Saturday Politics: CA-33, AD-43, SD-15, CA-AG and CA-LG

Kamala Harris

In today's edition of Saturday Politics we have stories about Karen Bass's run for Congress, developments in the California Attorney General race and details about the new (and the next) Lieutenant Governor of California.

CA-33. Assemblymember Karen Bass path to the United States House of Representatives has been cleared by the decision by a deep-pocketed rival named Howard C. Mandel to not challenge the former Speaker of the Assembly for the Democratic nomination for the 33rd Congressional District, currently represented by retiring Diane Watson. Multiple sources tell MadProfessah that the good doctor, who had been prepared to spend up to $500,000, has been quietly convinced by leaders in the Jewish community that they support Ms. Bass's run for the Congressional seat. This leaves Bass' only remaining challenger the perennial candidate Felton Newell.

AD-43. Following his decisive win in the April 13th special primary election and his primary opponent's withdrawal from the race, Mike Gatto has secured the endorsement of the Stonewall Democratic Club in both races happening June 8, 2010: the special election run-off and the Democratic primary election.

CA Attorney General. While MadProfessah endorsed San Francisco District Attorney on Wednesday, the same day that former Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly wrote a check for $4 million to double his campaign war chest for the Democratic nomination for the Attorney General.

CA Lieutenant Governor. The race between Los Angeles City Councilmember Janice Hahn and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has gotten pretty tense. The two ad elaborate, duelling parties at the California Demorcratic Convention in Los Angeles, where neither was able to gather the state party's official endorsement. At the Equality California statewide candidates forum last Sunday, the two refused to share a stage. Interestingly, Hahn easily earned the endorsement of the Stonewall Democratic Club on Monday, despite the fact that Newsom is well-known in the LGBT community as an early champion of marriage equality.

SD-15. In other Lieutenant Governor news, State Senator Abel Maldonado was sworn in this week as the new Lieutenant Governor after winning confirmation a few months after the Assembly rejected his nomination, giving the Republicans 3 of the 8 statewide constitutional offices (including Governor and Insurance Commissioner). Maldonado's ascension leaves his seat in State Senate District 15 open, and openly gay former Assemblyman John Laird has made no secret of his desire to switch the seat to the Democrats. If he wins, he would become only the second openly gay man to serve in the State Senate, following Mark Leno.

That's it for this week. Feel free to send tips for future Saturday Politics stories by twitter (@madprofessah), email or in the comments!

WATCH: Karen Bass Answer Questions On LGBT Rights

Today is Saturday which means it is local politics day at MadProfessah.com. This week, I attended a "Millennials for Karen Bass" event this week which was streamed live on the internet and recorded. It can be accessed here.

The event was to raise fund for Karen Bass' run for the 33rd Congressional District of California. The Democratic Primary is June 8, 2010. At the event, surprisingly, Speaker Bass took questions from the audience and was unabashed about her support for marriage equality and viewing LGBT rights as a question of justice and equality. "A hard vote for some but not for me" is how she described voting for marriage equality (twice!) in the state legislature.

Karen Bass will be a true progressive voice in the halls of Congress. Please help get her there.

CA-33: Bass Gets Big $$ Rival and Big Endorsements

Former Speaker of the California Assembly Karen Bass received endorsements from Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in her recently announced attempt to represent the 33rd Congressional District of California, which Diane Watson represented for over a decade.
The endorsement by Rep. Waters is noteworthy, because it signals a unanimous blessing of the entire Black political establishment of Los Angeles, which has rarely been united behind single candidates in electoral races.

In addition to receiving important endorsements, Bass received unwelcome news in the form of a well-funded, independently wealthy challenger for the Democratic nomination for CA-33: Dr. Howard Mandell, who announced his candidacy and transferred $500,000 into his candidate account. MadProfessah has endorsed Karen Bass for the 33rd District and will be watching developments in this race more closely.

In other, less local news, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made waves by announcing his run for Lieutenant Governor, about five months after he suddenly dropped out of the race for the top job. His entry will complicate the race for the previously announced candidates Los Angeles City Councilperson Janice Hahn and Dean Florez, the latter of whom immediately dropped out. MadProfessah has not (yet) made an endorsement in this race.

CA-33: Karen Bass Announces Run For Congress

Karen Bass

At a press conference on Wednesday, outgoing Speaker of the California Assembly Karen Bass announced that she is indeed seeking to represent the 33rd Congressional District of California, which Congresswoman Diane Watson announced that she was retiring from last week. The congressional district includes many different sections of Los Angeles, including Culver City, Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights, Windsor Hills, Hancock Park, Hollywood, the Wilshire corridor and Koreatown.

The highest ranked African American politician in Los Angeles County, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Rep. Watson herself appeared at the press conference and endorsed the 56-year-old Bass to be her successor.

“I 100% -- maybe 300% -- endorse Karen Bass," said Rep. Watson, 76

"Karen's abundant strengths as a public servant have always been her willingness and desire to listen carefully to the people she serves, couples with her ability to act swiftly, forcefully and sensitively to meet the needs (of) her diverse constituents. Speaker Bass has my full support as she seeks to succeed Congresswoman Diane Watson in the House of Representatives to serve the needs of the people of the 33rd Congressional District," said Ridley-Thomas, 55.

Karen Bass will be an excellent Congresswoman and MadProfessah endorses her in the June 2010 Democratic primary.

U.S. Rep. Diane Watson To Announce Retirement

Long-time Congresswoman Diane Watson is expected to announce her retirement from Congress on Thursday. Watson, 76, has represented the 33rd House District of California since 2001, after serving in California State Senate for twenty years and being appointed U.S. Ambassador to Micronesia by President Bill Clinton in 1999.

Termed out Speaker of the Assembly Karen Bass is widely expected to seek (and win) the Democratic nomination for the Congressional seat vacated by Watson's retirement, which will be decided on June 8, 2010.

The 33rd Congressional District covers the traditionally African-American sections of Los Angeles, including the cities of Culver City and Ladera Heights.

It is considered one of the safest Democratic seats in the country, with Barack Obama winning 87% of the vote in 2008.

Having such a talented politician as Karen Bass representing Los Angeles will be a considerable boon to the area.