Oxnard Man to Oppose Gallegly for GOP Nod

William Clifford Winter, an Oxnard resident and former Navy Seabee stationed at Port Hueneme, announced Friday he will challenge Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) for the Republican nomination in a congressional district that stretches across the county.

Winter, 37, said his views calling for an open border between the United States and Mexico make him “more representative” of the people of Ventura County than Gallegly, who favors a more restrictive immigration policy.

“I think Congressman Gallegly is way out in left field on immigration,” Winter said Friday. “He wants to change the Constitution and blockade the borders.”

Winter also favors a proposal to allow commercial airlines to share the runway at the Naval Air Station at Point Mugu. And he said he will work to prevent the county’s military bases from closing.

Gallegly said he recently met with Winter, who was far more supportive of the congressman’s record. “He told me when he came to visit me that he supported everything I was doing and promised to support me after the primary.”

But responding to his initial comments, Gallegly said, “Obviously we disagree on the immigration issue.”

Winter’s political experience includes an unsuccessful bid in 1992 for Oxnard City Council. Born in Jacksonville, Fla., Winter grew up in New Jersey, the son of a hardware store owner. He came to the Naval Construction Battalion Center at Port Hueneme in 1987 during his second four-year stint with the Navy. He received an honorable discharge in 1990.

Winter said he holds an associate’s degree from the University of Maine and a bachelor of arts in communications from San Francisco State University.

Winter, who lists his profession as journalist and free-lance writer, said he worked briefly for the Navy in public relations after his discharge. Since then, he said, he worked as a nursing assistant in several locations and now works for a temporary employment agency in customer service for computers.