Travis Allen
Travis Ethan Allen is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the California State Assembly. He was a candidate for Chairman of the California State Republican Party, losing to Jessica Milan Patterson. Allen was first elected in November 2012 to represent the California's 72nd State Assembly district, which includes the cities of Fountain Valley, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Westminster, most of Garden Grove, portions of Huntington Beach portions of Santa Ana and the unincorporated communities of Midway and Rossmoor.
Personal life
Travis Allen was born in San Diego, California, and was raised in Chula Vista, California. He is an avid short board surfer, and he participated with 65 other people in a world-record setting ride for the most number of riders on a single surf board. He is married. His wife's name is Arielle Allen, and they have two daughters.Business career
Travis Allen is a Certified Financial Planner and has managed client investment accounts since 1996. He has owned a financial advisory and wealth management practice, the Wealth Strategies Group, since 2001.Political Career
2012 Assembly Race
In 2012, Allen began his political career by running for California State Assembly's 72nd district. The seat was open due to term limits. He finished second in the June primary with 19.9% of the vote, trailing establishment Republican frontrunner Los Alamitos City Councilman Troy Edgar, who won 28% of the vote. In the general election Allen surpassed Edgar by an 11.4% margin. Under recently passed Proposition 14 this was the first California election to take place under a nonpartisan blanket primary, in which the top two candidates advanced to the general election, regardless of party preference.California SB 1 gas tax
Allen sponsored a proposed 2018 ballot initiative to repeal Senate Bill 1, legislation enacted by the Democratic-controlled legislature which increased the state gas tax by 12 cents a gallon and the diesel tax by 20 cents, and “as much as $175 more in annual car registration fees.” Although this initiative did not qualify for the ballot, another initiative to repeal the gas tax increase and to require voter approval of future gas and vehicle taxes did qualify for the ballot as Proposition 6.According to PolitiFact, some of Allen's statements about the gas tax have been incorrect and problematic, which he disputes. According to Allen, the tax allocates money to "transportation-related projects", which he considers to be a vague description of where the funding could be spent and makes the point repeatedly during many of his public appearances. He alleges that the money will be spent on Democratic "budgetary mistakes".
PolitiFact does agree with Allen's point that “the congested corridor program cannot fund general purpose freeway lanes, which are the main lanes used by most drivers,” because “the legislation does, in fact, prohibit spending this money on those.”
However, Politifact gave Allen a “mostly false” rating because he “distorted the purpose of the tax,” which is to reduce “vehicle miles traveled, greenhouse gases, and air pollution," and to “reduce people's dependency on their cars.”
California SB 54 sanctuary state
Allen voted no on Senate Bill 54 when it came to the California State Assembly for a floor vote on September 15, 2017. He has vocally opposed the "Sanctuary State" bill speaking out against it publicly for the first time on February 1, 2017 on the John and Ken show on KFI AM 640. SB 54 passed the Senate and Assembly and was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on October 5, 2017 with an effective date of January 1, 2018.Allen continued his opposition to SB 54 and, as he called it, the "illegal sanctuary state" on January 2, 2018 when he appeared on the Fox News show, Tucker Carlson Tonight where he invited President Donald Trump and United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions to sue Sacramento over the new "Sanctuary State" law. He would appear several more times on Fox News and other networks repeating this invitation throughout 2018.
Allen made this a cornerstone of his failed 2018 campaign for California Governor, vowing "to reverse the illegal sanctuary state in first 100 days in office."
Allen has disputed statements about the details of the bill and about support for it. His assertions regarding public support for the sanctuary state are based on various polls, Polls come from different focus groups, conservative vs. liberal although this has been a point of debate as well.
Voter ID in California
Allen is a supporter of Voter ID laws in the United States, specifically in California, and has made this a part of his platform for his race for governor in California.He has stated publicly and via his social media accounts, that there is voter fraud in California. His "controversial" statement was, “Eleven counties in California have more total registered voters than citizens over the age of 18. How is this possible?” In the opinion of some newspaper editorialists, a statement which never had any evidence for and which has been proven incorrect. He "made up" inaccurate numbers for the amount of registered voters in California, according to newspaper opinion writer, Dan Morain.
