Candidate for
Member of the State Assembly; District 77; Democratic Party

Ray's Background

A native of East County San Diego County, his parents were also southern California natives, and his grandmother was a Cherokee. His father, Harold G. Lutz, was well known as an award-winning band director at Grossmont High School.

Ray has a Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering, San Diego State University, 1984.

Worked in high-technology electronics starting at the Naval Ocean System Center (defense electronics), Wood Industries (PDAs), Burroughs Corp. (chip design), RDI Video Systems (video entertainment), Oasys (laser printers), Talaris Systems (laser printers), and finally his own company, Cognisys, Inc. Ray's work experience includes all aspects of corporate operation, marketing and sales.

Ray founded the Multifunction Products Association (MFPA) and pulled together major office equipment manufacturers to draft industry standards for that market. He participated in international standards development with the ITU, an arm of the United Nations.

Ray currently sells devices used in the medical field of neurofeedback to help ADD patients avoid the use of drugs and instead learn to think correctly, and he concurrently assists his wife operate her small business in El Cajon, Chase Ranch Montessori School.

Ray established COPs -- Citizens' Oversight Projects -- in 2006 to encourage citizens to oversee their governmental bodies and watch for insider deals. East County has never been the same!

He squared off with our country's most notorious mercenary-like private military contractor, Blackwater Worldwide, culminating in a complete withdrawal of their Blackwater-West training camp proposal one day after Ray announced his candidacy for office on March 6, 2008.

After the Harris Ranch fire in 2007, Potrero residents were forced to take handouts from Blackwater after being forgotten by relief organizations and elected officials. Ray drove a moving van filled with eight tons of relief supplies from an Escondido warehouse to Potrero to stop this outrage.

He's an election integrity activist. He filmed the entire Potrero recall vote hand-count and documented the Feb. 5th, 2008, presidential primary at our Registrar of Voters. He designed and is promoting the Open Canvass method to avoid the need for questionable certification and open up the election tally to citizen scrutiny. Secretary of State Debra Bowen's office reviewed the proposal and gave it a clean bill of health -- no certification required, so it can be deployed immediately to the extent of the law.

He's released a new novel, Coils of the Serpent, which confronts the religion versus science controversy, asking the question: Does the Bible "teach" DNA? The answer may surprise you.

During the past two years, Ray as built a strong grass-roots following and will be extremely effective in our state government.