 |
 |
Vinick For President Home |
|
|
History |
|
HOW DID ARNOLD VINICK END UP FROM SANTA PAULA?Santa Paula started its campaign for Senator Vinick on January 27, 2005. At the conclusion of the January 26, 2005 episode of "The West Wing," Senator Vinick mentioned growing up in a citrus growing community. Santa Paula Mayor Mary Ann Krause was watching that night and thought that if Senator Vinick was from any citrus growing community in California, it must be from Santa Paula, "the Citrus Capital of the World."
On January 28, 2005, Mayor Krause sent letters to Alan Alda (the actor who portrays Senator Vinick), "West Wing" Executive Producer John Wells and the writers of "The West Wing" offering Santa Paula as Senator Vinick's home town. The Mayor received a letter from "The West Wing" saying that the program, "will definitely keep Santa Paula in mind, if we ever take a journey back to Vinick's home for campaign events." Word traveled around Santa Paula and around Southern California about Santa Paula's offer to be the hometown of Senator Vinick. Everyone thought it was a great idea.
So, on April 4, 2005, the Santa Paula City Council decided to continue its campaign for Senator Vinick. The City Council passed a motion to "claim Senator Arnold Vinick as a resident of Santa Paula" and directed City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz "to take steps in support of his candidacy for President of the United States (on the NBC television program, 'The West Wing.')"
On April 25, 2005, the City opened the Senator Arnold Vinick Presidential Campaign Headquarters at the City's Historic Train Depot in a nod to the 1976 Presidential Campaign Headquarters of Jimmy Carter at the Train Depot in Plains, Georgia.
No word was received from NBC or "The West Wing" about the City's campaign. Then on October 14, 2005, Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce Manager Ken Brooks noticed on the NBC.com website a biography of Senator Vinick which states he is from Santa Paula. |
||
