This is our first attempt at endorsements on a broad scale in the legislature.  It is not comprehensive, we simply don’t have the resources to get to every seat. But, we tried to get to most of the competitive seats.  We’ll provide a bit of commentary on some of these over the flip. State Senate races tomorrow, and Congressional races on Wednesday. But, today, Assembly races:

AD-08: Mariko Yamada

AD-10: Alyson Huber

AD-15: Joan Buchanan

AD-27: Emily Reilly

AD-37: Ferial Masry

AD-40: Laurette Healey

AD-78: Any Democratic candidate other than Auday Arabo.

AD-80: Manuel Perez

UPDATE: AD-14: Kriss Worthington

AD-08: Mariko Yamada

Chris Cabaldon has run a textbook 20th Century campaign. He has a good resume and the institutional support.  Yamada has a solid resume of her own but can also claim the support of much of the grassroots.  She is also a tireless advocate of single payer healthcare. We support Yamada as the more progressive candidate.

AD-10: Alyson Huber

We have respected Ms. Huber for a while, and she continued to impress on the Calitics podcast. AD-10 is a district that is rapidly blue-ing, so we have a shot in this open seat.

UPDATE: AD-14: Kriss Worthington

We missed this one originally, and for that we apologize. Kriss Worthington is definitely deserving of the endorsement of a progressive blog like this one.  While frontrunners Nancy Skinner and Tony Thurmond would likely be excellent Assembly members, Worthington stands out for his prolific work for the progressive movement in the East Bay. He has signaled his intent to be the far-left conscience of the Assembly, and we need one of those.

AD-15: Joan Buchanan

AD-15 is an always competitive seat that shares much of its district with Jerry McNerney’s congressional district.  Ms. Buchanan would be a very competent Assembly member.

AD-27: Emily Reilly

This is a solid progressive district, and the candidates are all pretty good. Nonetheless, we like the way Reilly has reached out to the grassroots and netroots over the past few months. As a current Santa Cruz city council member and former city mayor Reilly also brings valuable government experience, especially with balancing budgets and finding new revenues, that are desperately needed right now in Sacramento. Her intellect, creativity, and support for budget reform and single payer mean she would be an excellent Assembly member.

AD-37: Ferial Masry

AD-37 is a tough district, but Sharon Runner Audra Strickland is a particularly odious Republican who stands in the way of real progressive change.  We wholeheartedly support Masry’s candidacy.

AD-40: Laurette Healey

AD-40 is the seat of Lloyd Levine, who is now termed out.  The campaigning has been long and tiresome between the two candidates favored by the institutional players, Bob Blumenfeld and Stuart Waldman. Both have experience in the legislative bodies as aides, but we find the progressive choice is Laurette Healey.

AD-78: Any Democratic candidate other than Auday Arabo

We won’t be sorry to see Shirley Horton go, and aside from former Bilbray staffer-turned-Democrat Auday Arabo, we’d definitely prefer any of the Democrats in this race over Republican nominee John McCann. But Marty Block, Arlie Ricasa and Maxine Sherard have all run similar campaigns centered on similar issues that have failed to differentiate. We are confident in any of them, but can’t separate one from the rest.

AD-80: Manuel Perez

This race has become a smidge more personal in the last few weeks, and we’d prefer to see it become more substantive.  We like both Manuel Perez and Greg Pettis, the leading candidates. Pettis, an LGBT leader on the Cathedral City Council, would be a solid vote in the  Assembly for Democrats. Perez, on the other hand, holds more potential, and a bit of our concern was eased when he publicly announced his support for gender-neutral marriage licenses. Not only is he a part of a growing demographic that could produce a new progressive majority, he also understands the need for more than transactional changes. In the end, the Calitics Editorial Board chose to support Manuel Perez.

I live for Al Rodger’s excellent photo diaries at dKos, so here’s a tribute to that great man- the photo diary about Manuel Perez.

In this diverse and challenging district, Manuel Perez is the only Latino Democratic candidate to support gay rights and gay marriage, the only Democrat in the race fluent in both English and Spanish, the only teacher, the only promontore, and the one with the full backing of the healthcare, education, and labor unions.  But there are four candidates, three weeks to go, and nothing is guaranteed. ActBlue action here.

Some links:

Politics Begins at Home

dday’s A Movement Rises in the Desert (AD-80)

Manuel Perez LIVE at school (Where else?)

