Tag Archives: Jane Harman

Get Out The Vote for Janice Hahn!

The countdown has begun before tomorrow's election to replace Congresswoman Jane Harman. If you've been paying close attention to the race, the media is making it sound like the election is going to be a nail biter with a photo finish, which isn't surprising because they love a good horse race. But that assessment seems rather dubious.

Without a doubt, the race is certainly closer than it should be. With an 18 point Democratic registration advantage, Janice Hahn should be walking away with this, but the polls aren't exactly reflecting that. The latest PPP poll only has Hahn up by 8 points. That's certainly lower than it should be considering the registration of that district, but it's also a far cry from being neck and neck. Any other race and 8 points isn't even close. One has to wonder if it weren't for the fact that it fits better with the media meme of an enthusiam gap between the Democrats and Republicans, if this race would really get that much coverage at all. 

Now, nobody's going to write off Huey. It's certainly true that stranger things can and have happened. Nobody thought Huey would make it into the run-off. Huey has spent a good $800,000 of his own money on this race. Huey signs are everywhere in the district. Special elections tend to help Republicans because Democrats tend to vote less frequently in them. And then there's the fabled "enthusiasm gap." But still. It will be quite difficult for Huey to pull it off tomorrow, especially if voters turnout at least at the levels that they did in the primary. It's a sheer numbers game. Progressives were split between Hahn, Bowen, and Winograd in the primary, but they know who the better candidate is between Hahn and Huey -and that's Janice Hahn.

The California League of Conservation Voters endorsed Hahn because of her dedication to protecting our natural resources and public health. She also has a bold plan for clean energy jobs to get California's economy back on track. Huey for his part called Hahn's proposal for green jobs "fantasy economics." Tell that to Silicon Valley.

Despite the enormous progress made by the Environmental Protection Agency in cleaning up our air and our water and protecting public health, Huey told reporters that “EPA policies are out of control and must be cut back and funding slashed.” He doesn't get it.

As always, turnout will ultimately decide this election, and CLCV is working hard to turnout our members in the district. If you live in Congressional District 36, be sure to go out and vote for Janice Hahn tomorrow. With your vote, Janice Hahn will be the next Congresswoman from CD 36 and continue to be a strong voice for the environment.

New CA-36 Poll Shows Race Tied Between Bowen and Hahn, Winograd at 6%

An internal poll released by the Bowen campaign shows the candidate tied with Councilwoman Janice Hahn in the CA-36 primary. Marcy Winograd – who received 41% of the vote against Jane Harman in the 2010 primary race – is only polling at 6%, putting her in 4th place behind Republican Mike Gin.

The Feldman Group conducted the poll among 451 registered likely voters in California Congressional District 36 from April 4-7, 2011. The sample consisted of 401 registered likely voters and an oversample of 50 DTS voters. The margin of error for a sample of 401 is ± 4.9%.


In an initial match-up between all of the declared candidates, Bowen and Hahn are tied at 20 percent each, with the closest candidate, Mike Gin, at 8 percent.  Marcy Winograd, another  Democrat in the race, receives only 6 percent support. Twenty-four percent of the electorate remains undecided.  Bowen dominates in the Beach Cities and Venice with a double digit lead  over both Hahn and Winograd, and leads in all geographic regions except the Harbor area..  

In a run-off matchup between Bowen and Hahn, Bowen (40 percent) pulls ahead of Hahn (36 percent) without any messaging.  Sixteen (16) percent are currently undecided.  While Hahn may have an advantage of name recognition in the district it is not translating into an advantage in votes, perhaps because her unfavorable rating is double that of Bowen.  

Democrats continue to hold an advantage in this district. Voters in the district are more  likely to prefer a Democrat (41 percent), and 29 percent say they would prefer a Republican with another 27 percent say that the candidates party doesn’t really matter. Bowen shows her strength over Hahn among Decline-to-State voters, receiving 47 percent of the vote.  

