AD-51: Bradford and Gray Vie To Replace Price

Former Assemblymember Curren Price was elected to the State Senate to fill the seat of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, thus leaving Price's 51st district Assembly seat vacant. The seat will be filled in a special election to be held Tuesday September 1st.

The two front runners for that seat are Steve Bradford and Gloria Gray. Bradford originally lost the 2006 Democratic primary by a heartbreaking 112 votes to Price, who has now endorsed Bradford to be his replacement in the Assembly.

Equality California has endorsed Steve Bradford. They are aware that in the 51st AD Proposition 8 passed by a margin of 57.9 to 42.1 per cent.

Here's an excerpt from a statement from the candidate:

"If elected to represent the people of the 51st Assembly District, I will vow to continue fighting to protect the rights of all Californians including those of our LGBT brothers and sisters. In building a true state of equality, we must ensure that all members of our communities are given equal rights and protection under the law including the right to marry."

Stonewall Democrats have also endorsed Bradford. MadProfessah also endorses Bradford.

SD-26: Curren Price will be next State Senator

Curren Price will become the next State Senator from the 26th District after the May 19th Special Election. He placed first among all vote-getters in Tuesday's Special Primary Election, so as the top Democrat he will face Republican Nachum Shifren and Peace and Freedom Party candidate Cindy Varela Henderson. Only between 6-8% of registered voters bothered to turn out in Tuesday's election, less than half the percentage that turned out in the Los Angeles City elections three weeks earlier.

Thanks for the commenters at MadProfessah.com and Calitics for setting me "straight." If State Senator Abel Maldonado's June 2010 Open Primary Initiative constitutional amendment passes then the scenario I had mentioned yesterday (run-offs between the two top vote getters regardless of party if no one gets 50%+1) would come to pass.

Oh, and later in 2009 there will need to be a special election to replace Curren Price in the 51st Assembly District!

SD-26: Election Results (Price-Davis Runoff Likely)

The results in Tuesday's 26th State Senate District Special Election can be found at the Secretary of State's website. The latest--very early, i.e. 15.5% (55 of 354 precincts reporting)--results are)

Candidate                Votes   Percent
Mike Davis (Dem)          2,968        23.44%
Saundra Davis (Dem)     840          6.63%
Cindy Varela Henderson (P&F) 244          1.93%
Curren D. Price, Jr. (Dem)   3,996        31.56%
Nachum Shifren (Rep)   1,910        15.08%
Robert Cole (Dem)          1,883        14.87%
Mervin Leon Evans (Dem)      76        0.60%
Jonathan Friedman (Dem)        745        5.88%

Another election will be held during the statewide May 19th special election between the top two vote getters if no candidate gets 50% +1 vote in this election. Mike Davis and Curren Price are both sitting Assemblymembers but only one of them is in favor of marriage equality and has had nearly 750,000 dollars of independent expenditures on his behalf: Curren Price.

It will not be a good sign for the forces of equality if Price can not get more than 1/3rd of the vote (and barely 10 points more than his nearest competitor, even in an 8-way race) despite out-raising and out-spending his opposition by something like a 8-to-1 ratio.

UPDATE 11:21PM WE HAVE A RUNOFF!!

Candidate     Votes   Percent
Mike Davis (Dem)     5,158     21.78%
Saundra Davis (Dem)   1,803   7.61%
Cindy Varela Henderson (P&F)  414   1.75%
Curren D. Price, Jr. (Dem)  8,442   35.65%
Nachum Shifren (Rep)   2,731  11.53%
Robert Cole (Dem)    3,133   13.23%
Mervin Leon Evans (Dem)   136   0.57%
Jonathan Friedman (Dem)   1,864  7.87%

Gentleman, start your engines!

SD-26: MadProfessah with Curren Price and Mark Ridley-Thomas

MadProfessah attended Equality California Political Action Committee event to support Curren Price's campaign for the 26th State Senate District and took the above picture with Assemblymember Price (left), Sheryl Lee Ralph, Los Angeles County Supervisor (and former 26th District State Senator) Mark Ridley-Thomas (in Black).

Today is the special election. If you are in the 26th District, please vote for Curren Price, he is the only candidate in the race who not only supports marriage equality but also endorsed a resolution declaring Proposition 8 an unconstitutional revision of the California Constitution.

SD-26: Vote for Price in Tue Mar 24 Special Election

On Tuesday March 24th there is a special election to fill the vacancy in the 26th State Senate district caused by Mark Ridley-Thomas becoming a Los Angeles County Supervisor last December.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Eight candidates are running to replace Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in November, in the district, which is politically liberal and ethnically and economically diverse. Six Democrats, one Republican and one Peace and Freedom Party member are on the ballot in the district, which includes several Westside communities, parts of South Los Angeles, Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights, Culver City, West Hollywood, Silver Lake and Larchmont, among others.