In August 2017, on behalf of the sent a notice-of-violation letter to the state of California alleging that public records obtained on the Election Assistance Commission's 2016 Election Administration Voting Survey and through verbal accounts from various county agencies show eleven California counties - Imperial, Lassen, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Solano, Stanislaus, and Yolo - have more registered voters than voting-age citizens; and that Los Angeles County officials “informed us that the total number of registered voters now stands at a number that is a whopping 144% of the total number of resident citizens of voting age.” In December 2017 Judicial Watch filed a federal lawsuit against Los Angeles County and the State of California over their alleged failure to clean their voter rolls and to produce election-related records as required by the federal National Voter Registration Act
Death penalty
"The only major-party candidate to support the death penalty is Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, who said it was 'absolutely necessary in cases where heinous crimes have been committed.' He said he would deny commutation to any condemned inmate who had been 'rightfully convicted and sentenced'." He is also critical of the high yearly cost associated with preserving the lives of over 700 people who are on death row in California prisons.Healthcare
Healthcare legislation
Allen opposes the proposed Medicare expansion and mandatory vaccinations for children under SB 277. He has stated opposition to single-payer healthcare noting its high cost and crippling effect on the state budget. Allen's solution includes introducing competition into the California healthcare market, “The solution is to open our markets to companies across the United States to compete for Californians’ business.” He also noted the need to increase the allowances on Health Savings Accounts.Abortion legislation
Allen has described himself as pro-life. He received a 0% score from Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California in 2013, 2015, and 2017.In 2014 Allen received a 55% score from Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. On this scorecard he was ranked positively for his support of AB 1755, AB 1841, AB 2051, and SB857. Allen opposed SB 1053 and SB 1094.
In 2016 Allen received a 67% score from Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. He was scored positively for voting yes on AB 1561, a bill which proposed to "exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, tampons, sanitary napkins, menstrual sponges, and menstrual cups"; and SB 999, a bill intended to require that health insurance companies "cover up to a 12-month supply of FDA-approved, self-administered hormonal contraceptives".
Taxes
He has earned 100% ratings from the California Taxpayers Association, the National Federation of Independent Business and the California Manufacturers and Technology Association.Allen's support for lower taxes and opposition to tax increases has earned him A+ ratings from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
Firearm legislation
In 2015, the Firearms Policy Coalition gave Allen an A rating in recognition of his support for Second Amendment rights. In 2016 Allen received a 93% score from the National Rifle Association and an A from the Gun Owners of California. In 2018, the Gun Owners of California again awarded Allen an A.Allen authored a bill which would have changed California into a shall issue CCW state.
Environment
Allen has called global warming and sea-level rise "unsettled," “absolute nonsense,” and “bogus science". He states, "These policy prescriptions of the Democrats of more regulation and higher taxes that they try to justify with tenuous climate change "science" are not benefiting Californians, nor are they benefiting the environment."Legislative scorecards
Allen has a mixed record when it comes to ratings from environmental organizations.The California Park & Recreation Society rated Allen at 50% when they released their 2015-2016 Legislative Scorecard. He was right in line with the average of 50% for all Assembly Republicans.
In 2017 Allen was rated 25% by the Sierra Club of California. They rated Assembly members based on their votes on bills like AB 378, AB 1414, SB 31, and SB 801 to name a few.
In 2017 Allen was rated 25% by the California Environmental Justice Alliance. They rated Assembly members based on their votes on bills like ACA 1, AB 398, SB 5, and SB 54, the "sanctuary state" bill.
In 2017 the California League of Conservation Voters scored Allen at 6% for his voting record on similar bills. His only vote aligned with this organization's goals was for SB 258 - Cleaning Products Ingredient Disclosure.
California Environmental Quality Act
Allen has stated that he opposes the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970 because it "strangles new housing development".Education
Allen has stated that he opposes mandatory full-day kindergarten, because he believes that children are being indoctrinated by "liberal curriculum".Allen also wants to get rid of the statewide mandated common core and allow the local districts to set their own curricula.