Bowen’s lead over Hahn grows even after voters are informed about key endorsers for  each candidate (including Feinstein, Lieu, Nakano, Firefighters and others for Hahn) and positive arguments being used by the respective campaigns.  

With a July 12th runoff virtually assured, a couple of points jump out at me. At 24% in the primary and %16 in the general election, the number of undecideds in this race will be a huge factor. Hahn has high name recognition, but she also has relatively high negatives – twice that of Bowen – and Hahn’s endorsements don’t seem to have had much effect on her polling.

Hahn’s campaign manager pushed back with an impressive bit of verbal gymnastics,


“We’re stunned that Bowen would release a poll that shows 80% of the voters she represented for 14 years rejecting her.” said campaign manager, Dave Jacobson.

Forgetting the fact Jacobson apparently can’t do math (24% of voters are undecided about anyone yet),  did he really mean to highlight Bowen has already represented most of CA-36 for 14 years, and that an equal number of Hahn’s current constituents have rejected the LA City Councilwoman?

Janice Hahn’s CA-36 Donors Include City Hall Lobbyists, Nuclear Industry, Rent Control Opponents

From the LA Times:


Bolstering their status as the presumed frontrunners in the crowded special election for a South Bay-based congressional seat, Democrats Janice Hahn and Debra Bowen have outdistanced their rivals in campaign contributions, reports filed with the Federal Election Commission showed Friday.

By the March 31 close of the reporting period, Hahn had raised $274,443 and spent $103,177, while Bowen had collected $195,224 and spent $102,227. Bowen, who is California’s secretary of state, and Hahn, a Los Angeles councilwoman, are vying to succeed former Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice) in a district drawn to favor Democrats, who hold a nearly 18-point registration edge.

But Republican Craig Huey, owner of an advertising firm, had more cash at his disposal than Bowen and came close to matching Hahn’s money by lending his own campaign $250,000, according to his FEC report. He spent $155,695 and reported raising $1,727 in contributions from others.

While fundraising numbers as a metric of potential success are unreliable (Meg Whitman anyone?) and are an incomplete and constantly moving target (Debra Bowen raised an additional 40K just outside the reporting period thanks to a drive sponsored by Howard Dean), they can still provide insight into a campaign’s strengths, weaknesses, priorities, and how influential power brokers perceive a candidate’s potential value.

One meme I hear in the press a lot is that the race between Hahn and Bowen boils down between Hahn’s “beer-track” blue-collar union support versus Bowen’s more affluent “wine-track” coastal support.

But if the latest fundraising figures are any indication, Hahn’s support is more like “LA City Hall/Veuve Clicquot-track”

Besides the union and PAC support that can be expected from her endorsement list, Hahn’s donors include high-powerd Los Angeles developers Eli Broad and Rick Caruso, who donated $2,500 a piece.

Edison International, which owns a 78.2% stake in the San Onofre nuclear power plant, donated a whopping 10K

The National Apartment Association PAC, an association which lobbies against rent control, donated $2,500. NAAPAC’s local affiliate, the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, seemed especially proud  of it’s fight against “socialized housing”


Rent control in Los Angeles surfaced following Armistice Day on November 11, 1918. One of the earliest successes of AAGLA was defeating this early rent control attempt. But rent control reappeared in World War II. Tenant activists and federal officials wanted to keep the wartime controls in effect, but our organization fought to end rent regulation and helped build the massive expansion of rental housing that occurred in the post war era.

An attempt at “socialized housing” occurred in the 1970s when Chavez Ravine was a political war zone over whether or not to build $110 million worth of low-income high-rise rentals of the type sprouting up across the nation. The result was a nationwide glut of instant slums.

As amusing as AAGL’s position on rent control might be, the “money” donation – literally and figuratively – comes from the high-powered LA City Hall lobbying firm of Ek & Ek, whose president and employees donated $8,000 to Hahn’s congressional campaign.

Ek & Ek is of special interest both because of their deep connections to Hahn and because of their involvement in last year’s controversial “food fight” over a highly lucrative LAX concessions contract.


It seemed an obvious idea: Bring in new concessionaires to improve the food and shopping at Los Angeles International Airport, giving a distinctive L.A. flair to a drab facility that receives often-dismal ratings from passengers.

Five months after the contract was supposed to be approved, however, another distinctive L.A. feature has taken over – the tangled politics of City Hall. Like past plans to modernize the airport, the effort to overhaul the concessions has slowed to a crawl……

For many of the restaurant and store owners who had hoped to move into the airport, the delay has been frustrating. “We are mostly small, locally run businesses, and it’s just impossible to plan because this thing is just in limbo,” said Richard Karno, owner of Groundwork Coffee Co., which is part of one winning bid package. “It seems like it’s coming down to who has the bigger, badder lobbyist.”…...

Karno’s Groundworks, along with a number of local LA eateries, had won a competitive bid to take over the $600 million contract, but were stymied after HMS Host, the existing concessionaire and losing bidder, appealed the award to the LA City Council.

HMS Host is a major client of lobbyist Ek & Ek.




The firm, Ek & Ek is based in San Pedro, where Hahn lives, and its principals are close friends of the councilwoman. Hahn raised $36,750 from Ek & Ek and its clients during her recent unsuccessful campaign for lieutenant governor. She has gone on vacation at least four times with the firm’s vice president, Esther Ek, traveling to such destinations as Hawaii and New Mexico……

From the LA Weekly:


The city of Los Angeles has fairly strict campaign-finance regulations. Lobbyists are banned from contributing to city campaigns, and contributions to council members are capped at $500.

But when Councilwoman Janice Hahn announced her candidacy for lieutenant governor last fall, a gaping loophole was created that Host and other bidders wasted little time walking through. Nothing barred the companies from contributing to her statewide campaign, even though she still sits on the City Council.

Hahn is well positioned to influence the case. She serves on the Board of Referred Powers, which is to hear Host’s protests this month. She also chairs the Trade, Commerce and Tourism Committee, also expected to review the contract before it goes to the full council.

Last fall, Hahn’s campaign for lieutenant governor received $6,500 – the legal maximum – from Host, along with $1,000 from Host’s minority-owned partner, Concessions Management Services.

Because there is no ban on lobbyist contributions to state campaigns, she could also take money from Host’s lobbyists. John and Esther Ek, of the San Pedro lobbying firm Ek & Ek, each contributed the maximum amount. The law firm Sheppard Mullin, which also represents Host, gave another $1,000.

Hahn also received money from other bidders and their lobbyists. In total, at least $40,000 of her contributions for lieutenant governor can be tied to LAX concessions businesses or their lobbyists.

From 2009-2010 Hahn amassed nearly $55,000 in donations from companies involved in the LAX concession fight, more than any other politician at City Hall. Despite receiving contributions from some of the interested parties, Hahn never recused herself from voting.

Last fall Hahn – along with a majority of the Board of Referred Powers – voted in favor of Ek & Ek’s client. They ordered that the winning LAX contract package, which included Venice’s Groundworks Coffee, be thrown out and rebid. Separately, the airport commission moved to consider contracts for terminals not considered in the original, controversial package.




In a related move, the airport commission on Monday was presented with a list of six concession companies that will likely submit proposals for the next round of retail and dining contracts spanning Terminals 1, 2, 3, 6 and the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

A call for proposals could go out within a month, airport officials said.

Interested companies include Los Angeles Caruso Affiliated, which is owned by developer Rick Caruso, who announced earlier this year that he is looking to expand his retail empire to airports across the country, including LAX. Caruso oversaw construction of The Grove outdoor shopping mall in Los Angels and the Americana at Brand in Glendale.

Yes, boys and girls, that Rick Caruso, the developer who just donated $2,500 to Hahn’s congressional campaign.

My own councilman, Bill Rosendahl, summed up the City Hall/lobbyist merry-go-round better than I ever could. Last summer, upset that a meeting to decided the fate of Groundwork’s LAX contract would be postponed yet again, he almost quit the board.

“I know one thing. This room is full of lobbyists, and they’re out there with lots of grins and smiles,” he said. “I’m nothing but frustrated by the backchannel crap that’s going on.”

(full disclosure, I have endorsed Debra Bowen for CA36 on my website: www.venice4change.com)

Eighteen Candidates Meet Filing Deadline for CA-36 Congressional Race

Eighteen candidates – Six Republicans, five Democrats, one Libertarian, one Peace and Freedom and five candidates without party preference – met the deadline to file nominating papers for the May 17 special primary election ballot to replace Congresswoman Jane Harman, who resigned last month.

The candidates who filed nominating papers include the following (candidate descriptions are from the filing papers):

DEMOCRATS

Daniel H. Adler. New media entrepreneur in Marina del Rey.

Debra Bowen. California Secretary of State.

Loraine Goodwin. Physician, teacher, arbitrator of Madera.

Janice Hahn. Los Angeles City Councilwoman.

Marcy Winograd. High school teacher and anti-war activist.

REPUBLICANS

Patrick “Kit” Bobko. Hermosa Beach City Councilman.

Stephen Eisele. Businessman and aerospace entrepreneur.

Mike Gin. Redondo Beach Mayor.

Craig Huey. Small business owner.

George Newberry. Real estate agent and retired military.

Mike Webb. Redondo Beach City Attorney.

LIBERTARIAN

Steve Collett. Certified public accountant.

PEACE and FREEDOM

Maria E. Montano. Public school teacher.

NO PARTY PREFERENCE

Matthew Roozee. Business executive, mathematician.

Michael T. Chamness. Non-profit consultant.

Katherine Pilot. Longshore office clerk.

Al Salehi. Entrepreneur.

James L. Thompson. Retired.

The list may change again if some of the candidates’ nominating papers can’t be verified.

The number of candidates pretty much guarantees no one candidate will succeed in winning the May 17th election outright. Under the new “top two” primary election rules, if no candidate receives 50%+1 of the votes, the top two voter-getters will advance to a July 12th election.  

Democracy For America Endorses Debra Bowen For Congress

Howard Dean’s Democracy For America, a PAC with over a million members nationwide, announced today they’re endorsing Debra Bowen for Congress.


We asked DFA members where they stood in the upcoming special election for Congress and the answer couldn’t have been more clear — DFA members overwhelmingly support Debra Bowen.

Thousands of DFA members in the district voted in our member poll and 70 percent of DFA members said that we should endorse Debra. So today, I am honored to announce our endorsement of Debra Bowen for Congress. join the campaign today — Volunteer to put Debra Bowen over the top in the May 17 special election.

You already know Debra Bowen. DFA members across California worked hard for a national endorsement when Debra ran for Secretary of State in 2006. Local DFA members said Debra was a strong progressive who would lead reform of California’s voting system from top to bottom. Her goal was to turn California into a world leader in voter integrity and protection.

We heard you loud and clear and together we worked to make sure Debra won. And you were right, Debra has been an outstanding Secretary of State and she’ll make an outstanding Congresswoman for California’s 36th District.

Join DFA members across the district in supporting Debra Bowen for Congress — Sign up to volunteer today.

Working together, we can put Debra over the top on Election Day and send a progressive leader to Congress.

In 2010, DFA endorsed Marcy Winograd in her bid against Jane Harman. This is the second independent progressive organization to make the switch. In February, Blue America announced they would be supporting Debra Bowen in the race instead of Winograd.

CA-36 Streaming Forum On Thursday Night

(We just wrapped the debate, but you can catch the archive at http://CourageCampaign.org/CA3… – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

CA 36 Congressional Forum

I helped organize this event with the Courage Campaign.

In case you hadn’t heard, there’s an election heating up in California’s 36 Congressional district, as Jane Harman has unexpectedly retired.  The “primary” election is coming up in mid-May, so this is something of a sprint now.

Well, now you have the chance to hear about the candidates straight from the horses’ mouths.  On Thursday evening, 6-7:30, the Courage Campaign is hosting a candidate forum (with a boost from yours truly) with four major candidates for the seat: Democratic Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Republican Redondo Beach Mayor Mike Gin, Democratic LA City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, and Democratic educator Marcy Winograd.

You can RSVP to get a reminder email, ask a question for the candidates, and then tune into the forum, right here: CourageCampaign.org/CA36Forum

You can also submit questions at #Courage36 on twitter and on the Facebook event page.  If you are interested in one of the most interesting races, well, check it out on Thursday night.

Winograd’s long fight against Nuclear Power Industry

MARCY WINOGRAD: FAR AHEAD OF BOTH HAHN AND BOWEN ON U.S. NUCLEAR POWER CONCERNS:



Since at least 2006, Marcy has vocally criticized the growing lobbying & influence of the nuclear power industry. She has been a visible and consistent advocate for tighter regulations & greater safety controls for existing nuclear reactors. Marcy has consistently stated up front in her congressional platforms — unlike Hahn and Bowen — her criticisms and her oppositions to the development of new nuclear power plants and the recent growth in U.S. government subsidies for nuclear power (see, e.g., http://www.opencongress.org/wi…

Marcy has always supported America’s shift to greater use of alternative energies beyond oil and nuclear — e.g., hybrid technologies, wind energy & solar power.

MARCY WINOGRAD VS. JANICE HAHN: Janice Hahn — a longtime friend of Big Oil / Big Energy — has never made taken a bold platform position against the Nuclear Power or Oil Refinery Industry. Instead, Hahn (a former Public Affairs Regional Manager for Southern California Edison & employee) has generally been a “Friend” of Edison, General Electric and other Nuclear Power Plant operators.

MARCY WINOGRAD AND HARVEY WASSERMAN: In 2006, I attended a comprehensive discussion that Marcy Winograd hosted for Harvey Wasserman (an American journalist, author, democracy activist, and well known anti-nuclear advocate for renewable energy). At that talk, both she and Mr. Wasserman extensively discussed Three-Mile Island, Chernobyl and the need to avoid in the U.S. precisely the types of scenarios now playing out in Japan. She was very clear about her calls for stronger regulations especially here in fault & quake marked Southern California.

Marcy Winograd is the sort of forward-thinking and non-Special Interest beholden politician we want and need. In contrast, Janice Hahn was a former public relations director for Southern California Edison (nuclear power contractor). She has received considerable financial support from Eidson and General Electric in the past.

The Nuclear Power Industry (Edison; General Electric, etc.) has bought politicians throughout the United States just like it did with similar politicians in Japan who are now suffering the consequences of their conflicts of interest. Marcy Winograd — far more than Janice Hahn or Debra Bowen — will stand up to those conflicts of interest and will fight for tighter regulations of nuclear power.

CD36 Election (May 17th): Why thousands are endorsing Marcy Winograd and fighting for her to win…

Please take the time to watch the following 4 minute video :

http://www.facebook.com/video/…  n

* MY ENDORSMENT OF MARCY’S CAMPAIGN (below) — PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD *

Website:  http://winogradforcongress.com…

Marcy Winograd’s Congressional recent campaign in 2010 was one about what sort of country and citizenry we want to be. I’ve known Marcy for many years. She absolutely — with no reservations — is a real leader and deserves this district’s voters’ votes and word-of-mouth support.  She is the one true progressive choice who will break with the status quo and who will immediately act to initiate positive, reform oriented change in Washington, D.C.  

Marcy Winograd has been an organized, genuine, hard working, committed and passionate activist in the Anti-War movement, the 2006-2008 Bush/Cheney impeachment movement (Kucinich’s HR 333), Health Care Reform movement and other progressive efforts to authentically restore the People’s voice to national government. Marcy received close to 38% of the vote in the 2006 primary and over 41% when she ran against Jane Harman in last summer’s June 8th primary.

She is not a machine or party sycophant who will humbly do what the party elders & attendant drones command. Marcy Winograd is a terrific individual and activist. She is a teacher & citizen who has inspired countless thousands over the last decade. She puts her time, money and — perhaps most importantly — her heart where her words are. Marcy is a thinker and a doer : an authentic voice the likes of which voters are hungry for in these cynical and hard economic times. Marcy is a real voice for for this district’s voters who is aligned with their economic & social interests and — importantly — with their deeper values and their concerns about the directions this country has taken over the last decade.

Vice-Chair Of The Congressional Progressive Caucus, Judy Chu, Endorses Debra Bowen For Congress

At a gathering of over a hundred grassroots supporters, campaign staff, and elected officials from throughout the CA-36 district, California Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-32) announced she was endorsing Debra Bowen for Congress.


I’m here today because we have a tremendous opportunity to elect Debra Bowen to the 36th congressional district. It’s truly exciting for me. I’ve known her for a long time. I’ve known her as a state assembly member, I’ve known her as a state senator, I’ve known her as Secretary of State. I’ve known her as extremely intelligent, always outspoken, a true leader, someone with integrity in every seat that she’s been in.

And that’s why I’m so proud to say I was was the very first Congressperson to endorse Debra Bowen for Congress.

You know with Debra Bowen in this seat, you will have someone who will stand up to Wall Street. You know that she understands our coastline is a national treasure and she will do as much as she can to defend it. You know that she understands the value of education, and that we have to concentrate like a laser to make sure we get jobs in this district.

And you know as Republicans attack a woman’s right to chose, Debra will be there to stand up for us.

The Bowen campaign released dozens of endorsements to the press yesterday. Besides Congresswoman Chu, State Assemblymembers Betsy Butler, Gil Cedillo, Wes Chesboro, State Senators Alan Lowenthal, Mark Leno, and Fran Pavley, Hermosa Beach Mayor Howard Fishman,  as well as former Assemblymember Sheila Kuehl and former City Council watchdog Laura Chick also endorsed Bowen.

The campaign also lists scores of “citizen endorsements” from ordinary voters in CA-36. Anyone interested in adding their name to that list can go to this link. 

Janice Hahn City Hall Allies Conduct Whisper Campaign, Claim Debra Bowen Against Marriage Equality

Oy. This is going to be a long election.

A couple of days ago rumors started circulating around the interwebs that CA36 Congressional candidate Debra Bowen was against marriage equality. Things came to a head on Monday when Chad Molnar, Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s LAX-Community Liaison  and one-time staffer to Congresswoman Jane Harman, posted this comment on Venice Patch.

Yesterday, Bowen’s campaign released a statement to correct the record.


Bowen’s campaign said Tuesday that information listed on Project Vote Smart’s 2002 National Political Awareness Test is incorrect. Campaign spokesman Steve Barkan said her record and actions put her firmly in the camp of those in favor of same-sex marriage.

As a state senator, Bowen twice vote in favor of same-sex marriage: in 2004 on Assembly Joint Resolution 85, which opposed the federal marriage amendment, and in 2005 on Assembly Bill 849, which would allow same-sex couples to marry in California.

Bowen has even officiated some same-sex marriages, including the wedding of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Zeke Zeidler and his husband Jay Kohorn, Barkan said.

Montana-based Project Vote Smart sends its National Political Awareness Test – now known as the Political Courage Test – to candidates in state legislative, congressional, gubernatorial and presidential races, asking for their views on a variety of issues, including hot-button topics such as abortion and gun control.

In 2002, Bowen was running for re-election for a state Senate seat and filled out the survey. She was elected as Secretary of State in 2006, after being term limited out of the state Senate.

Project Vote Smart national director Kristen Vicedomini said her organization sends the surveys to candidates, who fill them out and return them. In some instances a campaign worker or representative can fill out the survey, but the candidate herself must sign off on it. Three different Project Vote Smart employees check the information before putting it online.

Barkan said he doesn’t know how it came to be that Bowen’s 2002 survey said she was against gay marriage.

“It could’ve been an error on the part of her. She didn’t have a campaign staff in 2002. … More likely it was an error by a volunteer,” Barkan said. “What’s more important is her record.”

Gay rights organization Equality California, which has put out a legislative scorecard every year since 2004, has given Bowen consistently high marks for voting in favor of gay-friendly legislation as a state senator. In 2004 and 2005 she had a 100 percent rating, and in 2006 she scored 93 percent.

“She voted for the marriage bill in California and has been a strong and vocal supporter of marriage equality,” Equality California spokesman Vaishalee Raja wrote in an e-mail.

Vicedomini said Project Vote Smart allows candidates to update their answers if their positions have changed, but since Bowen’s survey is from 2002, “it’s a little bit past the window to update that.”

Bowen also responded directly to the concerns on a local listserve.


This issue is very personal to me – I have long told people that I am an automatic aye on any civil rights issue, and if voters don’t like that, they will have to find another rep. I have no room for compromise on this issue. I’ve talked to new members about finding their own such bottom line issues. This is one of my key no-room-for-negotiation bottom lines.

Apparently, none of this satisfied Mr. Molnar, who posted this comment on Venice Patch in response to the story.

Chad Molnar’s boss, Councilman Bill Rosendahl, was one of Janice Hahn’s first endorsements. According to Rosendahl’s city website, Molnar is:


experienced in understanding and addressing constituent concerns with large transportation hubs, having previously served as Congresswoman Jane Harman’s District Director and top advisor on issues surrounding the Port of Los Angeles.  He is a political veteran, having managed several campaigns for Congress and the state legislature.

His biography would suggest he’s worked closely with Janice Hahn, a council ally with Rosendahl’s office on many controversial LAX issues. And, of course, Hahn’s council district includes the Port of Los Angeles.

Campaign records show Molnar donated $250 to Hahn’s campaign in 2008.

Responding to inquiries at his office if he was the same Chad Molner who posted on Venice Patch, Molner had this to say.


Whatever happened to the first amendment, Marta?  I respect your right to express yourself, and you should respect mine.

In 2002, Debra said she believed marriage should be between a man and a woman.  That’s all I’ve said.  And that’s all I will say.

I am gay, and I am proud.  And I won’t let you bully me into silence.

Bill Rosendahl has declined comment for this story.

UPDATE

Chad Molner responded on Venice For Change, where this story was cross-posted:

Thank you for the opportunity to correct the record. It’s true that I expressed outrage over Bowen’s own statement in 2002 that marriage should be between a man and a woman, but that information did not come from me. It was sent in an email blast last Friday to the West L.A. Dem Club, and not by anyone even remotely associated with me, Bill Rosendahl, or Janice Hahn’s campaign. I would hope that you would understand why I would express outrage over it. It is a very personal matter for me.

UPDATE #2

I contacted Cory Allen, the president of the Long Beach Lambda Democratic Club that Chad Molnar referenced in his original comment to Venice Patch. Mr Allen confirmed that Bowen wasn’t present for the endorsement meeting, but disputed the characterization that Bowen “snubbed” Lambda.

Allen said officers from the club had attempted to contact Bowen through Facebook and the candidate’s website, but was not able to get a hold of her in time for the meeting.

Although Long Beach Lambda ultimately endorsed Janice Hahn, Allen believes Debra Bowen is a strong supporter of equal rights.

“It’s clear she’s an ally for our community.”