Less than a month after Janice Hahn’s allies in City Hall conducted a whisper campaign questioning Debra Bowen’s stand on marriage equality, now it’s Hahn herself leading the charge, this time questioning Bowen’s loyalty to the Democratic Party.

One day before a Democratic special endorsing caucus meets to officially support a candidate in the 36th district special election, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn’s campaign is presenting her as the only true Democrat in the race. It turns out California Secretary of State Debra Bowen was once a Republican.

The Hahn campaign hinted in a press release that she is the only Democratic candidate who has never been a member of another political party as it trotted out the endorsements of four officers of the state Democratic Party.

“Janice Hahn has always been committed to Democratic values,” First Vice Chairman Alex Rooker said. State party Secretary Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer said, “there is only one candidate in this race that has always been a Democrat.”

(editor’s note: Roll Call should have attributed that last quote to Sergio Carrillo. See text of press release below)

Debra Bowen was a registered Republican until 1984, then switched party affiliation to become a Democrat. In 1992, during her first successful run for the California Assembly, she told the LA Times she made the switch because the Republican party lacked “compassion and tolerance and respect for others.” She has remained a Democrat ever since.

Observers familiar with the race aren’t convinced Hahn’s charge will hold up to scrutiny. “Hillary Clinton was a Goldwater girl. Janice Hahn was a Clinton delegate in 2008. Does she want to renounce that endorsement because Clinton wasn’t ‘always a Democrat’?”, said David Dayen, a writer for FDL News who’s covered California politics extensively.

Current party affiliation hasn’t always been a deal breaker for Janice Hahn either. Recently she endorsed Republican Mitch Endglander in the March 8th LA City Council race.

An official California Democratic Party endorsement would be helpful to a candidate as they compete for votes in the crowded, bipartisan field. A candidate would have to garner 60% of the caucus votes to win the endorsement.  Janice Hahn is reportedly worried enough about the endorsement that she showed up unannounced on delegate’s doorsteps this week hoping to sway their votes.

As she did in the Lt. Governor’s race against Gavin Newsom, Janice Hahn has shown no hesitancy to go negative in this race early and fast, first baiting Marcy Winograd into joining the race with the hope her candidacy would cut into Bowen’s votes, then conducting whisper campaigns questioning Bowen’s stand on marriage equality and party affiliation.

However Hahn’s strategy may backfire. Even though party registration in this district leans Democratic, the May 17th special election runs under “open primary” rules, where voters can cast a ballot for any candidate regardless of party affiliation.  Historically, Bowen’s appeal has crossed party lines, especially with pro-choice Republican women, who helped Bowen win her first Assembly race in 1992 when the district was still majority Republican.

Hahn also runs the risk of turning off Democratic voters who see Bowen as a hero for her work on election protection and government transparency.

“It just smells,” said Tony Salvaggio, a registered Democrat and party delegate from Manhattan Beach, “We should be debating facts, issues, and who’s better qualified for the job, not what somebody’s party affiliation was 27 years ago.”

Below is the text from Hahn’s press release:

STATEWIDE CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY OFFICERS ENDORSE JANICE HAHN FOR CONGRESS

Hahn Earns Major Endorsements from Statewide, Regional, and Local Democratic Party Leaders

LOS ANGELES- Several leading California Democratic Party officers endorsed Janice Hahn for Congress today, including, First Vice Chair of the California Democratic Party Alex Rooker, Secretary of the California Democratic Party Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Regional Director for the South Bay and Harbor Area of the California Democratic Party Sergio Carrillo, as well as Regional Director for West Los Angeles of the California Democratic Party Terrance Montgomery.

Today’s news comes after several days of Hahn rolling out major endorsements this week, including endorsements from the California Labor Federation, Los Angeles Police Protective League and Congresswoman Linda Sanchez.

“Janice Hahn has always been committed to Democratic values and will be a strong voice for Democrats in Washington,” said Alex Rooker, First Vice-Chair of the California Democratic Party. “Janice will be a fighter for more jobs, a cleaner environment, better schools, and more access to healthcare, and that’s why I am proud to endorse her for Congress.”

“We need Representatives in Congress who won’t back down from a tough fight, and I know that Janice will not only be a fighter, but she will be a champion for Democrats in Washington,” said Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Secretary of the California Democratic Party.

“There are several good candidates in this race, but there is only one candidate in this race that has always been a Democrat, and has always stood up for Democratic values, and that’s Janice Hahn,” added Sergio Carrillo, Regional Director for the California Democratic Party.

“I was born a Democrat, I was raised a Democrat, and when I am elected to Congress, I will never forget that I’m a Democrat,” said Councilwoman Janice Hahn. “I grew up learning early on about Democratic values-my dad, former Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenny Hahn taught me about civil rights, equality, and the importance of the middle class. When I go to Congress I pledge to stand up for these Democratic values and be a fighter for the people of the 36th Congressional District.”

