SATURDAY POLITICS: Toni Atkins, 1st LGBT and Female CA Senate Leader

Toni Atkins, former Speaker of the California State Assembly, has been announced as the next leader of the California State Senate when current Senate president pro tem Kevin De Leon steps down in early 2018. When that happens Atkins will become the first woman and openly LGBT person to head the United States' largest state's upper legislative house.

De León, a Los Angeles Democrat who has served as Senate leader for nearly four years, is stepping down from the leadership position as he runs against Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the 2018 election for her seat in the U.S. Senate.

“Four years ago, our caucus elected the first Latino leader in over a century to lead the California state Senate — and, next year, Sen. Atkins will become our first ever woman to be elected Senate leader,” De León said in a statement. 

“Toni is a leader of great experience, achievement and integrity, and I have every confidence that she will lead America's most accomplished legislative chamber to even greater heights,” De León added. 

Atkins, 55, brings leadership experience to the job, having previously served as speaker of the state Assembly. She will be the third person to serve both as Assembly speaker and Senate president pro tem and the first leader of the state Senate who has come out as gay. 

“Today, I am humbled by the trust my colleagues have placed in me, and I intend to earn that trust every day by working tirelessly and inclusively to keep California a place of opportunity for everyone,” Atkins said in a statement.

Congratulations to Toni!

#AD51: Carrillo Wins Assembly Seat Over Lopez 53-47 (900+ votes)

The special election in my Assembly District was held yesterday and the results are in: Wendy Carrillo, received approximately 1000 votes more than Luis Lopez in a very low turnout election (estimated to be 7.6%). Carrillo took an early large lead when absentee ballots were tallied.

This means that Carrillo will be the newest member of the Assembly.

SATURDAY POLITICS: #AD51 California Assembly District Race Heats Up!

I am a homeowner and voter in Northeast Los Angeles and thus the last year has involved participating in numerous elections (five lat last count). Due to the 2016 election which resulted in then-Attorney General Kamala Harris going to the U.S. Senate, my congressperson Xavier Becerra was appointed to replace her and then my Assemblyperson Jimmy Gomez won a special election to replace Becerra in the 34th Congressional District. Now we are just a few weeks away from the Tuesday December 5th election to replace Gomez in the Assembly.

The two candidates for the 51st Assembly district are Luis Lopez and Wendy Carrillo. Lopez has run for this seat before (losing to Gomez in 2012) and lived in the District for decades while Carrillo moved into the district when she ran unsuccessfully in the #CA34 special election.

Interestingly, despite the carpet-bagger concerns Carrillo has been endorsed by several Democratic Party establishment figures, including now-U.S. Rep. Gomez, California Senate Majority leader Kevin De Leon (who represents the area in the California Senate) and Jose Huizar who represents sections of the assembly district in the Los Angeles City Council.

As an openly gay man running for a state legislative seat, Lopez has been endorsed by several LGBT organizations (Equality California, HONOR Pac, the Victory Fund and the California LGBT Legislative Caucus).

Lopez and Carillo have faced off in multiple debates around the district. There doesn't appear to be any public polling in the race. I have already voted for my preferred candidate by mail. The election is Tuesday December 5th.

SATURDAY POLITICS: #AD51 Runoff On 12/05/17 With Wendy Carrillo and Luis Lopez

The special election to replace now-Congressman Jimmy Gomez in the 51st Assembly District happened this Tuesday October 3 and the top 2 finishers were Wendy Carrillo (who had also run against Gomez in the special election in the 34th Congressional District) and Luis López. Carrillo received the most votes (4,771) in a crowded field of 13 candidates while López was second with 4,086 and Mike Fong was close behind with 3,515.

However, only the top 2 finishers advance to a run-off election to be held on Tuesday December 5. López has run for this seat before, way back in 2012 (against Gomez), while Carrillo is something of a perennial candidate in Northeast Los Angeles elections. López is openly gay and is a healthcare executive and was endorsed by various progressive democratic clubs (East Area Progressive Democrats and Stonewall Democrats) while Carrillo used to work for a local affiliate of Service Employees International Union, which ran an independent expenditure campaign that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to support her.

This is my home district (and I voted) so I am following the race quite closely. It will be interesting to see who (if anyone) Gomez endorses as well as what the other candidates in the race do.

