HESPERIA, California — “Patriot, not politician.” That is the essence of Tim Donnelly, and a maxim to which he has remained loyal since he was elected to the State Assembly six years ago. On Wednesday, family, friends and fans, both old and new, were in no short supply as he officially launched a new stage of his career–his own radio talk show.
The Tim Donnelly Show is “about having a gathering place for patriots. And I don’t define patriotism by your [political] party. I define it by your love of freedom,” Donnelly told Breitbart News at his show’s launch party at the studio in Hesperia. “And that means not being told what to do by your government but instead that your government serves at your consent. And you understand your rights and are willing to stand for them.”
The loyalty runs deep for all present there — each person hailing from various points on the political spectrum. “He espouses individual responsibility and that’s the key,” said Joe Cavanaugh, who owns the Burro Canyon Shooting Park in Azusa together with his wife.
“No government control. We are good with that! Tim has a huge following and I’m really happy to come into this,” his assistant producer Bethany Nosko, a six-year Navy cryptology veteran.
“Tim is a man that sets goals and then he works to achieve them and he works and lives for those values. There are a lot of people out there today who talk a good story but don’t live those values at all,” Eric Sinclair of the Capstone Consulting Group told Breitbart News. He said what drew him to Donnelly was that “he was an American first and was not a politician. He pushed family values and that you [must] work to earn what you have.”
Sinclair was one of the many people present who voted for Donnelly over his Republican opponent Neel Kashkari, who ultimately went on to lose to Democratic incumbent Gov. Jerry Brown.
When asked if he feels Gov. Brown is a man who embodies the same values as Donnelly, Sinclair replied with a simple “No. I’m a lifelong Californian. I’ve been here when his dad [Pat Brown] was governor and when he became governor. And the state has suffered ever since.”
Donnelly’s wife, Rowena, and their sons were also present. He thanked for her unwavering support.
California has been suffering its fifth year of a devastating drought which has resulted in unprecedented water restrictions and fines as mandated by Gov. Brown.
“There are enough of us that we can push back against a government that says if you take a shower that’s too long, we are going to track you with a smart meter and then we’re going to fine you $500. And if you don’t comply, we’re going to cut off your water,” Donnelly told Breitbart News.
He said lawmakers in Sacramento have only created an infrastructure for half of the Golden State’s 40 million-person population “instead of building [more] reservoirs and dams, using desalinization and making intelligent moves” to help combat this dire situation. The drought “is not a partisan issue,” Donnelly said, but a a cross-cutting problem that affects Democrats and Republicans alike.
Among pictures of his family and an image of the late Ronald Reagan on his desk, there was a classic, yellow Gadsden flag with a coiled up rattle snake and the motto “Don’t tread on me” hanging on the one of the walls. Donnelly told Breitbart News that he hopes to expand upon that image and symbolism, and said that it was important that we “Don’t tread on anyone… That means you don’t get to come into my business and tell me to do something that violates my faith. You don’t get to come into my home and tell me how long my shower has to be. And you don’t get to take away my right to defend my life and my family’s life.”
When asked what his hope is for the state, Donnelly said, “My hope for California is for the state to wake up and start a movement where we will hold both parties accountable, demand that [our legislators] listen to the people, and stop making laws that are designed to control us but instead make laws where they are designed to rule at our consent.”
The first step in that process, Donnelly said, it to start by “listening to us.”
The Tim Donnelly Show will be broadcast live on weekdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Victorville’s Talk 960. It is also available by streaming online.
Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz