MadProfessah Endorsements for May 19 Election

Finally, the moment you have been waiting for! Here are MadProfessah's positions on how I think you should vote in the May 19th Special Election.

Proposition Number (Topic)             MadProfessah LA TIMES  CALITICS CA DEM PARTY
1A (Budget Cap, Rainy Day Fund)            NO         YES        NO     NEUTRAL
1B (Education Funding Plan)                YES        NO         NO     YES
1C (Lottery Modernization Plan)            NO         YES        NO     YES
1D (Children's Services Funding            YES        YES        NO     NEUTRAL
1E (Mental Health Services Funding         YES        YES        NO     NEUTRAL
1F (Elected Officials Salaries)            NO         YES        NO     YES

CA-32

Additionally, if yu live in the 32nd Congressional district MadProfessah strongly endorses Judy Chu. She is an incredibly strong supporter of LGBT, Labour and people of color and a true progressive voice. It would be amazing to have her on Congress representing a portion of Los Angeles County. Judy has raised the most amount of money and received the lion's share of endorsements but is thought to be in a tough race with Gill Cedillo.

SD-26

If you live in the 26th State Senate District, MadProfessah endorses Curren Price. Assemblymember Price is a strong supporter of LGBT equality, including marriage equality. Having won the Democratic primary fairly easily in March, he should win election easily in this overwhelmingly Democratic district, replacing now-County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

Los Angeles City Attorney.

This is the race that has all the political geeks' tongues wagging. Carme Trutanich and Jack Weiss have been slugging it out in the run-off election for weeks, with multiple negative television ads. I'm not sure exactly what Weiss has done to some people (but he's clearly pissed off several!) but I have met him and he makes the right noises about supporting civil rights for all people and seems to understand the power of the City Attorney's office. Weiss was running on Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's re-election ticket along with Wendy Gruel for City Controller but Weiss was the only one dragged into a run-off. Electing him would allow the Mayor to complete his sweep of the elected citywide (nonpartisan) offices. MadProfessah endorses Weiss for City Attorney.

City Council District #5. Paul Koretz is a guy who is one of the longest-serving members of the Stonewall Democratic Club. He is a true progressive, who in his too-short term-limited 6-year stint in the Assembly introduced a civil unions bill (way before it was cool!) as well as Center for Health Justice's condoms-in-prisons bill. He is also the author of the state's law prohibiting insurance discrimination on the basis of gender identity. He is running for a westside city council seat being vacated by Jack Weiss in District #5, and MadProfessah endorses Paul Koretz for LA City Council, Seat #5.

Los Angeles Community College District
Office #2: Angela Reddock. Reddock is the only African American representative on the 7-member body which represents an organization whos mission is critically important to the future well-being of generations of Black and Brown people in Los Angeles County.

Office #6: Robert Nakahiro. Nakahiro is openly gay and running against an incumbent named Nancy Pearlman who seems to take her relection for granted and was forced into a run-off, surprising everyone.

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.