Assembly Speaker John Perez

After a day of headache-induced number-crunching I hoped I’d have better news to report today, but it appears Speaker Perez and Sacramento Democrats are still prioritizing the reelection of safe incumbents over achieving a two-thirds super majority in the California Assembly

Democrats currently enjoy a majority in both the Assembly and the State Senate, but would have to pick up at least two more seats in each chamber to achieve the super-majority needed to pass revenue increases over the objections of an obstructionist Republican minority.

Yet campaign finance reports reveal that Speaker Perez, Sacramento Democratic lawmakers and state and county Democratic campaign committees have spent nearly half a million dollars more defending two safe democratic seats this election cycle than they have in defending a Los Angeles coastal district against a possible Tea Party takeover.

In the 10th Assembly District (Marin, D+35) Sacramento Democrats donated $925K to Mike Allen, an incumbent Assembly member who moved into the  open district when his existing district was carved up and  reapportioned. Mr. Allen’s opponent is Marc Levine, a fellow Democrat.

In the 50th Assembly district (Santa Monica, D+33), Sacramento Democrats donated $601K to Assemblywoman Betsy Butler, who moved north to the Democratic stronghold after redistricting meant she’d have to run in the new, more conservative 66th Assembly district (Torrance, D+3). Like Allen, Butler is running against Democratic challenger (Santa Monica Mayor, Richard Bloom).

In the South Bay, Torrance School Board member Al Muratsuchi became the Democratic candidate for AD66 after Betsy Butler left the district.  Election experts consider the race highly competitive for Republicans, giving them the best opportunity in two decades to pick up a seat in that area.

Before the June primary, few Sacramento Democrats, including both John Perez and Betsy Butler had made any financial contributions to Muratsuchi, forcing the candidate to loan his campaign $45,000 to defend the new South Bay Assembly seat against two Tea Party candidates, Nathan Mintz, who ran and lost a close race against Butler in 2010, and Craig Huey, who ran an unsuccessful $500,000 self-financed congressional campaign against Janice Hahn last year.

After the June primary however, Sacramento finally began investing in Muratsuchi’s campaign, donating $967K to help defeat opponent Craig Huey. Clearly, a huge improvement, but will it be enough? The most recent campaign finance reports show Muratsuchi and Huey are almost dead even in the amount of cash they have on hand.

Eric Bauman, Vice-Chair of the California Democratic Party, says the AD66 race is the party’s “number one” priority. And if you compare these three races in isolation, that statement is correct.

The bigger problem, however, is Perez and Sacramento Democrats aren’t making a two-thirds majority their “number one” priority at all. Not when they’re spending $500K more on two absolutely safe Democratic seats than they are to defend a competitive swing-district seat that could fall under Republican control.

UPDATE

Sacramento responds via Twitter. Steve Maviglio is a Democratic political consultant for John Perez,  former Deputy Chief of Staff to Speakers Karen Bass and Fabian Nunez, and former press secretary to Gov. Gray Davis.

@venice4change U should really ask the Dem candidates in hot Assembly races if the speaker is “doing enuf”. Your blog is dead wrong.

– Steven Maviglio (@stevenmaviglio) October 25, 2012

@venice4change Nobody–and I mean nobody–believes 2/3 vote in Assembly is in play. Think b4 u write.

– Steven Maviglio (@stevenmaviglio) October 25, 2012

@venice4change I’m guessing you think Obama could win Alabama 2 if he had a fully funded campaign #planetreality

– Steven Maviglio (@stevenmaviglio) October 25, 2012

With 100% of precincts reporting, the race for the 50th Assembly District ended with an upset, with community organizer Torie Osborn ending up in third place, and the Democratic Mayor of Santa Monica, Richard Bloom and Democratic Assemblywoman Betsy Butler surviving the June primary – only to face each other again in November.

Butler squeaked into first place by only 102 votes.

Her boss, Assembly Speaker John Perez, spent over a million dollars to get Butler those votes. But while he was busy waging a war against Torie Osborn in AD50, he lost the war for AD66, and ultimately the 2/3rds majority Democrats desperately needed to break Republican obstruction in Sacramento.

Let me explain.

The Democratic candidate in AD66, Al Muratsuchi, came in first against his Republican opponents and will face off against millionaire Republican Craig Huey in the fall. But while good news for Democrats in the short-run, the numbers look dismal for Muratsuchi in November.

With 100% of precincts reporting,Muratsuchi garnered 22,000 votes while his Republican opponents Huey and Nathan Mintz combined received nearly 33,000 votes. Mintz will certainly endorse Huey, so expect Republican voters to fall in line for the general election.

That’s a hell of an enthusiasm gap to overcome.

Muratsuchi received virturally no support from Sacramento even as Perez publicly  declared the Santa Monica/West Hollywood race his top priority, securing the California Democratic Party endorsement for Butler at the February convention, then directing or pressuring Assembly members, Sacramento unions, and PACS to dump over a million dollars into the safe blue seat.

What that means in real-world terms is that while Sacramento squandered it’s resources in AD50, there was nothing left over to help South Bay activists register voters or build any infrastructure to get out the vote. It’s a deficit that, even if corrected now, will haunt the district through the fall.

What remains to be seen is if Perez will bother to correct that deficit at all. In fact, it’s far more likely he will continue this destructive pattern into the general election.

Victory in November isn’t assured for Butler. By all accounts, she proved to be a terrible campaigner in the AD50 race, relying almost entirely on Sacramento’s largess to get her through the June primary. It’s anyone’s guess as to how she will do against Bloom, who has the advantage of real – not manufactured – incumbency in the district.

As Sacramento contemplates even more draconian cuts to education, healthcare, social services and environmental protection, the legacy of these two races will be a stunning indictment of Assembly Speaker John Perez’s lack of leadership.  

Last week, I wrote about the negative attack mailer sent by Torie Osborn against incumbent Assemblywoman Betsy Butler on education and the state budget: http://santamonica.patch.com/b…

The mailer which aims to confuse voters, has sparked a response from education leaders and unions. Wait, a union supporting someone who caves to Republicans? Yes, that’s because Torie Osborn’s mailer is not telling the whole story. The state budget that Betsy voted for was the same one that every single Democrat voted including the only two Assembly members who support Torie (Julia Brownley* & Cathleen Galgiani). However, Torie only aims fire at Assemblywoman Betsy Butler, why? Because it is convenient for Torie to do and because it is election time! I agree, the Budget is a mess but it is not fair to attack and blame Betsy for it. She has only been there for a little over a year and California’s budget woes go back a long, long time.

Kathryn Lybarger, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299, which represents University of California workers, hits back in a written statement given to LA Weekly:

“The mischaracterization of Assemblywoman Butler’s support of education was taken right out of Karl Rove’s Republican playbook. This swift boat attack is false, misleading and says nothing about the fact that Republicans were responsible for the cuts in this budget and refused to let voters decide on additional revenues. Assemblywoman Butler has been the legislature’s top educations ally.”

Mitra Moassessi, president of the Santa Monica College Faculty Association who has endorsed Betsy Butler, told the LA Weekly:

“Assemblywoman Butler stood up to Republicans and voted to protect our community colleges from devastating cuts that would have denied access to thousands of students to community college. Her continued progressive stance on education funding is why Assemblywoman Butler is endorsed by the Santa Monica Community College Faculty.”

Allan Clark, president of California School Employees Association, adds,

“This attack on Assemblywoman Butler’s budget vote could not be farther from the truth. The Democratic budget was passed only after Republican leaders refused to put up one vote for a compromise budget, because the cuts weren’t big enough.”

The bigger question here (and not asked in Torie’s mailer) is this: Would Torie vote with Democrats (just like Betsy Butler) for Governor Brown’s budget or would she have joined the Republicans in opposing it?  According to Torie Osborn’s own press release given to the LA Weekly, she would have:

“If I’d been in the Assembly, I’d have stood up against these cuts and voted no.”

