A Democratic Party candidate for the California State Assembly has mailed out a flyer trumpeting his commitment to women's rights, including abortion on demand, but some who received the campaign piece think he may have pushed the envelope too far.
More plainly, they're wondering if the candidate, Bill Dodd, has even thought through the chilling implications of his advertisement.
On the flyer Dodd is pictured holding his baby granddaughter, Emma.
On the flyer, Dodd boasts "Democrat Bill Dodd will champion women's rights."
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Below that pledge is a picture of Dodd lovingly looking down at his granddaughter, Emma, who is shown sitting on his lap.
"That's his commitment to every Californian, including his granddaughter, Emma," the flyer states.
The other side of the flyer repeats the pledge to champion women's rights and lists Dodd's top priority as working to "defend pro-choice laws and oppose any effort to chip away at them."
Dodd's flyer sent shivers down the spines of California pro-lifers because it could easily be interpreted as Dodd championing his granddaughter Emma's right to abort his own future great-grandchild.
One of the recipients of the mailer was a conservative woman who lives in state House District 4, which includes Napa County and all or parts of five other counties west of Sacramento and north of the San Francisco Bay area.
The woman saw the message and was "floored," according to one pro-life organization in the state.
Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com, a nonpartisan educational organization which promotes moral virtues for the common good, said he found the message put forth by Dodd to be the most aggressive he's ever seen from a pro-abortion candidate in California.
"I've never seen a candidate so openly and proudly champion abortion to the extent of hypothetically supporting the abortion death of his own great-granddaughter or great-grandson," Thomasson said. "Even though some abortion supporters may be glad to see this mailer, average voters who consider themselves ‘pro-choice’ might be offended by it, and it seems pro-life voters are being negatively energized by it."
But is the ad's message realistic?
"Since this candidate apparently opposes parents being notified about their daughter seeking an abortion, which unfortunately reflects the current pro-abortion, anti-parental-rights state law of California, he might never get the chance to know about the abortion death of his offspring, even after the deadly deed had been performed," Thomasson said.
Charlie Schaupp, the Republican candidate running against Dodd, was contacted by WND but said he has not seen the flyer and was unfamiliar with WND. He did, however, make it clear that he considers himself squarely within the pro-life camp.
"I'm for the sanctity of life and I believe the choice is when we pro-create and help the next generation come into the world," he told WND. "Basically we're the only species on the planet that purposely would terminate the lives of our offspring, no other species would do that. I understand that women have the right to choose but I am for the sanctity of life and the choice is when we procreate. It doesn't matter if you look at it from a religious point of view, God gave us life, or the creation point of view, we have the right and duty to protect life brought into this world. Basically, we're created when the spirit of life is blown into us."
Schaupp, a former U.S. Marine Corps officer and a farmer, said it was no surprise that a Democrat would be for abortion on demand.
"He's probably saying that his granddaughter has the right to choice over her own body," Schaupp said. "That's true, we all do have that power, but we have responsibility too, and that's to protect the life of the unborn and all innocent life."
WND reached out to Dodd for comment through his campaign manager, Erin Russell, but she said his campaign schedule prevented him from being able to comment.
According to his website, Dodd is a three-term member of the Napa County Board of Supervisors running unopposed each time. He makes no mention of abortion rights on his website, focusing instead on education, ethics, agriculture, water and senior citizens' issues. But among the long list of endorsements he's received are Planned Parenthood and Progressive Women of Napa Valley.
He represents the cities and county of Napa on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and recently served a two-year term as chairman of this powerful regional body. Dodd has also served as chairman of the Local Agency Formation Commission of Napa County, chairman of the Napa County League of Governments, chairman of the Napa County Transportation Planning Agency and chairman of the Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.
Dodd was honored in 2014 by the Napa Chamber of Commerce as its Citizen of the Year for his work with youth and was founding director of the Napa County Children’s Health Initiative.
He is married to his wife Mary and has five grown children and four grandchildren.
California's redrawn 4th Assembly District stands out for its geographic diversity, spanning from Napa in the south to Lakeport to the north and from Sonoma Valley and Rohnert Park in the west to Davis in the east. It includes all or parts of six counties: Napa, Lake, Solano, Colusa, Yolo and Sonoma.