The district's registration -- 66% Democratic -- and voting history virtually ensure the seat will again go to a Democrat. But if no candidate musters a majority of the ballots Tuesday, another special election will be held May 19, with the top vote-getter from each of the three political parties with candidates in the race.

That means whichever Democrat comes out on top Tuesday will be the next representative of the district, said Allan Hoffenblum, publisher of the California Target Book, which provides nonpartisan, detailed analyses of the state's political districts.

"The only question is can it be won outright, or will the Democratic winner have to go to a runoff," said Hoffenblum, who, like other political experts watching the race, sees Assemblyman Curren Price Jr. as the front-runner.

MadProfessah has endorsed Curren Price, who is also endorsed by Equality California, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and State Senate Pro Tem Darrel Steinberg and openly LGBT Senators Mark Leno and Christine Kehoe. Curiously, Speaker Karen Bass has not endorsed Curren Price, and I believe part of her assembly district overlaps SD-26.

If you live in the 26th district (see the map above), I encourage you to vote for Assemblymember Price, and help him to avoid the May 19th run-off election.

On Sunday, there is an event which Equality California PAC is sponsoring and MadProfessah will be attending:

Curren Price for LGBT Equality

EQCA PAC Fundraiser
Hosted by Sheryl Lee Ralph & Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes

Special Guest
Assemblymember Curren Price (D-Los Angeles)

Sunday, March 22
5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Mid-City/Country Club Park
Los Angeles

For event address, to become an event host or RSVP, email or call 323.461.100

SD-26: Curren Price Winning Endorsements Battle

Assemblymember Curren Price has been racking up the endorsements in his attempt to replace Mark Ridley-Thomas in the 26th District of the State Senate in a special election to be held March 24th, 2009.

MadProfessah has been carefully monitoring the race between two African American elected officials to replace a pro-LGBT equality politician. Price's opponent is Assemblymember Mike Davis who has previously refused to support pro-LGBT legislation.

The statewide LGBT lobbying group Equality California Political Action Committee endorsed Price last week.

In both 2007 and 2008, Price received a 100 percent score on the Equality California scorecard. In 2007 he voted for the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, which would have allowed same-sex couples to marry in California. This year, he is a co-author of HR 5, a resolution in the State Assembly urging that Proposition 8, which amended the Constitution to eliminate the right to marry for same-sex couples, be invalidated.

"I am proud to have the support of Equality California and its members for my campaign for State Senate," said Assembly Member Price. "EQCA members are on the front lines fighting for civil rights and equal rights for all people, but they are, most importantly, a powerful voice for justice on one issue we should all agree upon: full equality under our state's Constitution and its laws for members of California's LGBT community."

[...]

The 26th Senate District includes the cities of Baldwin Hills, Baldwin Vista, Beverlywood, Carthay Circle, Century City, the Crenshaw District, Culver City, Hancock Park, Hollywood, Hyde Park, Jefferson Park, Ladera Heights, Lafayette Square, Larchmont, Leimert Park, Los Feliz, Miracle Mile, South Central Los Angeles, View Park, West Los Angeles and Windsor Hills, among others.

In addition, this week Price was endorsed by Senate Pro Tem Darrel Steinberg, the head of the State Senate and one of the most powerful politicians in California. Previously Price was endorsed by both Service Employees International Union and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Davis has been endorsed by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (what was she thinking?)

MadProfessah has endorsed Curren Price.

SD-26: Who will replace Ridley-Thomas in California Senate?

Curren Price	Mike Davis

Now that Mark Ridley-Thomas has been sworn in as a Los Angeles County Supervisor, his State Senate seat, representing the 26th District will need to have a special election to pick a replacement. The two most likely contenders are fellow Assemblymembers, Mike Davis (AD-48) and Curren Price (AD-51). They were both elected to the Assembly in 2006 and must leave office in 2012.

Ridley-Thomas is a supporter of civil marriage rights for everyone, while Davis voted against the bill to end marriage discrimination last summer while Price voted in favor of AB 43.

Senate seats are more desirable than Assembly seat because in California, the term is 2 four-year terms (so only one re-election race). Whoever wins the 26th District seat would basically be guaranteed to hold office until 2016. According to Wikipedia, the district is 37% Latino, 28% Black, 11% Asian and 21% White as well as being 68% Democratic. It will be interesting to see if a string Latino contender emerges for this seat which is widely considered a "Black" position.