California is not without its fair share of characters, and Douglas Hughes is no different. Mr. Hughes is running for the GOP nomination for governor against Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner, although he lags far behind in both the polls and in fundraising. His ideas appear to be quite unique for instance: he wants to build a “triple fence” along California’s border with Mexico, let immigrants have a green card reward system, and wants the state of California to sell drugs to addicts for half price. While these are a crucial part of his platform for governor, one idea is getting Mr. Hughes national attention: creating “Pedophile Island.” As the Hughes campaign website says:
“As governor I will introduce legislation to impose mandatory expulsion of convicted pedophiles from the State of California as a condition of release from prison,” Hughes states. “Most say pedophiles cannot be treated or cured and for that reason I will put them on the ‘Island,’ a place where a male sexual offender may choose to live out his life away from children,” he writes. “Santa Rosa Island is the island that will be used as a ‘Pedophile Island.’
The “Island” would be located on Santa Rosa Island off of the coast of Santa Barbara. Yes, Mr. Hughes wants to exile all convicted pedophiles to Santa Rosa Island. Well, he actually wants to give them a choice of either leaving the state of California forever, remaining in prison for life, or living on “Pedophile Island.” Hughes wants those on the “Island” to write their own constitution, build their own infrastructure, and maintain a society. No word yet on whether the “Island” will get Internet access and what the back-up plan will be if the pedophiles figure out how to swim to shore.