In an interview with the LA Weekly, California League of Conservations Voter SoCal director, David Algood, expanded on his organization’s decision to back Debra Bowen over her rival Janice Hahn.

“Debra has a much longer record on the environment,” said David Allgood, CLCV’s Southern California director. “We know her to be a leader that doesn’t knuckle under to pressure from special interests.”

Allgood said the League had taken note of Hahn’s flip-flop-flip on the L.A. oil severance tax. She proposed the tax last fall, before changing her mind and trying to keep it off the ballot. When it went on the ballot anyway, she then supported it. (It narrowly failed.)

“One of the things we considered was the ability of somebody to put their finger in the wind and change positions that quickly,” Allgood said. “For her to have one position one day and the opposite position the next — that was a big concern.”

Back on March 4th, I ran a story on Venice For Change about Hahn’s “flip-flop-flip”, on Measure O, the ballot initiative to tax oil taken from within LA City limits she was for before she was against it before she was for it.

Responding to reports in Venice For Change and also at Calitics, Janice Hahn apparently tried to rewrite history in regards to Measure O, the oil severance tax she opposed putting before voters for the March 8th special election.

The City Maven wesbsite report that Hahn  reversed her position again on Measure O, releasing a statement in support.

“I’ve always supported an oil extraction tax, and I continue to support it. In fact, during my recent campaign for lieutenant governor, I proposed a statewide oil extraction fee to help fund higher education,” Hahn said. “I support Measure O. I proposed Measure O. I will vote for Measure O. I hope Measure O passes.”

Quibbling with the past, Hahn went on to say that her no vote was out of an abundance of concern regarding voter turnout.

“I supported placing Measure O on a regular election ballot where turnout and participation is higher and it would have a greater likelihood of passing. I opposed placing it on the March ballot because turnout is substantially lower and less representative of the electorate as a whole,” Hahn said.

According to City Maven, a review of of the November 17th council meeting shows there was no mention of voter turnout in regards to the oil tax. At the time, Hahn was quoted as saying,

“I’ve reconsidered this and I have heard from various business groups who do feel like this might be the wrong climate to put this on the ballot. We know the oil companies are probably going to mount a massive campaign to defeat this and at the end of the day, the way we’ve structured it, really would only generate around $2 million to the city of Los Angeles. So, at this time, it is my recommendation that we don’t put this forward on the ballot.”

KCET reports that the measure is opposed by the California Independent Petroleum Association,, which has lobbied extensively to expand offshore drilling off the coast of California and in ANWAR, opposes Cap and Trade, and any limits to hydraulic fracturing (aka “fracking”), a controversial and dangerous means of natural gas extraction made famous by the HBO movie, “Gasland”

According the KCET, CIPA has given more than $400,000 to California candidates from 2001 to 2010. Sixty-two percent of those candidates were Republicans.

Some of Measure O’s opponents have gone on to endorse Janice Hahn in her bid to win the Congressional seat vacated by Jane Harman.

Measure O was narrowly defeated in the March 8 special election.

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.  

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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. 

As of this morning, Janice Hahn is leading, with Debra Bowen a close second, and Marcy Winograd a distant third. Here’s how this breaks down:

Janice Hahn – $49,467 from 207 donors (average donation = $238.97)

Debra Bowen – $40,755 from 474 donors (average donation = $85.98)

Marcy Winograd – $1,320 from 34 donors (average donation = $38.82)

It’s important to note that Act Blue accounts for only a portion of a candidate’s fundraising efforts (I’ve heard estimates of anywhere from 10% to 30%), but as an indicator of fundraising progress I think it’s probably pretty representative of where the candidates are in relation to one another.

There’s a couple of things I take away from this. First, Hahn has half the donor base of Bowen, but their pockets are far deeper. In the last 24 hours alone, 2 donors were responsible for $7,500 in donations to Hahn’s campaign.

Secondly, Winograd’s campaign this cycle is far different than her campaign against Harman in 2010. In that campaign, she raised nearly $90,000 from 3,182 supporters.  

Winograd and her supporters may have a heavy presence on the California Progressive Caucus listserves, Twitter, and the comment sections of blogs this election cycle, but their passion has yet to translate into real world results.

Meanwhile, up to 19 candidates have filed so far for the CA-36 race, including our first Tea Party candidate, Republican Craig Huey, who announced his candidacy at a dinner meeting of the the South Bay Open Carry movement.

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.  If the Act Blue numbers are any indication, it’s looking more and more likely that those candidates with be Debra Bowen and Janice Hahn.

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:

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.”