People Powered Assembly Candidate

Gloria Romero & Dolores Huerta Endorse Perez

Harvard to Honor Alum Manuel Perez

Some pics:

Democratic Candidates’ Stands on Marriage Equality

Aspectes Xposted at 5/18/2008 10:50 AM PDT on MyDesert.com in BluePalmSpringsBoyz Blog

Greg Pettis, Cathedral City Councilmember and former Mayor Pro-Tem of Cathedral City has consistently supported Marriage Equality and has stated publically and unequivocally at Democratic Candidates’ forums that he would vote for Marriage Equality if elected to the California State Assembly

Rick Gonzales, Community Development organizer with Wells Fargo, has stated publically and unequivocally at Democratic Club Candidates’ forums that if elected to the California State Assembly he would vote against Marriage Equality

Richard Gutierrez, dentist, has stated publically and unequivocally at Democratic Club Candidates’ forums that if elected to the California State Assembly, he would vote against Marriage Equality

Victor Manuel Perez, now former-Vice-President of the Coachella Valley Unified School District, has equivocated in public on Marriage Equality.  At Democratic Club Candidates’ forums, Perez avoided taking a position for or against Marriage Equality and has not indicated in public how he might vote as a member of the California State Assembly.

Perez states publically that he favors equal treatment for the LGBT community, but at each Democratic Candidates’ forum, when questioned, Perez equivocated, failing to answer how he would vote on Marriage Equality if elected to the State Assembly.  Favoring equal treatment and non-discrimination is not the same as stating a voting position.

The people of Coachella and Imperial Valleys need to know where Perez stands prior to the June primary, not after the November election.  It would behoove the Perez campaign and benefit the people of the 80th AD for his positions on LGBT issues and related position papers to be posted on his website.  One can only imagine why his spokepersons hold that Perez supports Marriage Equality when the candidate has not spoken to a possible vote.

The LGBT community cannot afford another Bonnie Garcia-type politician in the State Assembly who opposes equal rights for the LGBT community and who votes against the best interests of a major constituency.

The IEs are here at last, like Santa in the summer.  Running a grassroots campaign with a base of working people, some of whom live in the poorest parts of California, means the campaign’s funds are always tight.  The majority of the staff work for little or nothing.  But oh, how sweet it is when the unions start to do their thing.  Our website has an excellent photo gallery.  Behold, I receive in the mail my candidate teaching my kids.

The latest endorsements are United Auto Workers Region 5, the California Faculty Association, the San Diego/Imperial County Labor Council, and the Border Patrol.  Education, healthcare, labor, UAW, and now law enforcement. Nice.  

Crossposted at dKos



I’ve received four positive Perez mailers from Opportunity PAC, “a coalition of Educators, Health Care Givers, Faculty Members and Other School Employees,” and two negative ones on Pettis.  It can’t be any fun for a Democrat to find Opportunity PAC mailing oppo lit on him, but it’s odd to have a Democrat denounce unions as “Sacramento special interest groups” as the Pettis campaign’s latest email blast did.  Things do heat up in the final stretch.

Manuel’s schedule is insane, as this district stretches from east of Palm Springs to Arizona, from Desert Hot Springs to the border of Mexico.  Last Thursday he was in a candidate’s forum hosted by the Palm Springs Hospitality Association, and had the opportunity to address gay marriage (he’s for it), our education crisis, and his initiatives with vocational training – a boon both for local business and students.  He’s been walking precincts in every corner, including his main rival’s:

From (California’s) Capitol Morning Report, May 15th:

Manuel Perez for AD 80 campaign — About 20% of our walkers last Saturday canvassed Cathedral City, a presumed stronghold of Greg Pettis’, and it was simply amazing the amount of support out there for Manuel Perez. Dale Wissman was one of the volunteers and he walked a middle-class, mixed neighborhood of Latino, Anglo, and gay households. All the households were either openly in support of Perez before Dale knocked on their door, or were leaning Perez’s direction before they answered the door.  ….

Today at the Democrats of the Desert meeting, our speaker was Carissa Carrera of the Coachella Valley Teachers Association.  She noted the CVTA’s endorsement of Manuel Perez, “a good person” as well as a strong leader in education.  Here’s something we all found shocking:  Sacramento looks at the test scores of third graders when sizing up the prison budget needs for the future.  California would be the 8th largest country, were we a country, and we rank near the bottom of the nation in school funding.  We spend 7K per pupil, and 25-30K per prisoner.  

I am looking forward to a 2/3 majority with Manuel Perez in our Assembly.   Manuel, with others, secured $250 million for new school construction in Coachella.  This is what we need now.

Manuel Perez is bringing a socially conservative, economically progressive county back to the Democrats.  Imperial County is one of the poorest in California.  It’s part of the California 80th  Assembly District, which reaches from Palm Springs to Mexico and Arizona.  dday gives the best brief of it here.   It’s not on the radar of some of the wealthy liberals in the west of the district, which is one of the reasons why we’ve lost this race to Bonnie Garcia over and over.  Imperial County has been voting against registration and handing victory to the Republicans, but it’s looking up in 2008.  Voters in Riverside and Imperial Counties have a winning progressive this year.

Manuel Perez was raised in both Coachella and Calexico, he does not dismiss the voters in Imperial County.  

“Manuel Perez has demonstrated the integrity, honesty and due diligence to bring forth the true representation of Assembly District 80.” — Victor Carillo, Supervisor District #1

  “I’m supporting Manuel Perez for State Assembly because he is the most qualified candidate and he is well versed in the Imperial and Coachella Valley.  I am confident that Manuel will keep the interests of the Imperial Valley at heart in the California State Assembly.” — Tony Tirado, Imperial County Democratic Central Committee Chair.

His healthcare priorities come from his binational research on the health of women farm workers, and his work with Borrego Community Health Foundation.  

The California Medical Association PAC and SEIU healthcare workers and nurses recently endorsed Perez, touting his healthcare advocacy and efforts to provide healthcare for all the residents in the 80th Assembly District.

Manuel Perez also earned the endorsement of the California Nurses Association.

“Manuel Perez is on the front line of the healthcare crisis, making sure kids see pediatricians and seniors receive needed medicine,” said Zenei Cortez, RN President California Nurses Association.  “He’ll provide fresh ideas and needed leadership in solving the state’s healthcare challenges.”

His education priorities come from his Schools not Jails experience and his budget battles on behalf of the students of the Coachella Valley Unified School District.  

The New River, and its toxic threat to the health of local residents, informs his environmentalism.   A grassroots organizer is running for state office, as a citizen, a teacher, a healthcare provider, and advocate for social justice.  The only Democrat in the race who speaks Spanish, the only Harvard graduate in the race who also knows poverty firsthand.  

Our most critical unions, key legislators, and advocates like Alice Huffman of the NAACP and Dolores Huerta, co-founder of UFW support Manuel Perez, which means he’ll actually get to take that information to the state legislature and get things done.  But it’s also going to take grassroots support of the currency persuasion.

On to the 2/3 majority.  Act Blue page for Manuel Perez -for California Assembly.  

Crossposted at dKos

Not only California Teachers Association, but the CSEA supports the CA 80th AD’s People Powered candidate:

The California School Employees Association has endorsed Democratic candidate Manuel Perez for 80th Assembly District, the campaign said today.

Perez, who is a Coachella School Board trustee, is vying to replace Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City. Garcia cannot run again because of term limits.



“Manuel Perez is clearly an education leader,” Ellen Soto, CSEA chapter president at Coachella Valley Unified School District, said in a press release.



“Manuel is rolling up his sleeves and working hard every day to improve schools and create educational opportunities for our kids. Manuel’s leadership has brought $250 million to the Coachella Valley to build new schools and modernize classrooms.”

Here is his ActBlue page, mijos.

This race is getting more interesting every day, with PolitickerCA.com starting to pay attention.  What Finnigan missed in his preliminary article is that Perez’s support isn’t dependent on his facility in Spanish, but his stellar grassroots work in the district.  

The 80th Assembly District in California is one of the best pickup opportunities this year, and we have just the transformational candidate to make it happen. Manuel Pérez is a hands-on, no bs, Harvard-educated community organizer from the heart of the Coachella Valley, a direct, unapologetic progressive with experience in building a just and healthy society.  He won’t promise loyalty in Sacramento in exchange for support, he’s getting his mojo the time-honored way:  walking precincts, meeting with more union review committees, and he just participated in a podcast on Calitics.  

I’ve been posting on this race since last May, and have yet to compile the best quotes nor list the endorsers adequately.  Let’s kick it off with the  California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO:

Art Pulaski, Executive Secretary of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO:

Manuel Perez knows first hand the struggles of working families and will be a champion of healthcare, education and creating new jobs in the State Assembly.

What Folks Are Saying About Manuel Perez, Democrat for the 80th Assembly District:

(Update, CA Federation of Teachers’ just chimed in)

Marty Hittelman, President of the California Federation of Teachers:

Manuel Perez is a real education champion – he’s a former classroom teacher, earned a Masters in Education from Harvard University and serves as a school board member helping struggling schools to succeed. Manuel fights every day to give kids the educational tools they  need to succeed in life and in the workplace.

Steve Clute, Former California State Assemblyman:

(Perez) has the heart – corazón – and passion to truly represent the people.

Fred W. Lowe, Business Manager/Secretary Treasurer for Laborers’ Local 777:

He is a strong and clear voice for the communities he serves, and is willing to fight for fundamental rights; fair pay; fair treatment and justice; protections and security for our families; access to health care; better education and better working conditions for the residents of the 80th Assembly District.

Harvard Graduate School of Education, announcing Manuel Perez as a recipient of the HGSE Alumni of Color Achievement Award:  

Mr. Perez is being recognized for his work, which addresses issues of race and education in ways that offer new frames of thought and practice, and evidences a commitment to promote meaningful strategies to affect change and to improve educational opportunities for people of color.

David Dayen, blogger at Calitics, Hullaballoo, and The Right’s Field:

This is someone who hasn’t waited around for higher office to make a difference in his community; he’s rolled up his sleeves and dived in.  As a director for the Borrego Community Health Foundation, he’s created one of the first diabetes resource centers in the desert region and has delivered health services to underserved regions.  As a researcher for the California Institute for Rural Studies, he put together a groundbreaking study on women’s reproductive health issues in Imperial County, where women have little opportunities and resources to manage their own health.  With Promotores, he’s part of a group of community-based leaders devoted to teaching  about health issues and making sure people in the community get the facts about programs at their disposal.  As a schoolteacher he started his school’s first ever Chicano Studies program designed to allow students to learn history from their perspective.  With the Eastern Coachella Valley Social Change Collaborative, he identified farm workers living in the area and trained them to be community leaders themselves.  Believe it or not, he’s only 34.

…

Manuel Pérez is not only a perfect fit for this district, providing an opportunity to retake this seat and get us closer to 2/3.  He represents a new generation of Hispanic-Americans who are dedicated to working for change from the bottom up.  He would bring to Sacramento a unique set of skills, as someone who can build coalitions and train a group of leaders far into the future.  There are primary candidates on the Democratic side for this seat who appear to be very nice.  I don’t think anyone combines the résumé and the hope for the future more than Manuel Pérez.

Joe Murillo, President,  Coachella Valley Unified School District Board:

(Perez) likes to see improvement. He is not a man for the status quo.

Partial List of Endorsers:



California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO

United Domestic Workers

California Teachers Association

SEIU State Council

Laborers (LIUNA)

