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.

Openly Gay John Pérez Sworn In As CA Speaker

California made history on Monday when (as predicted by MadProfessah) 40-year-old John Pérez was officially sworn in as the 68th Speaker of the Assembly, the first gay man to hold what is regarded as the second most powerful political post in the state.

From The Los Angeles Times politics blog, PolitiCal:

Supporters praise Pérez for his intelligence and political instincts, but potential longevity could be his greatest strength. Having served only one year in the Legislature so far, Pérez could remain speaker for almost five years, which would be a remarkably long tenure in the era of term limits.

Equality California, the state's largest LGBT political group has already weighed in:

"Equality California is thrilled to welcome Assemblymember John A. Pérez as Speaker of the Assembly. With his indispensible leadership and stellar track record, we have the utmost confidence in his ability to find solutions to the many challenges California faces.

"California is a true trail blazer with respect to reflecting the state's diversity in our leadership, as we witnessed in the ground breaking election of the first female African-American Speaker two years ago and now the first LGBT Speaker.

"Speaker Pérez is a role model and an inspiration to the LGBT community, especially to LGBT youth struggling to find acceptance at home and in school. We wish him the very best of luck as he embarks on this momentous journey and look forward to continuing our partnership with him in our mission to achieve full equality for LGBT Californians."

You can watch John give his first remarks as the Speaker of the Assembly in the video above.

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.

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 Pérez Endorsed By Current Speaker Karen Bass

Multiple media sources are reporting that the race for Speaker is all but over, and openly gay John Pérez has apparently won. On Wednesday, current Speaker Karen Bass endorsed Pérez as her successor:

Bass said Peréz has secured support of a majority of the Assembly's Democratic Caucus --including herself -- and will have enough votes (41 are needed) to become speaker. Peréz, a Democratic from L.A., would be the body's first openly gay speaker.

[...]

The speaker, who had made clear her intention to step down by early 2010, didn't lay out an exact time frame for the transition. But she said the Democratic Caucus will vote next week -- and since the Dems control a majority of the Assembly, their choice will rule when it comes down to a floor vote of the full house.

[...]

Peréz, a freshman lawmaker who is the cousin of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, emerged in recent weeks as a contender for the position. He is chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus and took the lead securing votes during last month's contentious negotiations over water policy. He formerly worked as a political director for a Southern California local of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and is a member of the Democratic National Committee.

Will California's Next Assembly Speaker Be Gay?

Freshman Assemblymember John Pérez is emerging as a leading candidate to replace Speaker of the California Assembly Karen Bass. In fact, Calitics is claiming it's all over but the wailing and the gnashing of teeth.

Perez entered the race after a number of his Assembly colleagues mounted an effort to draft him as a speakership candidate. Capitol sources said if Perez is able to secure a majority of his caucus, the vote on a new speaker could come by next week, when the Assembly reconvenes to vote on education legislation.

One of those involved in the Draft Perez movement was Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael. Huffman told Capitol Weekly Tuesday, "I believe John now has the votes. I think it's over."

[...]

Perez did not appear to have a majority of his caucus's support Tuesday, but momentum for his bid was clearly growing. Assemblyman Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, another candidate for the job, has told members he has support from 22 members of his caucus -- four shy of the 26 Democrats informally needed to secure the job.

Neither Perez nor De Leon's office immediately returned calls seeking comment.

Pérez is well-known around these parts as the first (and only) openly LGBT person of color to
be elected to the California Legislature. Although, if HONOR PAC has its way, he will not be the last. Openly gay (Latino) Ricardo Lara is a leading candidate in the 50th Assembly District and opely gay (African American) Mitch Ward is a leading candidate for the 53rd Assembly District.

Pérez's main challenger for the Speaker job, Kevin de León is my local Assemblyperson, and I am an elected Delegate to the California Democratic Central Committee from the 45th Assembly District.

That being said, I would still love to have an openly gay Speaker of the Assembly.

Governator Terminates State Office of AIDS

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a budget revision bill on Tuesday that filled a $26 billion gap and also managed to slash important services to the most vulnerable populations in California.

