Hauf to campaign in June Primary against Bilbray

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published May 15, 2006 at 9:00 PM PDT

This story was published more than 18 years ago.

Conservative republican Bill Hauf has announced he'll actively campaign in the June Primary election against Brian Bilbray. His decision reveals a rift in the republican ranks over who should replace

Conservative republican Bill Hauf has announced he'll actively campaign in the June Primary election against Brian Bilbray. His decision reveals a rift in the republican ranks over who should replace convicted congressman Randy Cunningham. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

Hauf's decision flies in the face of republican party efforts to rally the troops for one candidate in a close race against democratic candidate Francine Busby.

Hauf says he's campaigning because Brian Bilbray's views don't represent the conservative electorate, and he's running to bring them to the polls.
But political scientist Carl Luna of Mesa College says this could be a boon for democrat Francine Busby, and cause confusion among republican voters in June

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Luna: "Conservative republicans from the national level on down feel that the republicans in power are selling out on their agenda and this might have a backlash."

Luna says voters who turn out to support Hauf or another conservative republican in the primary, might withhold their vote from moderate republican Bilbray as a form of protest. Bilbray and Busby appear to be neck and neck in the run off election to finish Cunningham's term. Alison St John, KPBS News.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.