California Nurses Association

AFSCME

California Medical Association

Former Congressman Esteban Torres, 34th Congressional District, California

Congressman John Conyers Jr. 14th Congressional District, Michigan

Congressman Raul Grijalva, 7th Congressional District, Arizona

State Senator Gloria Romero

Joe Coto, Assemblyman and Latino Caucus Chair

Steve Clute, Former Assemblyman and 80th AD Candidate, 2006

Tony Cardenas, Former Assemblyman, current Councilman City of Los Angeles

Paul M. Rasso, Candidate, 64th Assembly District

Victor Carrillo, Supervisor, Imperial County Board of Supervisors

Ray Castillo, Former Mayor, El Centro

Joel Perez, Former School Board Trustee, El Centro Elementary School District

George Nava, Council Member, City of Brawley

Chuck Valenzuela, Former Mayor and Treasurer, Brawley

Joe Murillo, President, Coachella Valley Unified School Board

Eduardo Garcia, Mayor, City of Coachella

Steve Hernandez, Council member, City of Coachella

Tim Brown, City Manager, City of Coachella

Steve Brown, Assistant City Manager, City of Coachella

Carlos Campos, Attorney, City of Coachella

Jackie Lopez, Executive Director, City of Coachella Chamber of Commerce

Carlos Ortega, City Manager, City of Palm Desert

Mike Wilson, Councilmember, City of Indio

Maria Machuca, Former Chair, Mecca Community Council

Sal Alejo, Member, Mecca Community Council

Jennifer Baker, President, California Latino School Board Association

Alice A. Huffman, President, California State Conf. of the NAACP

Fred Lowe, Union Rep., LIUNA, Laborer’s Local 777

Jose Mejia, Director, Laborer’s International Union of North America

Antonio Tirado, Chairman of the Imperial County Democratic Central Committee

Michael Rosenfeld, Former President, CVTA

Richard Razo, Union Rep, CVTA

Bonifacio Hernandez, Union Rep, CVTA

Dale Wissman, Union Rep, CSEA

Don MacCready, CSEA

Joe Mota, Former Director, UFW

Juan Carlos Sanchez, DSCC Delegate & Community Organizer

Beth Caskie,  local Democratic activist / DSCC Delegate for the 80th AD

Ruben Gonzalez, President, Coachella Valley Voters League

Inez Cardoza Freeman, Volunteer of the Year, Democrats of the Desert

Amalia DeAztlan, Delegate, National Democratic Committee

Jose Carmona, Principal, Verde Group, Sacramento, CA

Rafael Aguilera, Principal, Verde Group, Sacramento, CA

Orson Aguilar, Associate Director, Greenlining Institute, Berkeley, CA

Hector Preciado, Health Policy Director, Greenlining Institute, Berkeley, CA.

Eric Reyes, Executive Director, Institute for Social and Economic Justice, Brawley

Jesse G. Enriquez, President, Hidalgo Society, Brawley

Lupe Quintero, CRLA Lawyer, Imperial

Jesus Perez, Former Candidate for Superintendent of Public Schools, Imperial County

Arturo Encinas, President, MAPA, Calexico

Bill Hodge, Union Rep, Calexico

Beatriz O. Zayas, Mana member at-large, Calexico

Danny Santillan, Grassroots Organizer, Calexico

Morris Reisin, President, Chamber of Commerce, Calexico

Ruben Gonzales, Former President, Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo, El Centro

Rodolfo Pinon, Grassroots Organizer, Blythe

Dan Figueroa, Grassroots Organizer, Blythe

Mike Figueroa, Grassroots Organizer, Blythe

Alfredo Figueroa, Grassroots Organizer, Blythe

Rosalio Plata, Businessman, Cathedral City

Fred Deharo, Former President, Coachella Valley Rotary, La Quinta

Maria Deharo, Director RCOE Migrant Education Program, La Quinta

Gilberto Salcedo, CEO Que Crees Magazine, La Quinta

Greg Cervantes, Tribal Issues Consultant, La Quinta

Martin Martinez, CVMACC Co-Founder & Community Activist, Indio

Nadia Villagran, Coachella Valley Housing Coalition, Indio

Mike Walsh, Coachella Valley Housing Coalition, Indio

Roger Larranaga, Azteca America, Indio

Claudia Castorena, Co-Founder Martha’s Kitchen, Indio

Gloria Gomez, Co-Founder Martha’s Kitchen, Indio

Carlos Gonzalez, Grassroots Organizer, Indio

David Skinner, Educator, Indio

Chris Cuahape, Grassroots Organizer, Indio

Tony Rubio, Grassroots Organizer, Indio

Edgar Zendejas, Grassroots Organizer, Coachella

Lee Espinoza, Executive Director, Coachella Boxing Club, Coachella

Sal Velasquez, Community Activist, Coachella

Mirna Flores, Executive Director, CET, Coachella

Maria Arcos, Executive Director, Senior Center, Coachella

Elvira Murillo, Executive Director, Vocation and Rehabilitation, Coachella

Abby Figueroa, Community Activist, Coachella

Juanita Godwin, Executive Director, Boys and Girls Club, Coachella

Emmanuel Martinez, Grassroots Organizer, Coachella

Jose Luis Huerta, Grassroots Organizer, Oasis

Anna Lisa Vargas, Grassroots Organizer, Thermal

Gina Chapa, Grassroots Organizer, Thermal

Roberto Palomino, Director, El Informador Newspaper, Indio

Leopoldo Trevino Sr. CEO, El Independiente Newspaper, Indio

Joe Beaver, Community Activist, Palm Springs

Freddy Nuñez, Grassroots Organizer, El Centro

Ron Amidon, Candidate for School Board, Calipatria

Dr. Gustavo Galindo, Professor & Grassroots Organizer, Calipatria

Antonio Ramos, Retired Probation and Grassroots Organizer, El Centro

Juan Arvizu, Probation Officer, Heber

Pete Salgado, Probation Officer, El Centro

Joe Arambula, Probation Officer, El Centro

Guillermo Niebla, Retired Probation Officer, El Centro

Alex Vasquez, Grassroots Organizer, Calexico

Jerry Grijalva, Grassroots Organizer, Calexico

Gilbert Grijalva, Grassroots Organizer, Calexico

Arturo Rioseco, Grassroots Organizer, Calexico

Margarita DeNecochea, Community Volunteer, Calexico

Guillermo Niebla, Community Activist, Calexico

Johnny Romo, Community Activist, Calexico

Last but not least, there’s a Binder poll out on the race, and it puts Manuel Perez as the strongest Democrat against the Republican opponent, beating him in the general.  May we see that come true this November.

On April 7th Dale Wissman blogged “AD-80: Party needs to focus on unifying, not early endorsements” on The Bayne of Blog’s California Notes and a copy was posted on MyDesert.com.

Sandra Stone, President of Democratic Women of the Desert, reviewed Mr. Wissman’s blog and found it filled with inaccuracies, misunderstandings and decried the apparent inexperience that produced such uninformed content. She has written a response that clarifies the process and corrects errors in Dale Wissman’s blog.

Shirley Walton, chair of the Riverside County Democratic Central Committee also reviewed Mr. Wissman’s blog and briefly wrote of her complete agreement with the response provided by Sandra Stone.

I’ve been asked to post both responses on each of the websites where the original or copies of Dale Wissman’s now exist.

To: Dale Wissman

Your commentary “AD-80: Party needs to focus on unifying, not early endorsements”contains many inaccuracies regarding the role of Democratic clubs, the endorsement and pre-endorsement process, and what is happening in the AD 80. Further, you couch your disruptive behavior at the convention in San Jose as being in the interests of democracy and fairness. Hogwash. You acted out of ignorance of the process and now you want to be admired for your adherence to your own unique sense of fair play.

You claim to have been “first-timers” and your inexperience may be what led to your misunderstanding of the process. Nevertheless, before you inaccurately decry the process you should have checked on your interpretation of the facts for accuracy. While many of the Democratic clubs in the Valley have members in common, the number of delegates allocated to each club for the pre-endorsement conference was adjusted for these overlaps. There was no “double or even triple credit” for the duplicates as you allege. This is something you could have found out with just a little work on your part. Yet, you assume this is what took place and label it “unfair”. I would say that you are the one who is being unfair here. You never mentioned that to get the endorsement at that conference, the candidates had to secure 70% of the vote – a pretty high hurdle if you ask me.

You bemoan the lack of Democratic clubs in the Imperial Valley and claim that “Democrats in the Coachella Valley have ignored Imperial County in past AD 80 races ….” You appear to be saying that the Democrats in the Riverside County Democratic Clubs are responsible for developing clubs in Imperial Valley. Right now, there is an explosion of Democratic Clubs in the east end of the valley – including in La Quinta and Indio. There is no reason why clubs cannot be developed in Imperial County, but, frankly, you and your fellow Democrats in the Imperial Valley must take responsibility for your own lack of organization and “disenfranchisement” as you put it. Now is the time for you to get busy on developing your organizations rather than wasting your time on parliamentary procedures that do nothing to further Democratic objectives either short- or long-term.

You say that most of the 11 delegates who operated with you were also first timers. That may explain why you cannot comprehend why an endorsement prior to the primary makes sense. The voters at the pre-endorsement conference were the party activists – the ones who do the phone banking, walk the precincts, have the fundraisers, raise the funds and generally support the Democratic candidates. Those voters attended several candidate forums to see the candidates for themselves and make their own judgments about who could best serve the 80th AD. Over 70% voted for Greg Pettis. Yet, you and ten of your friends decided you didn’t like that outcome. By the way, how many candidate debates or forums did you attend?

Now that you have thrown a wedge into the election for the 80th AD, you say “it would behoove Coachella Valley Democratic Party activist [sic] and leaders to focus on unifying the Democratic and independent voters in all areas ….” Exactly what are you going to do to further this objective?

Sandra Stone, President

Democratic Women of the Desert

=========================================================

As chair of the Riverside County Democratic Central Committee (RCDCC) I want to first thank Sandra Stone and second, fully agree with her statement.

I have always found that uninformed statements like that of Mr. Wissman need to be corrected, and if he would take the time to help organize Imperial County and charter clubs, they would not only understand the process but help in the Democratic efforts to elect more Democrats.