Hat/tip to Los Angeles Times.

SATURDAY POLITICS: California Legislature Passes Plastic Bag Ban

Well, well, well! The California legislature has wrapped up its action for the 2014 year, sending numerous bills to the governor for his signature. One of the most closely watched bills was SB270, which would impose a statewide ban on the use of plastic bags.

Senators who had previously opposed the bill, including incoming Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, a Los Angeles Democrat, this time supported the measure after protections were added for plastic bag manufacturers. 

The bill by Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of Los Angeles would prohibit single-use plastic bags at grocery stores and large pharmacies in 2015 and at convenience stores in 2016. 

It includes $2 million in loans to help manufacturers shift to producing reusable bags and lets grocers charge 10 cents each for paper and reusable bags.
The bill had sparked one of the most contentious debates in the last weeks of the legislative session, with aggressive lobbying by environmentalists and bag manufacturers.

Glad to see my state senator Kevin de Leon finally changed his position and supported this important legislation! I hope Governor Brown signs it into law soon.

SATURDAY POLITICS: Toni Atkins Sworn In As 1st Lesbian Speaker Of CA Assembly

History was made this week as openly gay Speaker of the Assembly John Perez presided over the swearing in of another openly gay Speaker of the Assembly, the first time the head of a state legislature has transitioned between two openly LGBT people. The new Speaker of the Assembly is Toni Atkins from San Diego.

Here is an excerpt of what Speaker Atkins said after she was sworn in:

We want to restore the Golden State that provided our kids the best education and good jobs. We want to ensure that the California Dream is alive and well for everyone in our state, and for everyone who, like me, comes here to achieve their dream. We want the Golden State to be the Gold Standard that others strive towards. 

For the last decade, and especially in light of the Great Recession, we’ve had to work our way back. And, California has finally turned the corner. 

We are still the 8th largest economy in the world. And members, regardless of how it may be misrepresented, we aren’t really in competition with Texas. We are in competition with Brazil and Italy and France. We are a $2 trillion dollar economy. We are the number one state for venture capital. We have 3.4 million small businesses that provide more than half the jobs in California. And last year we enacted 18 new business-friendly laws that will help business owners by removing regulatory burdens, restoring some investment tax breaks and by creating the “Made in California” program.

Hat/tip to Karen Ocamb 

CELEBRITY FRIDAY: Toni Atkins Elected 1st Lesbian Speaker Lesbian of CA Assembly

Toni Atkins of San Diego has been elected by the Democratic caucus of the California Assembly to be the next Speaker.

Frontiers L.A. reports:

Assembly Majority Leader Toni Atkins of San Diego has been chosen by her Assembly Democratic colleagues to succeed Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez as the next Speaker of the Assembly.  “I am humbled, grateful, and ready to get to work,” says Atkins.  “From the drought we are experiencing to ensuring a healthy business climate and a world class educational system, California is facing important issues in the near future.  I look forward to leading the State Assembly in working with the Senate and the Governor to meet our challenges and to move our great state forward.  I thank my Assembly colleagues for their confidence and support. I also am very grateful to Speaker Pérez for his support and mentorship and I look forward to working with him on a smooth transition.” With her selection as Speaker, Atkins becomes only the second Democratic woman and second member of the LGBT community to hold the post.  As Majority Leader, she is already responsible for the day to day operation of the Assembly Floor and has served as a member of Speaker Perez's leadership team. Atkins represents a coastal San Diego district and was elected to the Assembly in 2010 following eight years on the San Diego City Council.

Atkins is the second Democratic woman to be elected Speaker, after Karen Bass, who is African-American and now a Congressperson representing California's 37th District; Bass was Speaker from 2008-2010. Congratulations to Speaker Atkins!

Saturday Politics: CA Dem's Fragile Supermajority

As a result of the 2012 elections California Democrats finally have a super-majority above the crucial two-thirds threshold in the California legislature. They have 55 seats in the 80-member Assembly and 29 seats in the 40-member Senate. Out of 120 California legislators, just 35 are  Republicans (10 in the state senate and 25 in the state assembly). A two-thirds majority in the Assembly is 54 seats and 27 seats in the Senate.

With a two-thirds majority in the legislature Democrats can completely control what legislation becomes law in California and can dictate all aspects of public policy.

However, the Democratic supermajority is likely to be short-lived and evanescent over the next year or so due the political musical chairs caused by politicians moving from Sacramento to Washington, D.C. as well as the impact of the upcoming Los Angeles municipal election. (Los Angeles City councilmembers have a salary which exceeds that of a state Assemblymember or state Senator.)

San Jose Mercury News reports:

"There will be a very short window that Democrats will have the supermajority," said Eric Bauman, vice chairman of the state Democratic Party. "So I've been cautioning party activists to be patient."

Assembly Democrats will lose their two-thirds majority in late April if, as expected, Assembly members Ben Hueso, D-Chula Vista, and Norma Torres, D-Pomona, win special elections for seats that open when two state senators leave for Congress. And the Assembly will likely lose two other members when one runs for the Los Angeles City Council and another leaps to the Senate after another senator also runs for the council. If that all happens, Assembly Democrats won't be able to recapture their supermajority until January 2014.

Even with the resignation of State Senators Gloria Negrete McLeod and Juan Vargas to join the 113th Congress, the Democrats still have a two-thirds majority in the senate, but will likely lose a two-thirds majority in the Assembly when Hueso and Torres run for those state senate seats. If they win, then the Democrats will no longer have a two-thirds majority in the Assembly, but after the Los Angeles municipal elections on May 21, 2013 it will become clearer when or if Democrats will regain their supermajority in the legislature.

Openly Gay CA Speaker Addresses Democrats

Openly gay Speaker of the California Assembly John Perez, cousin of Los Angeles Mayor (and Democratic National Convention chair) Antonio Villaraigosa addressed the gathering on the issue of how Democrats fight for LGBT rights.

hat/tip to LGBT Think Progress.

Saturday Politics: Lopez Does The Math In AD-51

The official results in my local Assembly District primary election from Tuesday June 4th have been released and Jimmie Gomez placed first with 9,868 votes (37.5%) and my friend (and openly gay Latino activist) Luis Lopez placed second with 6,496 votes (24.7%). Arturo Chavez was close behind with 6,081 votes (23.1%). The new Top 2 primary in California forces only the Top 2 finishers in the June primary election to appear on the November general election, regardless of party and prohibits write-ins. This was a very close, tightly fought all-Democratic primary fight.

This leads to some important mathematical calculations in the general election which are very different from the mathematical considerations which dominated the primary election. In the primary election, the clear goal was to not only maximize your own vote but also to minimize the vote of your most dangerous opponent, which could be achieved by the same activity, or by having votes that do not go to you NOT go to your opponent. In the general election, every vote not for you is a vote for your opponent, it is a zero-sum game.

In AD-51, the candidate endorsed by the "establishment" is Gomez, who received the official nod of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. However, Lopez was born in the district and has been active in the district's politics for decades, serving on commissions and President of a Neighborhood Council that was in the district when it was the 45th Assembly District.

Clearly Hans Johnson, Lopez's campaign manager (and partner) is capable of doing the math, because he and campaign manager Miguel Cordova sees a route to victory in November by coalescing the 62.5% that did not vote for Gomez in the primary into general election support for Lopez. To that end, the recent announcement that Chavez is endorsing Lopez and strongly urging his voters to support him is key:

Our 51st District is my home. Here is where I have grown up, devoted my career in public service, and raised my family. These are very special neighborhoods, sustained by the hard work and aspirations of people who come from different backgrounds but share a love of our community.

Now, at a crucial moment in our city and our state, we need the best possible leadership in Sacramento. I am proud to endorse Luis Lopez to be our assembly member. Luis is a homegrown leader of the highest standards, a unifying and effective advocate from and for our communities, for healthcare, education, good jobs and workforce training, for parks and protection of our environment, for immigrant families and full equality under law.   

My own push for the legislature formally ends today. But the vision, vigor, and spirit of my effort carry on in the campaign of Luis Lopez. Together we stand, and together we go forward. I urge all of my supporters to devote their energy and financial support, their heart and soul and voice to his campaign. Working as one, we will ensure that Luis Lopez wins November 6th and is our next Assemblymember.

Of course, it's easier said than done to make sure that all of Chavez's support actually does turn out and vote for Lopez. Even if they did, that would only constitute 47.8% of the primary vote. So, then the question is, where are Richard Frieberg's voters going to go?

