Tag Archives: Simon Salinas

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June 2008 State Senate Endorsements

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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.

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New Denham ad and Salinas Website

The Yes on the Recall Campaign has a new ad up talking about Sen. Jeff Denham’s little pay hike scam. You know, where he told the media that he was rejecting pay hikes, only to quietly accept them a few months later.  Pretty sweet deal. All the fun of the press coverage without all the problems of actually getting less money.

Also in the Denham recall race, Simon Salinas has launched his website. It’s not going to win any awards or anything, but it’s got some good info on there.

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SD-12: Simón Salinas Looks To Be In

Via Randy Bayne:

Simón Salinas has pulled papers to run in the Denham recall. He has until 5 p.m. tomorrow to turn in papers and signatures.

One Republican has also pulled papers, but there is a question about residency which may disqualify John Nevill, a Monterey County health care compliance officer.

I’m sure there will be a few stragglers on the ballot, but if Salinas is it that would significantly increase the chances of the recall, since Denham is not on that part of the ballot.  It’s an expansive district and no candidate has a power base throughout it, but between Salinas’ stronghold in the Monterey County area, and the new report that Stanislaus County has turned blue, with a 5,000-vote registration shift between 2006 and today, there is obviously a lot of movement here, and if Denham continues to whine about the process than his record, his days are numbered.

[UPDATE by Robert] Hank Shaw is reporting that Anna Caballero’s brief flirtation with a run has ended, clearing the field for Salinas.

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SD-12: Local Reaction on the Denham Recall

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I’ve been perusing some of the reaction in the local papers on the qualification of the Jeff Denham recall on the ballot, and there’s some interesting stuff in there.  From Hank Shaw in the Stockton Record, we learn that Denham has been harvesting money for months, and given the lack of campaign finance limits in a recall election, expect more Chamber of Commerce members to fork over big novelty checks.

Denham has been raising money hand over fist to defend himself. He collected a $50,000 check from Oakdale Sierra Tel, a telecommunications company, late last week and has amassed more than $300,000 so far. As the target of a recall, Denham can raise cash in unlimited amounts.

Telecom company, ay?  Not that Denham has anything to do with the FISA fight, but telecoms aren’t exactly popular figures in districts with a 45-36 registration advantage for Democrats.

As for who the opponent will be, it looks like there are two potential candidates, former Assemblymember Simon Salinas and Merced County District Attorney Larry Morse.  Morse claims that Perata contacted him last month about running.

After the meeting, Morse said he spoke with Denham about the offer as a courtesy because there are never any secrets in Sacramento; he didn’t want the senator learning about it from someone else.

Morse ran for Assembly in 1996 and lost to Dennis Cardoza, and also considered a run for Senate in 2002, which would have pitted him against Denham.

Since becoming district attorney, Morse said he’s made progress in office and hasn’t considered any other elected slot.

“I’m not sure what set of circumstances could induce me to leave,” he said. “When the president of the Senate asks to talk with you, you probably owe him the courtesy of talking to him.”

Morse is apparently big on courtesy.  If he did run, would he let Denham in on his ad information and oppo research because he “doesn’t want him to learn about it from someone else”?

Um, go Salinas.

Meanwhile, Denham’s campaign consultant is really on the ball.

“The bad news for Perata, who started this recall, is this vote will take place right in the middle of the debate over the 2008-09 budget,” Denham campaign consultant Tim Clark said.

Yes, exactly!  And voters don’t want their schools dismantled and their teachers fired.  It was also amusing to hear hired gun Kevin Spillane say in the Fresno Bee that the recall has Sacramento ties.  Right, because you’re the salt of the earth from Stanislaus County, right?

I am liking the aggressive reaction from the Dump Denham folks.

Perata spokeswoman Alicia Trost referred calls to Paul Hefner, spokesman for the “Dump Denham” recall campaign.

“The voters have caught on to Jeff Denham. They’re recalling him for the same reasons people take unsafe toys off the shelf and tainted meat out of supermarkets-because they’re no good, and because we deserve better,” Hefner said in a statement.

This should be a fun 76 days.

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Dump Denham: Does Jeff Have a Challenger?

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On Friday we learned that 50,000 signatures to put a recall of Jeff Denham on the ballot were turned in to registrars in SD-12. Today the Salinas Californian reports that Simón Salinas is willing to put his name to voters as a replacement should the recall pass:

If (the recall) happens,” said Salinas, a former assemblyman, “I am willing to say, look at my credentials, and certainly ask for (voters’) support.”…

He said he’s played no role in the signature gathering to qualify the recall for the ballot. But if it qualifies, Salinas said, the Democratic Party needs to be ready to offer an experienced candidate.

“My concern is, if it happens, we need effective representation,” he said.

The county supervisor added that he is now ready to return to Sacramento state government.

“I have taken my break,” he said. “My son is going to be going to college, so I figure I have the time.”

Salinas used to represent AD-28, which includes the Salinas Valley (also in Denham’s SD-12) until he was termed out in 2006, and is now a member of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. He supports closing Prop 13 tax loopholes, universal health care (though undefined as to how to achieve it), and clean money. By all accounts he’s popular in the city of Salinas, which he represents on the board of supervisors, and would presumably make a strong candidate to replace Denham.

And as we saw in 2003, the chances of a successful recall increase if you can get voters excited about someone waiting in the wings to replace the recall target. Salinas is, of course, a much better politician than Arnold, but if he can rally voters to his cause, then Denham is in even more trouble than it had appeared on Friday.