Crooked Conservative Assemblyman Matt Dababneh Hoses Down His Driveway And His Car Without A Nozzle

-by Dorothy Reik

“This is Matt Dababneh!” the angry voice shouted from my cell phone. It was ringing when I got off the shuttle to the hotel where the Democratic Party E-Board was being held so I had it on speaker. As laughing Dems surrounded me Matt tried to defend himself as I read off the list of sleazes who had contributed to his campaign. "Why don’t you come talk to me?" he cried out. I laughed. Like that would do any good! Thankfully he’s not my assemblyman. This year things are much the same.


During the month of May, an independent expenditure committee financed with $1-million from Chevron gave more than $100,000 to Dababneh's effort. This was Chevron's payback to Dababneh for his opposition to Jerry Brown's climate change bill, which Big Oil spent millions to defeat.

From Eli Broad and the charter school movement to the liquor lobby, from big banks to big pharma, from payday lenders to for-profit colleges, and even shoddy nursing home owners, all the bad guys give to Matt-- even Fazio the drycleaner who is running for Senate as the lone Republican gave Matt a nice donation! 

Four years ago, Chevron spent a fortune smearing Valley Senator Fran Pavley. It didn’t work. Now Chevron is promoting Dababneh as one of the saviors of Big Oil. Chevron’s PAC is spending thousands of dollars on mailers sent to voters. Of course, these slick mailers never mention that Big Oil is paying for the direct mail campaign, which is sending hundreds of thousands of mailers to homes in the West Valley.

Tucked in there with the Native American gam(bl)ing interests and every other gas company lest Chevron get even more favored treatment, you will find a few hardy souls who make donations, but from facebook to the apartment owners; corporate California knows where to find the votes they need to stymie the progressive agenda.

Dababneh’s reliance on corporate contributions as well has his right wing voting record earned him an F rating from the Courage Campaign, which monitors both voting records and corporate contributions. They put him in their "Hall of Shame," as one of the worst legislators up in Sacramento. As chairman of the Banking Committee, he has received thousands of dollars from banks and other financial entities that he's supposed to be overseeing. "This is a conflict of interest. It feels like democracy for sale and doesn’t pass the smell test," said Kriegel who was the Sacramento Bureau Chief for NBC.

The Courage Campaign claims Dababneh is actually a Republican, posing as a Democrat because his district is overwhelmingly Democratic.

On the street where Dababneh lives in Woodland Hills Kriegel for Assembly signs proudly sprout from every lawn. "We just don't like him," said Nora Henson who lives across the street from the incumbent. "He's unfriendly and acts as if he can do anything he wants because he's a member of the Assembly," she added. "He even uses his hose without a nozzle!” she said, citing a real sin during our forever drought. "I saw him!"

"I've read his contribution list and it sickens me," said Leon Bayer, also a neighbor. "He is a perfect example of a legislator who takes money from people and then votes the way they tell him to vote. We need to rid the legislature of those kinds of people," he added.

With any luck investigative reporter Doug Kriegel, who covered the legislature for NBC and is more than wise to the ways of the Sacramento lowlives, will be in the top two now that Republicans have no reason to show up and vote. Then the real fun will begin. But Matt will always have a job in Sacramento-- he can be a lobbyist! Please consider contributing to Doug Kriegel's grassroots effort to replace Dababneh by clicking on the thermometer below: