Before we get into the next round of endorsements, we have a few comments in here about how we envision this working. The endorsements are the opinion of the board, not the community as a whole – we would hope they generate a good discussion about the various candidates in every district.
Furthermore, these are primary endorsements, so somebody is not going to be happy about them. We apologize for that, but if you don't like our opinions, you should let us know that. Write a comment here. Post a diary about the candidate of your choice. Let the community know why you think your preferred candidate is the best choice in the Democratic Primary. Unlike newspapers, this is a two-way medium. We not only accept comments on these endorsements, we encourage it. So, feel free to tell us how wrong we really are.
And with that said, here are the State Senate Endorsements. Explanations over the flip.
SD-03: Mark Leno
SD-05: Lois Wolk (UPDATED)
SD-09: Loni Hancock & Wilma Chan
SD-12: Simon Salinas / Yes on Recall
SD-15: Dennis Morris
SD-19: Hannah-Beth Jackson
SD-23: Lloyd Levine and Fran Pavley
SD-25: No Endorsement
SD-33: Gary Pritchard
SD-03: Mark Leno
Brian Leubitz works for the Mark Leno campaign, but his vote was not counted.
Mark Leno has been a friend of the netroots from Day One. While his net neutrality bill ultimately died a swift death, on cannot underestimate his willingness to fight for sometimes unpopular issues. That is not to say that Leno himself is not popular around the Capitol. He has managed to maintain a presence of collegiality in the Assembly, and it will be valuable in the Senate.
Joe Nation is a good guy, but he's just too moderate for this district. While we might be willing to support him for, say, McClintock's old seat, SD-03 is not the seat for him. Carole Migden's blatant disregard for campaign finance rules is troubling, despite her record of fighting for progressive causes. Mark Leno will be the best representative for the district in the Senate.
UPDATE: SD-05: Lois Wolk
We missed this seat in our original endorsment list, but thhis will be one of the big battle grounds come November, despite a strong Democratic registartion advantage. In 2004, Mike Machado won re-election by oly 1.4%. Asm. Lois Wolk of Davis will be trying to keep this seat blue. Here challenger in the primary, C. Jennet Stebbens, while a leader in the African-American agriculture community, does not appear to have the resources to wage what will be a tough campaign against presumptive Republican nominee Asm. Greg Aghzarian. Wolk's been a fine legislator in the 8th Assembly District, and would make the 5th SD proud in the Senate.
SD-09: Loni Hancock & Wilma Chan
The district should be proud that they have two strong candidates like this form which to choose. Hancock's work for clean money has been exceptional. Wilma Chan was a wonderful advocate for children and education while she was in the Assembly, and would continue her fine record in the Senate. The IEs have been somewhat annoying in this seat, but progressives win either way.
SD-12: Yes on the Recall/ Simon Salinas
While outgoing Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata has “dropped” the recall bid against Jeff Denham, Simon Salinas isn't planning on dropping the campaign. This district should be a Democratic seat, and Simon Salinas, while not a perfect progressive, would be a far better representative for this district than Republican Jeff Denham.
SD-15: Dennis Morris
This is a marginal district without a Democratic candidate. Dennis Morris agreed to step up and try to get on the ballot. He's a non-politician, an intellectual property lawyer to be exact. We hope he can get on the November ballot and give Maldanado at least a reason to spend some money in his own district.
SD-19: Hannah-Beth Jackson
Hannah-Beth Jackson has no primary challenge, as Jim Dantona dropped out a few months ago. However, Hannah-Beth has long been a friend of the netroots through SpeakOut California. She will be a champion of education and environmental issues, and there is no doubt that she will be a better Senator than termed-out Tom McClintock or her own likely opponent, Tony Strickland.
SD-23: Dual Endorsement of Lloyd Levine & Fran Pavley
We liked both Asm. Levine and former Asm. Pavley's appearances on the Calitics Show a few weeks back. Both are strong leaders on the environment and education. Levine seemed to understand the long-term issues of the budget a little better, and Pavley's resume of work on the environment was a bit longer. We do wish that the IEs would cut it out with the lame mailers though. Whomever wins, the district wins.
SD-25: No endorsement
Asm. Mervyn Dymally and former Asm. Rod Wright are running for the seat of termed-out Ed Vincent. Dymally, who has a tremendous history of leadership in this state, had some problems with handing out badges and could be better on a wealth of issues. Wright is a moderate Democrat courting business interests. We couldn't bring ourselves to endorse either.
SD-33: Gary Pritchard
This is the district of the termed-out Dick Ackerman. Mr. Pritchard does not have a primary opponent, but he will be a heavy underdog to whichever far-right Republican that emerges from the battle of Harry Sidhu and Mimi Walters. We wholeheartedly support Pritchard's run. We certainly can't defeat the Republicans if nobody is running against them.