El Cajon, Calif., Mayor Mark Lewis switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican earlier this week, saying the conduct of Vice President Al Gore in the post-election crisis was "the final straw."
Lewis, who has been a Democrat for his entire adult life, told NewsMax.com that he was particularly angered by Gore lawyers who tried to exclude military absentee ballots.
"My whole family is ex-military," Lewis said. "My father was retired military and his death was service connected. I think we need to honor Americans who serve their country, not try to screen out their votes."
"It used to be that the Democrats were the party of the people," Lewis added. "But now we're to the point where it's the party of attorneys, judge shopping and things like that. I think they've disappointed a lot of Americans with this action."
Lewis says he believes Gore lawyers targeted military absentee voters because they didn't expect them to vote Democratic. "Their attempts to disqualify those votes because of a lack of signature or lack of a date or even a postmark is just irresponsible," he added.
El Cajon's mayor is a former president of the East County Democratic Club. Both he and his wife are members of the state party Democratic Central Committee.
Or at least they were. Mrs. Lewis intends to join her husband next week in the GOP.
"I've worked very hard for the Democratic Party for over 30 years," said Mayor Lewis. "Now, I'll work just as hard for the Republican Party." |