If Lopez does win in November, he could be part of the largest LGBT Legislative Caucus in history, with potentially NINE openly LGBT members of the California Assembly and Senate.

California and Maryland both currently have eight openly LGBT state legislators. While this is Christine Kehoe’s last year in the California State Senate due to term limits, the election of Susan Eggman (State Assembly, District 13) and Luis Lopez (State Assembly, District 51) in November would make California’s LGBT Caucus the largest ever. 

Also victorious in their California state legislative primaries last night were incumbents Tom Ammiano (State Assembly, District 17), Toni Atkins (State Assembly, District 78), Richard Gordon (State Assembly, District 24),Ricardo Lara (State Senate, District 33), Mark Leno (State Senate, District 11), John A. Pérez (State Assembly, District 53), and Cathleen Galgiani (pictured), who is currently in the State Assembly and running for State Senate, District 5.

One openly LGBT candidate who will not be joining the California Assembly is Torie Osborn, who placed a very close third in a hotly contested and controversial race in the 50th Assembly District which split the gay male and lesbian communities down the middle. The gay men were in general supporting straight ally  Assemblymember Betsy Butler (and Equality California  board member) while the lesbians were working for openly lesbian Osborn. The 51st assmebly district includes much of  "Boystown" (a.k.a. West Hollywood) as well as the People's Republic of Santa Monica ("Home of the Homeless!") as well as parts of Bel Air. There were four main candidates and " Let's do the results ended up with barely 1,000 votes separating the 1st finisher from the 4th finisher (Butler: 15,362; Mayor of Santa Monica Richard Bloom: 15,087; Osborn: 14,458; Republican Brady Torgan: 14,340). In fact, they are still counting the cotes, but it is unlikely that the Top 2 finishers will change. Note that the turnout in the 50th was almost twice what it was in the 51st. Openly gay Speaker of the Assembly John Perez poured money into this race to get Butler re-elected. She had decided to move into this district instead of staying in the district where her previous residence was (in the former AD-53, before redistricting) but that new district has far more Republicans than the new AD-50. Even, so, Butler may have a tough campaign ahead of her to overcome Bloom in November.

Isadore Hall Announces Intention To Run For Congress

Assemblymember Isadore hall has announced his
intention to run for a South LA Congressional seat

The decennial redistricting will lead to a lot of turnover of the California congressional delegation, especially since a non-partisan commission is drawing the boundaries of every congressional and state legislative district in the state. This means that every current officeholder will be running in a brand new district. Many ambitious politicians will seize this opportunity to run for higher offices.

One such politician is Assemblymember Isadore Hall III, an African-American pastor who represents the 52nd Assembly District which includes part of North Long Beach and all of Compton. Hall recently announced his intention to run for a new Congressional district which is intended to be "majority-minority." There are currently 4 Black members in the 53-member Congressional delegation, all women: Maxine Waters (CA-35), Karen Bass (CA-33), Laura Richardson (CA-37) and Barbara Lee (CA-09). The district that Hall is eyeing would probably be one that Waters would be expected to run in, unless the 72-year-old Congresswoman decides to retire instead.

Hall's staff sent out a press release about his political intentions:

Compton, California – California State Assemblymember Isadore Hall announced his campaign for Congress today. Hall intends to run in a new Congressional District, which according to the first draft of maps released by the California Citizens Redistricting Committee on June 10th, might include the cities of Compton, Carson, Lynwood, Hawthorne, Gardena, Lawndale, portions of the City of Los Angeles and Unincorporated Los Angeles County.  

“As a local School Board Member, Councilmember and Assemblymember, I have worked tirelessly to make a difference in this community,” said Hall. “Our district needs a representative that will fight cuts to education and gang prevention programs, protect critical frontline services, and partner with President Obama to create family wage jobs.” 
“I have spent the past few days talking with friends and community leaders about running for this new seat,” Hall added.  “The response has been overwhelming and I am energized by the grassroots support we have already received.”