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass said:

“It’s a shame Governor Schwarzenegger is so eager to tear down the safety net that he appears willing to break the law to do it. I am asking Legislative Counsel for a definitive opinion on the legality of the governor’s actions. The cuts the governor made today will have catastrophic effects on children, domestic abuse victims, and seniors. The cuts the governor made today have broken the lifeline to the state’s most vulnerable and underserved. We
sent the governor budget solutions that solved the deficit. He knows
that. He knows we pledged to work with him on building up the reserve in
August. He knows all that and still chose to take punitive measures
against children and AIDS patients. It wasn’t too long ago when a 24
year old woman born with HIV pleaded with Legislators not to adopt the
Governor’s proposal to eliminate the program that provides the drugs that
keep her alive. It wasn’t too long ago when a disabled woman, needing
both the assistance of a wheel chair and oxygen, pleaded to stay out of a
nursing facility in the event her in-home assistance would be eliminated by the Governor.

AIDS Project Los Angeles said:

"More than just short-sighted, these cuts are lethal," said APLA Executive Director Craig E. Thompson. "We are now poised to reverse more than a decade of progress toward fighting AIDS in California."

The Governor's signed budget includes the elimination of state general fund support for all HIV/AIDS programs except HIV epidemiology and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) -- a total reduction of more than $85 million. This leaves California’s Office of AIDS with only 20 percent of its funding for programs like HIV education and prevention, HIV counseling and testing, home health and early intervention.

"If the ultimate goal is to save money, this budget fails even on that account," Thompson said. "The state will pay dearly in healthcare costs as newly and needlessly infected Californians enter a system that is incapable of providing even basic care."

"Los Angeles County has the second largest AIDS epidemic in the country," Thompson continued. "California was, until today, a model for other states nationwide in HIV/AIDS care and treatment.

"Local health jurisdictions will now be forced to slash other vital programs in order to make up for the state cuts," Thompson explained. "Food, medical transportation, home health -- everything is threatened."

"This is nothing short of a public health disaster," he added. "State leaders must go back to the table and find viable solutions that will not destabilize these vital services.

CA Speaker Karen Bass Gives Interview on LGBT Rights

Karen Bass is the first Black woman to ever head a state legislative chamber in the United States and celebrated her first one-year anniversary of her Speakership of the California Assembly in mid-May. Recently, Speaker Bass gave an interview to Wendy Wilson of Essence.com where she answered several questions about her thoughts about LGBT civil rights and race:

ESSENCE.com: Do you see the same-sex issue similarly to the civil rights issues African-Americans have faced in the past?

BASS: No, in fact I think that it would be helpful if the LGBT community didn't compare our struggle to theirs because it's harder to win African-American support when you do that. I do believe it's a struggle for equality but I don't believe that every struggle for equality is identical to the African-American struggle. (emphasis added)

ESSENCE.com: There are rumors that conservative blacks in California are responsible for passing the measure in the first place. As someone who is black and works in the state government, what would you say to those who believe we're the reason why this measure exists?

BASS: I resent that tremendously. I believe there was an element of racism there. I was shocked at how quickly White, gay activists blamed us. Within 24-hours after the measure passed, it was decided that black voters are the reason for Prop 8.

Some White, gay activists said, we voted for your guy, how can you disrespect us and vote the other way? Last I checked Barack Obama was voted in as the President of the United States, not the president of just black people.

ESSENCE.com: What did this mean for people who are both black and gay?

BASS: Among black LGBT activist who went out to protest the "Yes" vote some of them had to leave because they were having racial epithets yelled at them. I was angry by the fact that some gay activists have such an immediate, visceral reaction without even questioning whether or not it was true.

Some gay activists called me up and asked me to intervene with the African-American community and explain why black people voted the way they did. I tried to tell them that they needed to go to the black LGBT community. One of the mistakes they made is not getting these black activists involved from the very beginning.

ESSENCE.com: So it's wrong to think that we caused this to happen?

BASS: When the vote was analyzed later, it was discovered that African-Americans were not the reason why Prop 8 passed. The analysis also showed a big divide in the way we voted based on generation. You had younger African-American voters who were against Prop 8 while the older African-American voters voted it in. Of course, we know the church plays a huge role within our community as well.

