XPosted 5/23/2008 1:14 AM PDT on MyDesert.com in Blog by BluePalmSpringsBoyz
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 440 has endorsed Pettis in his race to replace Bonnie Garcia. IBEW Local 440 has long been active in Coachella Valley politics and Progressive Democratic circles.
Chuck McDaniel, an IBEW Local 440 leader and activist, had previously endorsed Pettis for the 80th AD. McDaniel is also Vice-President of the newly formed Desert Hot Springs Democratic Club and is a member of the Riverside County Democratic Central Committee.
Garcia is termed out and cannot run for re-election.
More below the flip…
The good news for Proud Progressive Democrats is that the Coachella Valley is trending blue with last year’s wins by Steve Pougnet for Mayor of Palm Springs, by Rick Hutcheson in the Palm Springs City Council, by Karl Baker in the Desert Hot Springs City Council, by Greg Pettis in the Cathedral City City Council, by Craig Ewing in the Desert Water Agency, and No on C. Garcia barely won re-election in the last race against a little-known candidate and poorly-funded, Steve Clute, who did not have the backing of all of the Democratic clubs because of his opposition to Marriage Equality.
In addition, Democrats now out-register Republicans by more than 15,000 voters! The voter registration figures are also trending Democratic across the district from Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, and Cathedral City in the West Valley to Indio, Coachella, and even Rancho Mirage, La Quinta, and Palm Desert in Down Valley. Add to this the fact that Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Coachella, and Indio all went for Kerry/Edwards in 2004 makes the 80th AD ripe for the pickings of an experienced Progressive Democratic candidate with the credentials of Pettis.
Pettis has a well-funded, well-oiled candidacy and has already outraised and outspent all of his competitors combined in FundRace 2008! in the last reporting period, Pettis also outraised his presumptive Republican opponent, Gary Jeandron. In addition, Pettis already has endorsements from all of the local Democratic clubs who have endorsed, including the Pass Democratic Club, the Desert Hot Springs Democratic Club, the Desert Stonewall Democrats, Inland Stonewall Democrats, the Palm Springs Democratic Club, the San Diego Democratic Club, and the San Diego Democratic Women’s Club.
Other labor organizations already endorsing Pettis include the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the Building Trades of California, California AFL-CIO, Cathedral City Professional Firefighters, San Bernardino/Riverside Counties Central Labor Council, San Diego/Imperial Counties Central Labor Council, and Teamsters Joint Council 42.