2009. South Lake Tahoe was one of five cities Morse stopped in during Town Hall Meeting circuit of the U.S> House of Representatives 4th District.

"I am fighting for the environment, I am fighting for a strong economy," said Morse as she listed her goals and platform.

The goals and her attributes, something she jokingly referred to as "the New Morse Code," include Morse's fighting for "each and every one of you and not a political party. I promise to hold myself to a higher standard."

Morse was met with strong applause at each comment during the 75-minute town hall.

"I will put community above partisan games and never fall to the mentality of a politician," she promised.

The young democrat inspired those in attendance (over 130 people) to grab yard signs, flyers, buttons and bumper stickers.

"It's important to have someone living in our District representing us," said Morse. McClintock has served Southern California in both the California Assembly and State Senate and has never lived in the Sierra region of the 4th District.

McClintock has not met Morse in several debates planned through the district that encompasses the Sierra Nevada from Truckee south to the Sequoia National Forest. It consists of Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mariposa, and Tuolumne counties — plus portions of Fresno, Madera, Nevada, and Placer counties, and has Yosemite and Lake Tahoe in its borders.

They did meet once in Mariposa but McClintock pulled out of a debate in North Lake Tahoe after he found the organizer, Sierra Business Council, had already backed and contributed to Morse.

There are stark differences between Morse and McClintock that she highlighted during the meeting. Her challenger believes in cutting down the trees in the Lake Tahoe Basin instead of forest management practices in use today, something he has stated each year at the Lake Tahoe Environmental Summit.

She believes in term limits - "It takes 12 years for an elected person to become dictator around the world, why not make it 12 years in Congress?"

She believes in federal dollars being spent on public education, not a voucher system. "Every kid gets a high-quality education." She wants to get rid of the bill riders in Congress that include vouchers as a portion of the bill.

"We need to see professional level salaries for professional level jobs," said Morse.

Morse has been endorsed by the California Teachers Association, with several teachers in the audience Sunday.

She believes in the end of gerrymandering - "Draw boundaries along community lines, not partisan lines."

She said she wants to make military spending more balanced and responsible and to invest more in conflict prevention.

"It's much cheaper to remove a conflict that to fight one," said Morse.

Morse also backs decriminalization of marijuana at the federal level so those in the business can utilize banks as current practices create a criminal culture. Managing cannabis as a crop would create levels of standards.

"We need to have smart scientific discussions," Morse said. "We need to manage cannabis through drug education though so it doesn't change a community."

Morse's grassroots campaign has involved volunteers knocking on doors, meeting constituents, making phone calls. Her platform has also led the Sacramento Bee to endorse Morse this week.

The young candidate closed her South Lake Tahoe meeting with strong comments on uniting the country and urging to find solutions so everyone's needs can be met to move the U.S. forward.

"Politics should be about thoughtful dialog," Morse said.

She also predicted this November's election will be one for the history books as it's "the tipping point in American history."

"We need to find solutions to fix our country for decades, not for a political season," she said in closing as the audience responded in an excited and energetic standing ovation.