Shirley Walton

RCDCC Chair

===================================================================

The following is a copy of the original blog by Dale Wissman.

AD-80: Party needs to focus on unifying, not early endorsements

Posted on April 7, 2008

By Dale Wissman

As first time delegates at the recent California Democratic Convention in San Jose, my wife Linda and I were two of the eleven delegates who banded together to ensure that the Party made no endorsement in the 80th Assembly primary race. There were some very good reasons why eleven scrappy delegates, the majority of whom were first timers, found it necessary to stand together (no matter which candidate they supported) to ensure that the Party made no endorsement in the AD80 race. Those reasons had everything to do with good old-fashioned democracy and fairness.

To understand the brouhaha, it helps to compare it to the current Democratic presidential race. Imagine the mess if the Democratic Party attempted to endorse Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama as the Party’s presidential candidate BEFORE any voters had a chance to cast primary ballots in their state. Do you think some people would see it as unfair if Barack was endorsed over Hillary (or vice-versa) without a primary vote? You bet. Do you think it would create conflict? Absolutely. Yet, that is exactly the scenario that played out in San Jose at the state Democratic Party Convention in the 80th Assembly. Under those circumstances, it’s easy to see why recent events in San Jose elicited such strong reactions from both the sides of the endorsement/no endorsement issue.

Here are some details. The Democratic Party’s endorsement of a candidate in the 80th for the primary election in June is, to say the least, complicated. First, a pre-endorsement conference is held where the vast majority of the 70 or so delegate votes come from Democratic clubs. Each club receives one delegate vote for every 20 members. Then, if no endorsement is reached, or if the endorsement is contested, about two dozen Party delegates (no club votes) make the decision at the state Democratic Convention. The vast majority of the votes for Greg Pettis at the March Pre-Endorsement Conference came from a few Democratic clubs in the Westside of the Coachella Valley. Some of those clubs share the same members. For example, the Stonewall Democrats share many members with the Palm Springs Democratic Club. Both those clubs share members with the Democrats of the Desert. That means, for the purpose of delegate votes, the clubs as a whole can get double or even triple credit for the same people. For some of the delegates, that didn’t seem fair.

Another red flag came from the fact that all of the clubs with significant delegates at the pre-endorsement conference are located in the westside of the 80th Assembly District. That is problematic, if only because most of the actual Democratic voters are in La Quinta, Indio, Coachella, Blythe, and Imperial County. Because there are fewer, and in some cases, no Democratic Clubs in these areas, there was significant amounts of disenfranchisement in communities outside of the western Coachella Valley when it came to the endorsement process.

This major disconnect in the Party, due to a lack of club development outside of the Western Coachella Valley, mirrors a bigger problem. Democrats in the Coachella Valley have ignored Imperial County in past AD80 races at their own peril. While better-organized Riverside County has faithfully voted to its democratic registration in each of the past three elections, Imperial County Democrats have not. Essentially, Imperial County voters have been King Makers by voting as much as 25 points off the Democratic registration numbers for the Republican candidate, Bonnie Garcia, who has won three successive victories against three very different Democratic challengers all thanks in great part to more socially conservative Imperial County Democrats who simply are not plugged into the strong Democratic organizations in Riverside County. The fact that Imperial County, and the Eastern Coachella Valley was being ignored once again, this time in the Democratic Party s own internal endorsement process, was a third red flag for some delegates.

Perhaps most disturbing for us, and many of the other eleven delegates working together in San Jose, was why the Democratic Party was even trying to endorse a candidate BEFORE the June primary election in the first place. It only makes sense that the Democratic candidate in the 80th Assembly District who gets the most votes in the June Primary should be the Democratic Party’s endorsed candidate. For all of the above reasons, eleven delegates, under a tremendous amount of pressure, voted their conscience in San Jose.

Now that voters in the 80th will be able to endorse the democratic candidate at the ballot box, it would behoove Coachella Valley Democratic Party activist and leaders to focus on unifying the Democratic and independent voters in all areas of the Coachella Valley, Blythe, and especially in Imperial County. Certainly, that is the game plan for Republicans, who have grown comfortable holding an Assembly seat in a district comprised of a Democratic majority.

Dale Wissman is an appointed delegate to the DSCC from the 80th Assembly District. He’s not a neutral participant for he’s one of 80th Assembly District candidate Manuel Perez’s significant supporters.