Position on Israel
In 2016, Allen introduced legislation in opposition to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign - AB 1552: a bill that would prohibit state government entities from doing business with companies that officially join the BDS campaign, and AB 1551, another bill that would forbid state government entities from investing in companies engaged in political actions to damage or limit commerce with Israel and Israeli companies.Allen's AB 1552 was eventually signed into law as AB 2844, of which Allen was principal author.2018 gubernatorial candidacy
Background
Allen unsuccessfully ran for Governor of California in the 2018 election. He announced his candidacy in June 2017. Incumbent Jerry Brown was unable to run at the end of his term due to term limits.Allen came in fourth place in California's open primary where the top two candidates get on the ballot in the November election. He had 440,409 votes, or 9.2% of the overall vote, trailing the leading candidate Democrat Gavin Newsom by over one million votes and trailing Republican rival John Cox by 800,000 votes.
Campaign
Allen ran on a campaign based on populist, conservative, anti-establishment themes, much like President Donald Trump used in his 2016 Presidential campaign, and he is considered to be "California's Trump." He has used the slogans "Take Back California" and "Make California Great Again" for his campaign.Allen is considered by many to be a controversial politician and candidate for California governor due to his far-right populist politics, for being an outspoken proponent of Donald Trump, for a sexual harassment allegation made against Allen by a former coworker in 2013, for defending Donald Trump's alleged sexual affairs, and for making many disputed public statements.
He has stated that he was running on a platform of spurring job creation and business growth by cutting California's high tax rate; using existing tax revenues to fix the state's deteriorating freeway and road infrastructure, opposing California's gas tax, and preventing future water shortages by increasing water storage capacity and completing the landmark California Water Project. He proposed redacting recently implemented laws. He states they are responsible for an uptick in violent crime rates in California. However, there has not been an uptick in violent crime, and in fact it has been decreasing. The nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found crime to be at a historic low.
Allen used his efforts to repeal the SB 1 gas tax increase and his opposition to illegal immigration as key stances in his campaign. He also supports more "tough-on-crime" policing measures and additional water support for Central California Valley farmers.
On May 1, 2018, Allen spoke at a California Republican primary forum in Atascadero, California. Allen delivered his opening speech, stating that he wants to undo recent voter-enacted soft on crime laws and promised to "get rid of the state-mandated Common Core ."
During his campaigning for California governor and subsequently, Allen has repeatedly made many disputed statements to the public and media. He has been criticized by pundits and fact-checking sites for these claims. He has made claims on the Oroville Dam regarding water capturing measures he wants to implement if elected, about high crime rates in California, and about the so-called "sanctuary laws" in California. In 2018, Allen made the claim that a new bill in California would "literally" "ban the sale of the Bible", a claim he has repeated despite having been fact-checked by several media outlets. He has also made the claim multiple times that California legalized child prostitution.
While campaigning he made the promise that if he gets elected governor that "every Californian will have a green lawn and take long showers."
Allen was criticized for missing several days of work at the California State Assembly while he was out campaigning.
After losing in the primary elections, Allen refused to endorse his Republican rival John Cox, but eventually decided to do so in July 2018. He also said that he wants his supporters to "stand up and fight" to "take back California". He started the Take Back California Political Action Committee.
Campaign funding
In 2017 Allen raised $447,236 for his campaign and had expenditures of $654,602 during that time according to an official campaign filing. More than fifty percent of the campaign's expenses were left unpaid, and it was left with $342,850 in unpaid bills. In 2018, fundraising efforts and campaign finance reports show his top contributors were "individual donations" and "other donations", according to .Polling
According to , Travis Allen ranked 4th in the Gubernatorial race for GovernorDuring his annual Commonwealth Club lecture on May 2, 2018, Willie Brown said Allen's candidacy represented "The greatest threat to the Democratic front runner, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom."
A Berkeley IGS Poll from April 2018 showed Allen and his opponent, Cox, going head to head for 2nd place with the scores of 18% and 16% within the poll's margin of error of ±4% points.
In May 2018, at the California Republican Party Convention in San Diego, John Cox received 55.3% of the delegates' votes while Allen received 40.5% of the delegates' votes. Neither candidate was able to reach the 60% threshold set by the California Republican Party for an official endorsement. In a Berkeley IGS Poll from December 2017, it showed Allen tied at 9 percent with Republican John Cox.