Gilchrist attracts support from out-of-state politician

A Republican congressman from Colorado shares House candidate’s views on dangers of illegal immigration.NEWPORT BEACH -- Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo’s support of 48th District Congressional candidate Jim Gilchrist has attracted scorn from some of Tancredo’s Republican colleagues in Washington, D.C., but it drew wild applause Monday at a Balboa Bay Club fundraiser for Gilchrist.

Gilchrist, a member of the American Independent Party, is one of five candidates for the House seat left vacant by former Rep. Chris Cox. In a Dec. 6 general election, Gilchrist faces Republican state Sen. John Campbell, Libertarian Bruce Cohen, Green Party member Béa Tiritilli and Democrat Steve Young.

Tancredo headlined the $250-a-plate lunch that pulled in about 100 guests, including Cohen, who said Gilchrist invited him, and a number of Republicans, including former Assembly candidate Marianne Zippi of Newport Beach.

Gilchrist is best known as the founder of the Minuteman Project, which performs volunteer border patrols. Several donors said he won their support by “putting his money where his mouth is,” trying to prevent illegal immigration instead of just paying lip service to voters’ concerns.

“He is the only person that I know of who’s actually been able to accomplish anything” toward reducing illegal immigration, said Joe Reinkemeyer, 44, of La Cañada Flintridge.

Ted Phillips, 83, of Newport Beach, resigned from the Republican National Committee to support Gilchrist, whom he said is “not a politician who wants to just build up his own esteem.”

It’s the first time Tancredo has supported a non-Republican. To say he’s taken flak for it is putting it mildly, he said, but he’s been shunned by the party before for his tough stance on immigration. In July he introduced a bill that would punish employers for hiring illegal immigrants, increase border security and ultimately create a guest worker program.

“When I first came into the Congress seven years ago and brought up this issue, most people ran the other way,” Tancredo said.

A Gilchrist win would be “a long shot,” Tancredo said, but his candidacy helps solidify in the minds of voters and elected officials that illegal immigration is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.

“The fact that he’s doing what he’s doing here, the fact that we’ve even shifted the debate in this campaign, is important,” Tancredo said. “I am positive that the person that comes out of this district as the winner ... is going to have a pretty tough position on illegal immigration.”

While most Gilchrist supporters don’t see illegal immigration as the only political issue facing the nation, they do think it’s the most important one -- and politicians are starting to wise up, Zippi said.

“All of a sudden, people are realizing this is the issue that’s galvanizing the public,” she said.20051122iqc5iiknDOUGLAS ZIMMERMAN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Rep. Tom Tancredo, right, gives a hand to U.S. House candidate Jim Gilchrist. The two promised to fight illegal immigration.