Democratic voters in the 50th Assembly District: The only Assemblymembers that voted “no” for the Democratic budget presented by Governor Brown were Assembly Republicans. Is Torie Osborn really telling this District that she would have joined Republican Assemblymembers and opposed the budget presented by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown? A fair question.

Meanwhile, education leaders continue to line up in support of Butler’s re-election campaign in the 50th Assembly District. California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, announced his endorsement of Assemblymember Betsy Butler a few months ago:

“We need leadership and commitment to education and Assemblymember Butler has demonstrated her ability to address the tough challenges our public schools face. Like me, Betsy wants to ensure that every child has a safe environment in which to learn and that our teachers and school professionals have the resources they need to effectively prepare our children for success in the 21st century.”

In addition to Tom Torlakson’s endorsement, Los Angeles Unified School Board Member Marguerite LaMotte has also endorsed Asm. Betsy Butler’s re-election campaign. And just recently, the Los Angeles Community College Trustees endorsed Asm. Betsy Butler in her re-election campaign for Assembly. You have a choice on June 5th, to re-elect a progressive champion to the Assembly or someone who will do and say anything to win an Assembly seat. I hope you vote for Betsy Butler.

*Assemblywoman Julia Brownley has dual endorsed Betsy Butler and Torie Osborn

http://santamonica.patch.com/b…

A quick perusal of coverage of the AD-50 race between (among others) activist and non-profit leader Torie Osborn and South Bay Beverly Hills Assemblymember Betsy Butler would give you the idea, despite arguments of Butler’s supporters to the contrary, that the race is a battle between the grassroots activists of the district who are supporting Osborn (as reflected by the local Democratic clubs that have endorsed her) vs. the Sacramento machine (as reflected by the institutional endorsements Betsy has received, with varying degrees of Sacramento assistance).

Well, if the fundraising numbers are any indication, that narrative is spot on. From a release send out by Osborn’s consultant:

According to recent fundraising reports filed with the California Secretary of State, Osborn has raised $803,753 from 3,626 individual donations.   Sixty-eight percent (68%) of the donations were $100 or less, considered a sign of grassroots support and ability to mobilize new voters into the political process.

Osborn dwarfs Butler in those small individual donations. Osborn has received 2,481 small donations, while Butler pulled in a mere 123 such donations.  In another indication of broad grassroots support, 1,488 donations were made online to Osborn’s campaign, totaling $251,503, vs. 119 to Butler for $41,285.

Butler, a lawmaker who represents the South Bay and moved to Beverly Hills to run for this seat, trailed Osborn miserably in raising local money and showing support from the 50th District.  Osborn raked in 1,658 contributions, totaling $403,430 from the new district.  Butler drew less than ten percent of that – 107 contributions totaling $59,463.

Let’s some this up nicely. Osborn has over 20 times as many small-dollar contributions, and about 15 times as many in-district contributions. So where’s Butler’s money coming from? The answer is obvious:

Torie Osborn has received 9 contributions from Sacramento totaling $8,625. Betsy Butler has received 142 contributions just from Sacramento that come to $291,044.

And there you have it. There could be no clearer indication. Torie Osborn is looking to represent Assembly District 50 in Sacramento. Betsy Butler is looking to represent Sacramento in Assembly District 50.

One would have thought that Sacramento would have looked at the grassroots fundraising prowess of Torie Osborn and sought to elevate that and channel that into productive, progressive change. Instead, protecting incumbents is such a priority that they’re willing to throw not just the kitchen sink, but everything else in the entire house, into AD-50 just to try to defeat her.

Back in February, I reported how Dem leadership in Sacramento apparently just wasn’t all that into winning a 2/3rds majority this year.

Turns out 4 months later, not much has changed.

To review, thanks to redistricting and a new “open primary” system, Democrats have a realistic shot in 2012 at picking up the two seats in the Assembly needed to achieve a 2/3rds Democratic super-majority and overcome obstruction from Republicans. Without that super-majority, things will continue to deteriorate in Sacramento, with Democrats forced to make draconian cuts to education and the social safety net instead of finding ways to raise revenue to balance the California budget.

