Recruiting candidates for unwinnable legislative seats is always a challenge. So it’s never too much of a surprise to see only one major party candidate running in some uber-red or uber-blue district. But it’s generally not too challenging to find somebody to run for a winnable seat. But if you look at the job description, and it is tough to see the glamour. Let’s take a look at some of the gloriousness of the job:<\/p>\n
\u2022 It’s a temporary job. You get 6 or 8 years in office, and then have to find another gig.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Unless you get to the Big 5, you aren’t affecting any major decisions. Let’s face it, you can nibble around the edges, but these days, the budget is the final 8 innings of the 9 inning game.<\/p>\n
\u2022 You don’t really run anything. Staff and lobbyists have grown more powerful than members who will quickly move on.<\/p>\n
Sounds like a blast huh? Well, no surprise that legislators and people who would have formerly been interested in the job are shrugging their shoulders and looking for somewhere else to land. Paul Krekorian and Paul Koretz to the LA City Council, John Benoit to the Riverside Board of Supes, etc. Shane Goldmacher takes a look at the phenomenon: <\/p>\n
“Who wants to grow up and be held in low esteem by 87% of the people and have to deal with the budget and not have a darned thing to say about it?” asked Juan Arambula, an independent assemblyman from Fresno who has decided not to run for the state Senate next year after his term in the lower house ends.<\/p>\n