Hall is a former two term President of the Compton Unified School District Board of Trustees. He was elected to the Compton City Council in 2003 where he served in various leadership positions including Mayor pro Tempore.  Hall was elected to the California State Assembly in 2008 and served as Assistant Speaker pro Tempore during his first term. He currently serves as a member of the Appropriations, Elections and Redistricting and Human Services Committees. He chairs the Assembly Committee on Government Organization.
The youngest of six children, Hall was born and raised in the City of Compton. Hall holds a bachelors degree in Business Administration, a Masters Degree in Management and Leadership from the University of Southern California, a Masters Degree in Public Administration from National University and will be conveyed his Ph.D. from Next Dimension Bible College later this summer.

No incumbent member of Congress currently lives in the proposed Congressional District; however, Hall will not seek election to Congress in the event that Congresswoman Maxine Waters seeks to represent the new district.

I'm pretty confident that this will be the first of a lot of similar announcements.

Gov. Brown Ends Budget Negotiations With Republicans

Could have seen this coming a mile away. Governor Jerry Brown has ended THREE MONTHS of budget "negotiations" with Republican legislative leaders after it became increasingly clear he was simply dealing with hostage takers who were not really interested in the ransom. The California Republican Party will now become absolutely irrelevant to the governing of the state of California, since they have decided not to negotiate in good faith to provide the four votes necessary to reach two-thirds of both houses of the state legislature (Democrats have 52 of the 54 seats they need in the Assembly and 25 of the 27 seats they need in the Senate). NOTE: Although it only takes a majority vote to pass a budget now that Proposition 25 passed in November 2010, it still takes a two-thirds vote to enact any taxes, thanks to the odious Proposition 13.

Capitol Weekly has the call:

Brown, a Democrat, in a letter to Senate Republican Leader Bob Dutton, said the negotiations had focused for weeks on a spending cap, public pension issues and regulatory reform. Brown posted a YouTube video of his position here.

But, he said, Republicans late last week added dozens of separate demands, “many of which are new and have no relationship whatsoever to the budget.”

“From my count, your list today added almost two dozen new topics, including obscure aspects of labor law and shifting the presidential primary to March. In addition, your list of demands, if met, would undermine my entire budget proposal by undoing major elements and extending the taxes for only 18 months,” Brown wrote.

Recent figures show that the Republican Party currently has 30.4% party registration in California, compared to 44% for Democrats and 20% for Independents (a significant fraction, possibly a majority, are probably ex-Republicans). By abdicating any responsibility for acting reasonably to fix California's $26 billion 18-month budget deficit, Republicans have pushed themselves even closer to political obscurity.

Hopefully, Gov. Brown will have a better result in winning ballot measures to implement his vision of the California budget than former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger did. The Governator tried legislating by ballot box in 2005 and 2009 and was humiliated both times by the California eletcorate. Brown is a much smarter and talented politician, and is in his first year of office, so Californians may give him what he wants: a common sense balanced budget with shared sacrifice and contributions from all California constituencies.

EQCA Has 7 LGBT-related Bills On Governor's Desk

Equality California has sponsored several bills which have made it through both houses of the California legislature this year and will be on Governor Schwarzenegger's desk, which he has to sign or veto by September 30th.

They are:

• The Mental Health Services for At-Risk Youth bill (Leno) will increase LGBT youths’ access to counseling.
• The Repeal of Discriminatory Code bill (Lowenthal) will end California’s search for a “gay cure.”
• The Civil Marriage Religious Freedom Act (Leno) will codify freedom of religion in relation to civil marriage.
• The LGBT Prisoner Safety Act (Ammiano) will reduce violence against LGBT people in the state prison system.
• The Separation Equity Act (Ma) will allow same-sex couples to dissolve their domestic partnerships and civil marriages at the same time.
• The Hate Crimes Protection Act (Saldaña) will prohibit contracts from requiring a person to waive their right to sue if they are the victim of a hate crime.
• The Unemployment Benefits Equality bill (De La Torre) will give individuals entering domestic partnerships the same rights as those getting married to obtain unemployment benefits

You can click on each bill name to take action to write the Governor and let him know what you think his position on each bill should be.

AD-43: Gatto Is #1!