“California voter approval of the Democratic-controlled legislature slinks along between 9 and 20 percent in recent Los Angeles Times and Field polls,” writes former state Senator Tom Hayden in the Nation magazine. “Despite Democratic majorities in both houses and control of all statewide offices, the Democratic Party seems chronically unable to deliver the minimum that voters want from their government: results. College tuitions keep rising, and college doors keep closing. School funding keeps declining. Wetlands and redwoods keep disappearing. Billions spent on mass transit do not reduce congestion and air pollution. To a disillusioned majority, all the Sacramento fights appear to be about slowing the rate of California’s decline”

Yet Democratic leadership and PACs donated over a million dollars to two “incumbent” Assembly members running in super-safe Democratic districts while virtually ignoring other seats in swing districts (source ca.sos.gov)

Mike Allen in AD10 (+35 democratic voter registration) and Betsy Butler in AD50(+33 democratic) together received 5x more money than Al Muratsuchi – a non-incumbent Democrat running in AD66 (+3 democratic) against two better-known and well-funded Republicans.

He has received no money from the California State Democratic Party, while Allen and Butler combined have received over a $100K.

Eric Bauman, Vice Chair of the California Democratic Party, believes it’s a non-issue.

“Let’s not get caught up in misunderstanding or distorting the challenge. Muratsuchi’s race is a November race, not a June race – rest assured he’ll be fully resourced in the general election.”

Rick Jacobs, founder of the California Courage Campaign, disagreed, raising concerns that throwing resources at safe Democratic seats would damage the CDP’s credibility with grassroots activists.

“So then comes the question as to why, given priorities statewide, the leadership raises and spends hundreds of thousands of dollars in AD 50. How does that inspire people to work hard and raise money for 2/3?”

Susie Shannon who serves on the Executive Board of the CDP Progressive Caucus was similarly incredulous. “How do they expect to raise money from the grassroots in the future if they are just going to whittle it away on safe Democatic seats? Any way you slice it, the (money) spent on the Butler primary could have been saved for the Marutsuchi general election to defeat the Republican candidate, or any number of more productive endeavors. I would rather see this money going to overtime pay for the overworked CDP staffers.”

The question now is what happens after June 5th if “incumbent” Assembly democrats Butler and Allen end up running against “non-incumbent” Democrats in November instead of Republicans.

Will Democratic candidates facing Republicans in other districts be, as Bauman promises, “fully resourced”? Or will Butler and Allen continue to take the lion’s share of Sacramento’s and the CDP’s pie?

“I would venture many thousands will be spent to support the candidates endorsed by the CDP,  and that includes Butler and Allen,” said Bauman.

“The CDP and (Speaker John Perez’s) priorities should be to make sure we have 2/3 majority so we could actually accomplish some important things like generating revenue, ” said Agi Kessler, a delegate to the California Democratic Party and chair of the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley.

Concerned that party leadership would waste money on Democrat-on-Democrat races throughout the state, Kessler and other democratic party activists circulated a petition at the CDP convention asking Assembly Speaker Perez to prioritize winning a legislative super-majority when allocating limited resources. They submitted nearly 300 signatures from fellow delegates.

“As of today we’ve received no response from the Speaker or anyone in his office”, said Kessler.  

The candidate that says “I’m not politics as usual” plays politics as usual. Irony?

If it wasn’t enough for Assembly Candidate Torie Osborn to stuff the homes of AD50 residents with 16 pages of non-recyclable paper in one day. She has decided that her best chance to win this race is to attack Betsy Butler by calling her a Republican. The same Betsy Butler who worked for President Bill Clinton. The same Betsy Butler who worked for Democratic Lt. Governor Leo McCarthy. The same Betsy Butler who is endorsed by the California Democratic Party and by the California League of Conservation Voters.

Torie Osborn then goes on to attack her record on funding Education. Betsy Butler was raised in a union household and understands the need to give kids the best opportunity possible in our schools. Betsy’s mom worked for years for the California Teachers Association and instilled in Betsy from a young age that Education was the most important solution for most of the world’s problems. Betsy has been fighting for Education since then and that is why LAUSD School Board Member Marguerite LaMotte, Los Angeles Community College Board Trustees Miguel Santiago, Steve Veres & Scott Svonkin support Betsy in AD50.

