Chris Pareja, candidate for the 15th Congressional district, recently stood for seven hours in the wine country of Livermore armed with campaign “propaganda,” as he humorously called it, with supporters in tow spreading word of his battle for incumbent Pete Stark’s seat.

“May I propagandize you?” Pareja asked jokingly of citizens at the Country Wine Festival, gaining some laughs. Some stopped to talk, usually for just a moment, others did their best to avoid conversation.

“It usually goes one of two ways. They run away from you or they’ll talk your ear off,” said Pareja. “But I usually find that it works to mention that I’m running against Stark.”

“You’re running against Stark!” exclaimed one citizen, giving into Pareja’s tactic. “I’d vote for a poodle against him.”

Pareja continued on throughout the day with similar reactions in the notably more “conservative” area of the East Bay. The recent redistricting added much of the Tri-Valley area to the map, bringing in new constituents that Stark would be rather unfamiliar with. While still retaining his Democratic heartland, the Hayward area, Stark gains a stiffer crowd harder to sway.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better district,” said Pareja, who is registered Independent but ideologically conservative. “This area didn’t have someone who could represent their views.”

Pareja’s conservatism is something that mixes better with the east side of the hill but not with the Hayward area.

“I think my pigmentation will help me out over there,” said Pareja, citing his Filipino heritage and understanding that the Hayward area is more ethnically diverse than the rest of the district.

Pareja understands that much of his views don’t ride well with the district’s largest voting block. He is against gay marriage, the DREAM Act, Planned Parenthood, advocates for free markets and wants stronger border security.

But Pareja believes his cordial attitude and gestures will bring others to help understand his talking points.

“If we sat down and talked like humans most of the time we agree on the problems. Now, we may have different solutions, but if we can just get rid of this partisan polarization and just discuss things as humans we can make progress,” Pareja says so often to potential constituents.

“He’s quite energetic and kind,” one will so often hear a constituent say after speaking with Pareja.

Others were not impressed.

“He’s a RRR, a raving, rabid Republican,” scolded a Democrat after a brief discussion with Pareja. Another Democrat, an elderly man at age 84 who solely went by Jim, was turned off by Pareja’s stance on gay marriage.

“I’m a Stark supporter, I’ll vote for him,” said Jim.

The campaign banter over Stark’s allegations against Democratic competitor Eric Swalwell — who was accused of taking bribes from the “Lin family” for redistricting purposes that Stark later apologized for — was a tumultuous event to add to Stark’s already heated political incumbency.

But it’s something Pareja hopes to utilize to his advantage.

“Their mudslinging helps my campaign; let them go mud wrestle,” said Pareja enthusiastically.

Pareja’s campaign is rather unconventional, working against the usual tenants of any American political campaign.

He doesn’t have much money, totaling at only $20,000 compared to his candidates’ campaign war chests that range in a couple hundred thousand. He also doesn’t have a single paid political consultant and has not ran any polls to help dictate where his placement is.

Furthermore, due to the democratic presence in the district, early forums hosted by Democratic clubs excluded Pareja from speaking thus diminishing some opportunity for early exposure.

Even the San Francisco Chronicle didn’t take him seriously when they only invited Swalwell and Stark to their editorial board meeting for paper endorsements.

When Pareja asked why he wasn’t invited, the Chronicle said “we are only considering serious candidates,” and then cited that he only captured one percent of the vote last election cycle.

“I was a write-in candidate last time but now I am on the ballot. I am a serious candidate but I embrace the underdog status,” said Pareja with great confidence.

Pareja hasn’t turned away from attacking Stark though. He sometimes cites similar arguments Swalwell has argued in his campaign that Stark has been in office for too long and should retire.
Unlike Swalwell, though, Pareja has focused most of his platform on policies.

“Swalwell’s entire platform is attacking Stark,” said Pareja, “He only recently posted his policies on his website.”

Swalwell has ignored Pareja for almost the entire campaign for reasons that some say is because he doesn’t consider Pareja to be competition. Pareja elaborates that when a candidate campaigns against another then they either attack them with intention of destroying them or ignore them to make them look unimportant.

Some don’t think Pareja has much of a chance of winning the election, not even advancing past the primaries, but Pareja thinks bringing Republicans under his wing in the Tri-Valley area, Independents and maybe even some Democrats will put him ahead of Swalwell come June 5.

“Just beating Swalwell will be newsworthy, but beating Stark will be national news; it will be historic,” said Pareja.

Pareja claims to have some trusted Democrat sources with respected viability in the area that say he is doing quite well, perhaps better than Swalwell, although Parjea refuses to expose who exactly these sources are, keeping them close at hand.

With a smile, Pareja boldly states with confidence, “I wish the election could come sooner, I think I have it locked down.”