In yesterday's special election to replace Paul Krekorian in the 43rd Assembkly District, MadProfessah-endorsed Mike Gatto not only placed first among the three Democrats, he received the most votes over all:

As of Date: 04/13/2010 Time: 23:04                            Votes  Percent
                                                                         
STATE ASSEMBLY               43RD TERM ENDS 11/10                          
                                                                         
 MIKE GATTO             DEM                                10,584    32.34
 SUNDER   RAMANI        REP                                10,403    31.79
 NAYIRI NAHABEDIAN      DEM                                 7,298    22.30
 CHAHE KEUROGHELIAN     DEM                                 4,444    13.58
                                                                         
TOTAL PRECINCTS        225            PRECINCTS REPORTING       225   100.00
REGISTRATION       201,352  

This means that on June 8, Mike will face the Republican candidate in the run-off to fill the rest of Krekorian's term through November 2010. He will also probably be the favorite to win the Democratic nomination (against Nahabedian) in the primary election which happens on the same day.

So, basically you will need to vote for Mike twice on that day.

AD-43: One Week Until Election Day

Hans Johnson, president of Progressive Victory; Mike Gatto, Democratic Party-endorsed candidate for California's 43rd Assembly seat; Luis Lopez, president of HONOR PAC; and Jimmie Woods Gray, UTLA and former chair of the L.A. County Democratic Party

It's one week until the special primary election in the 43rd Assembly district to replace Paul Krekorian. The two main candidates are Mike Gatto (who MadProfessah and the CA Democratic Party has endorsed) and Nayiri Nahabedian (who the Stonewall Democratic Club has endorsed).

The above picture was taken at an event (in the district) at the site of The Black Cat, a gay bar in Silverlake steeped in Los Angeles pre-Stonewall gay history which now houses Le Barcito.

Hans Johnson was one of the primary organizers for an LGBT fundraiser for Mike Gatto which raised over $4000 for the candidate. Luis Lopez, president of the leading Latino LGBT political organization in the state is Johnson's domestic partner and Jimmie Woods Gray is with the United Teachers of Los Angeles.

The picture demonstrates that teachers and "teh gays" are supporting Mike in the race to fill the 43rd Assembly District. If you live in Glendale, Burbank, Silverlake, Atwater Village, you should too!

Saturday Politics: AD-43 and AD-53

Saturdays are local politics days at MadProfessah.com

Today there are stories about two Los Angeles area State Assemby races that I have been following closely, AD-53 and AD-43.

In the 53rd Assembly District race to replace termed-out Ted Lieu (who is running for California Attorney General) openly gay Mayor of Redondo Manhattan Beach Mitch Ward has been endorsed by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. Ward is competing in a crowded field which includes straight Equality California board member (and registered lobbyist) Betsy Butler, her ex-boyfriend Jim Aldinger, city prosecutor Nick Karno, enviromentalist James Lau, former staffers Kate Anderson and Edgar Saenz, and for good measure, a 22-year-old Tea Party activist named Neal Mintz. Only Aldinger and Ward have held elected office before. The big news this week is that HONOR PAC, California's Latino LGBT political action committee has endorsed Anderson in the race. MadProfessah has endorsed Mitch Ward. Lau has been the most successful fundraiser to date and still has the most cash on hand, closely followed by Butler, Anderson and Karno who each have close to 200,000 to spend before the June 8 primary.

In the 43rd Assembly District race to replace now-Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian, internal polls show a narrow lead for attorney Mike Gatto where the most popular candidate is "Undecided." Last week, we reported that Andrew Westall had dropped out of the race but in the poll conducted of 400 residents in the district he was included and the results were Gatto 16%, Nayiri Nahabedian 12%, Westall 10%, Chahe Keuroghelian 6% among Democratic primary voters with 56% undecided. Interestingly, when told information about the candidates, Gatto had the largest increase, rising 26 points to 42%, Nahabedian 19% (+7), Westall 14% (+4), Keuroghelian 8% (+2) and Undecided falling 39 points to a mere 17%. Gatto also leads the money race, but the path to victory is complicated by the three elections that one needs to win in order to claim the seat in November.

Feel free to send me any suggestions for future Saturday local politics stories!

AD-43: And then there were two!

Mike Gatto, candidate for AD-43

More local political news. In the race to replace former Assemblyman Paul Krekorian in the 43rd Assembly district, another candidate has dropped out and so there are now only two main candidates remaining: MadProfessah-endorsed 35-year-old Stonewall Democrat Club member Mike Gatto and Glendale school boardmember Nayiri Nahabedian, 40.