Read more here: http://ruizari.tumblr.com/

Assemblymember Betsy Butler today announced the endorsement of Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project LA County Action Fund. As women and families continue to face cuts on health care and family planning funding, Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project LA County Action Fund is the organization leading efforts to ensure all women have access to affordable and quality reproductive choice.

“Assemblymember Butler is an extraordinary advocate for women and families throughout California. We know that with her leadership, women will always have a fighter who can deliver on her promises,” said Sue Dunlap, Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project LA County Action Fund.  “We have worked closely with Assemblymember Butler in her first term in the Assembly, as well as for decades prior to her service in elected office. We are honored to endorse her for re-election and look forward to continuing our partnership and effort to ensure women and families have access to affordable health care.

“Over the last two and a half decades, Assemblymember Butler has fought to protect reproductive rights and ensure equality for women on a number of issues, including pay equity, accessibility to healthcare, education and home, child and elder care. Betsy is a past President of the LA Westside Chapter of the National Women’s Political Caucus and is endorsed by NWPC California, as well as the Women’s Political Committee.

“As long as I am in elected office, I will guarantee that funding for women’s health and family planning will always be protected,” said Assemblymember Betsy Butler. “Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project LA County Action Fund impacts millions of women and families across California and I am honored to stand as their partner to ensure everyone has the care they need and deserve.”

Assemblymember Butler has focused on fighting for consumers, advocating for working families and protecting the environment. In the State Assembly, she serves on the Assembly Budget Committee, the Budget Sub Committee on Resources and Transportation, the Committees on Business and Professions; Education; Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media; and Rules.

http://ruizari.tumblr.com/post…

Probably the hottest race for Assembly this year is the race in Assembly District 50, where progressive legend Torie Osborn, who has the support of just about every single local Democratic club, as well as that of Julia Brownley and Sheila Kuehl, is going up against South Bay Assemblymember Betsy Butler, who currently represents about 1% of the new 50th Assembly District. The race has a classic “insider vs. outsider” dynamic: Osborn is well known for her nonprofit work for LGBT equality and against poverty, and has a ton of local grassroots support, including just about every single Democratic club that has endorsed in the race. Butler, meanwhile, is taking full advantage of the the money and endorsements that being a sitting legislator can provide. It’s well known that I’m an avid Osborn supporter; for a full rundown of all the stories that have made this race a fun one to watch, just check out this summmary from Marta Evry.

So far, Butler’s strategy in the race has been to attempt to convince voters that there’s nothing particularly special about this election: that she’s just your run-of-the-mill incumbent seeking re-election to her district. And even though it might be misleading to claim that when you’ve only represented 1% of the district, she’s technically correct: both the California Elections Code and the rules of the California Democratic Party allow her to claim that (and would also allow her to claim that if she were running in Shasta, but that’s a story for another day).

Today, however, changes the equation. I got a piece of mail today from the Butler campaign touting her credentials on women’s issues. The piece was obviously designed to be mailed to women, given the introduction–“mothers, daughters, sisters and aunts”–but I received it anyway. It was your typical mailing, except for one part:

Our Assemblywoman, Betsy Butler

And with that, we’ve transcended from “misleading” to “flat out not true.” I live in AD-50, and I don’t live in just the 1% that Betsy Butler currently represents. I live in the part that’s currently represented by Mike Feuer. The letter is signed by several people who are supporting Butler, and perhaps they could be trying to claim that the signatories are represented by “their Assemblywoman, Betsy Butler.” Problem is, that’s not true either, as the piece contains the signatures of activists in Beverly Hills (Mike Feuer) and Malibu (Julia Brownley), as well as some who don’t live in the district at all.

I’m not sure whether Butler’s claim that she already represents me is a sign of desperation given Torie Osborn’s strong campaign, or simple disrespect for the intelligence of the voters of the 50th District. All I know is, I’m not a fan.