AD-43: Shock! Nayiri Wins Stonewall Dems Nod

Nahabedian	Gatto

In a shock to most political insiders, Nayiri Nahabedian, Glendale School board members and AD-43 candidate, won the endorsement of the Stonewall Democratic Club, one of the oldest and most prominent LGBT democratic clubs in the country, despite the fact that her main opponent Mike Gatto, has been a longtime paid member of the club for well over a decade and a strong LGBT ally.

MadProfessah is a Stonewall Democratic Club board member (technically, elected Steering Committee member) of Stonewall, and although I have participated in other endorsement panel hearings, I was not on the committee that recommended an endorsement for Gatto by a vote of 4-3. However, at the meeting of the membership on Monday March 22nd, the vote was 23-10 to endorse Nahabedian, which observers chalked up to an impassioned speech by former Assemblyperson Jackie Goldberg, who is openly lesbian and best well-known for the primary author of AB 205, California's Comprehensive Domestic Partnership Act. Stonewall does not allow candidates to speak at a club meeting in which their race is being considered by the membership, but allows 3 people to speak in favor and in opposition to motions on the floor.

Gatto has been endorsed by yours truly, but more importantly he has been endorsed by the California Democratic Party. This surprising result at the Stonewall Democratic Club is the second time that Nahabedian has mobilized (some would say "packed") a Democratic club meeting to overturn the recommendation of a club's endorsement committee for Gatto. DPSFV (Democratic Party of San Fernando Valley) had recommended Gatto but the endorsement was changed to open endorsement by a vote of the membership.

The special primary election will be help on April 13th to see who will replace Paul Krekorian and then on June 8th the Democratic primary will be held for who gets the nomination for the November election to represent the 43rd Assembly district in January 2011.

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.

LA CD-2: Krekorian Wins City Council Seat

Yesterday's run-off election in the 2nd District of the Los Angeles City Council was won easily by MadProfessah-endorsed candidate Paul Krekorian (43rd District Assemblymember) over Christine Essel. Turnout was even lower than expected, with only 15.35% or less than 20,000 votes cast in a district which has around 125,000 registered voters. More than half of the votes were cast by mail and Krekorian had a nearly 60-40 edge in those votes.

The final results were:

VOTES	PERCENT
COUNCIL DISTRICT 2
	CHRISTINE ESSEL	8,304	43.44
	PAUL KREKORIAN	10,810	56.56

This means that there will be an upcoming special election to replace Krekorian in the 43rd District. MadProfessah friend (and hunky straight ally) Mike Gatto will be a candidate in a crowded field.

Los Angeles CD-2 Election Today: Paul Krekorian

Today is the decision day for the 2nd District Los Angeles City Council race between businesswoman Christine Essel and Assemblymember Paul Krekorian, the top two finishers in the September 22nd special election. The seat became vacant when Wendy Greuel was elected City Controller in July. If Krekorian is elected (as MadProfessah hopes) then there will be another special election to replace his seat in the 43rd Assembly district. Greuel has endorsed Essel to replace her.

Most LGBT activists, most notably the Stonewall Democrats (of which MadProfessah is an elected steering committee member) are rooting for Krekorian to win. John Cleary, Stonewall President wrote the following letter of support for LGBT Democrats and their allies in the 2nd City Council District:

This is a very important time in our city and we need a leader who will listen to our concerns and act on our behalf. On December 8, we hope you will support Paul Krekorian for Los Angeles City Council. Paul has received the strong endorsement of Stonewall Democratic Club, Stonewall Young Democrats, and Senator Mark Leno because Paul has always been a trusted friend of our community and a strong advocate on issues that matter to us.

Senator Mark Leno, Chair of the Legislative LGBT Caucus, said “Paul Krekorian has always been a trusted friend of the LGBT community and a leader on the issues that matter to us. Paul was a coauthor of my bill, AB 43, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, and he fervently opposed Prop. 8. Paul Krekorian believes in and will fight for equality for all, and he deserves your support.”

Paul was a strong ally in our fight in opposition to Proposition 8. He was also among the group of legislators who filed an amicus brief in support of marriage equality with the California Supreme Court.

In addition, Paul has a lifetime 100% voting record from Equality California and was a coauthor of a Senate Joint Resolution that called for an end to “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”

Paul has been a longtime board member of the AIDS Community Action Foundation. He was the author of AB 1894, mandating that health insurers pay for HIV/AIDS testing in all settings, regardless of primary diagnosis.

Paul Krekorian is the right person at the right time to serve on the City Council. He is also the only candidate with a proven track record of fighting for our community. Please join me in supporting Paul on December 8.

There are 123,750 registered voters in the 2nd City Council District, and nearly 10,000 absentee ballots have been returned. Overall turnout is expected to be about 20%.

Below is the PDF of the actual letter sent out to 5,000 residents of LA CD-2.
Krekorian Support Letter

L.A. CD-2: Krekorian and Essel in Dec. 8 Runoff Election

MadProfessah-endorsed candidate Paul Krekorian was the top vote-getter in yesterday's special election in City Council District #2:

TAMAR GALATZAN                  1,871 12.94%
JOZEF "JOE" THOMAS ESSAVI       306 2.12%
CHRISTINE ESSEL              4,104 28.39%
MICHAEL MC CUE                  339 2.35%
PETE SANCHEZ                    699 4.84%
DAVID "ZUMA DOGG" SALTSBURG     410 2.84%
FRANK SHEFTEL                   441 3.05%
PAUL KREKORIAN               4,929 34.10%
MARY BENSON                     1,198 8.29%
AUGUSTO BISANI                  158 1.09%

Turnout was a measly 11.74% out of 123, 750 registered voters with more than half (55%) of all votes cast by mail. Krekorian will face Christine Essel in the Tuesday December 8 run-off election. If Krekorian wins, it will set off another special election for his 43rd District Assembly seat that he currently holds.

Paul Krekorian for City Council

Guess what? There's an election today in Los Angeles. Paul Krekorian is a strong supporter of the LGBT community and a current Assemblymember who is running for the Los Angeles City Council in District #2. The special election was set for today to fill the seat being vacated by Wendy Greuel who became Los Angeles City Controller on July 1st. Bizarrely, the Los Angeles Times has endorsed another candidate, Christine Essel, who has never held elected office but is movie studio executive following in Greuel's foot steps (and has been endorsed by her) from the board room to the council chambers.

The Los Angeles City council is a 15-member body that is the elected political body representing nearly 4 million residents. This is an important election.

Krekorian has been endorsed by Stonewall Democrats. MadProfessah endorses Krekorian for City Council.