Councilmember Herb Wesson staffer Andrew Westall suspended his campaign after the sudden death of his colleague, Wesson's chief of staff of a brain aneurysm over the weekend. Westall endorsed Nahabedian as he exited the race.

The special primary election is on April 13th, and then there's a primary election and the special general election on June 8th. The candidate who wants to be the Assemblymember from the 43rd Assembly district should win all three, but the primary election on June 8th is the most important.

According to the Secretary of State's financial records, Gatto had $200,000 plus on hand as of 12/31/2009 while Nahabedian appears to have had significantly less than $100,000. Typically (but not always, Meg!) the person who spends the most and/or raises the most wins these elections.

AD-43: Gatto Leads Crowded Field To Replace Krekorian

After Paul Krekorian was elected to the 2nd District of the Los Angeles City Council numerous people have stepped up to replace him in representing the 43rd Assemby District. One of them is my friend Mike Gatto. The others are Glendale school boardmember Nayiri Nahabedia and City Councilmember Wesson's staffer Andrew Westall.

What is so wild is that in order to represent the 43rd District next year at this time the successful candidate will have to win four elections:

1) On April 13th, 2010 there will be a special election to fill the seat.
2) If no one gets more than 50% of the vote then there will be a run-off election on June 8, 2010 for the right to serve out the rest of Krekorian's term.
3) However, also on June 8, 2010 will be a primary election for the right to be on the ballot to represent the 43rd district for a full 2-year term.
4) November 2, 2010 will be the statewide general election for 43rd District

It should be interesting to see which candidate gets through this punishing gauntlet of elections, with the concomitant fundraising and public appearance demands such non-stop campaigning requires.

MadProfessah endorses Mike Gatto.

Celebrity Friday: John A. Pérez Elected Speaker

John A. Pérez officially made history on Thursday when he was elected (the first openly gay man to be) Speaker of the California Assembly, by a vote of 48-26.

Congratulations, John! Pérez is expected to take office sometime in March, when Speaker Karen Bass transitions out of that role and ramping up for the 2010 elections begins.

John A. Pérez To Be First Openly Gay Speaker in US History

After a few nerve-wracking days, it's now official. Karen Ocamb has the full details of the unanimous vote in the Democratic caucus for John A. Pérez to become the next Speaker of the California Assembly, the first openly gay person to hold such a position in the United States.

Pérez released a statement where he said

“I want to thank the Members of the Assembly Democratic Caucus for the faith they have placed in me. It is a humbling privilege. I will work every day to justify that faith and to earn the enormous honor of having been drafted to serve as Speaker. The other candidates for Speaker, especially Assemblymember Kevin de León, have all shown great leadership for the Assembly and for this state and they have my great respect. As Speaker, I will look forward to working with a united Democratic caucus as we continue tackling our number one priority—helping the state recover from the recession and helping the California families who have been hit so hard by it.”

And the man he vanquished for the job, my local Assemblymember in the 45th District, Kevin de León, said:

“Today, I was proud to stand and nominate my friend and colleague John Pérez to serve as Speaker of the California Assembly. I did so deeply thankful for the strong support and encouragement I have received from members of our caucus, and also mindful of the example of one of the great inspirations of my life and many others–Rosa Parks. Mrs. Parks showed us you didn’t have to have a particular office or title to effect great change. I am proud to be a member of the California State Assembly and I will continue working hard, with my colleagues and with Speaker Pérez, to bring about real change for the people of my district and all the people of California.”

The responses are coming in in droves. Human Rights Campaign:

“We congratulate the selection of Assemblyman Pérez as the new Speaker of the House for the great state of California,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “John’s selection is a testament to his strong leadership after just joining the Assembly in the 2008 election. He is a role model for young people in his Los Angeles district and now for his state and country as the first openly-gay man to hold the Assembly’s top spot. We look forward to working with him as California continues to be an important state in our national fight for equality.”

Equality California:

"Equality California congratulates Assemblymember Pérez on gaining the support of the Democratic Caucus to become Speaker of the Assembly, a truly historic opportunity for our state," said Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors. He will be an outstanding steward for California as Speaker, ably guiding our state through the many challenges that lie ahead. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Assemblymember Pérez whose steadfast commitment to justice has resulted in significant gains not only for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community members but for all Californians," Kors said.

Congratulations to my friend, Speaker of the Assembly John A. Pérez!