ESSENCE.com: What do you think will happen next regarding this issue in California?

BASS: You have to understand, California is in the middle of a financial meltdown right now. This is not the number one issue on people's minds but those who are actively in support of marriage equality will go back to the ballot and go through the legislative process again. But ultimately this is a national issue and states are going in different directions

I greatly respected Karen Bass before, and I still do. As board presidentof the only Black LGBT political advocacy organization in Southern California I get asked similar questions by the media frequently and I completely understand her answers. I am very pleased that Speaker Bass did not repeat the "zombie meme" that "the Black vote" caused Proposition 8 to pass and pushed back hard on the (primarily white) LGBT activists who were trying to blame this civil rights setback at the feet of Black people.

Another point Bass made that I agree with is calling out people who EQUATE the struggle for LGBT equality with the struggle for civil rights based on race and gender. As I have said multiple times (and been quoted in numerous papers) the struggles are related but they are not equivalent.

I like Dan Savage's characterization as the LGBT rights movement as "a civil rights movement" but the struggle for African-American equality was "The Civil Rights Movement."
The direct quote, from Savage's appearance on D.L. Hughley's CNN talk show on Saturday November 15, is:

I think African-Americans will always have claim to the civil rights movement, capital "T," capital "C," capital "R," capital "M." Ours is not the civil rights movement. But ours is a civil rights movement, lower case C-R-M. It is a struggle. You get fired because you're gay, you get fired because you're black, you're still out of a job. If your house gets burned down because you're gay, burned down because you're black, you're still out of a house and maybe dead. Hate is hate. I'm not equating the experience with the history at all. But we are making a civil rights demand.

Well said!

Report from CA Democratic Convention: Day 2 & 3

The second full day of the California Democratic Convention was a very busy affair. There were many speeches by politicians in the main hall (Jerry Brown, Gavin Newsom, Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi, etc etc).

Because I had a blogger credential, I was able to attend U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer press conference after her speech at the convention which was attended by both bloggers and members of the "old media." It was a very interesting experience. I had a question prepared, but I was too shy to ask it. My qeuestion would have been:

Senator, according to several national LGBT civil rights organizations there are currently nine United States Senators (10 if you count Al Franken) who have publicly announced their support for marriage equality. I think many of us in this room are aware of your position on this issue, but my question is would you like to use this opportunity to go on the record in favor of marriage equality, especially in light of the state Supreme Court's imminent ruling on the legality of Proposition 8 and the ongoing discussion about a future ballot measure to legalize the practice if the Court upholds the measure?

But, the other questions asked at the press conference were pretty good, if a bit focussed on the potential challenge of Carly Fiorina.

Later, in the day I went to the "Recession Reception" hosted by Attorney General Jerry Brown at the historic Governor's Mansion. At the reception I ran into the openly gay mayor of Mahattan Beach Mitch Ward who is running for the 53rd Assembly District seat currently held by Ted Lieu who is running for Attorney General. Ward is the first person of color (African American) elected to the Manhattan Beach city council in over one hundred years. Also at the reception was Ward's main rival for the seat, Betsy Butler who says she has already received the endorsement of Assembly Speaker Karen Bass.

Luis Lopez (President, HonorPAC, the Latina/o LGBT political action committee),
Hans Johnson (Board Member, NGLTF) and
Jerry Brown (CA Attorney General and Former Governor)

After the recession reception, I hung out with Luis and Hans and we ran into HonorPAC-endorsed, openly gay Long Beach city councilman Robert Garcia (who was the youngest person ever elected to that august body at the age of 31 a few weeks ago).

31-year-old openly gay Long Beach city councilman Robert Garcia with Luis Lopez

On Friday I had previously reported that I had run into openly gay, African American guy who is running for Ellen Tauscher's congressional seat in the 10th district. Here's a picture of Anthony Woods (left) with Tauren Jones, a volunteer for the African American caucus of the California Democratic Party.
(Notice the spiffy red-green-black pin on his lapel).

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

Karen Bass Sworn In As California Assembly Speaker

Karen Bass is being sworn in today as Speaker of the California Assembly, the first Black woman to head a legislative body in the United States.

The New York Times article on her elevation was entitled "Black Woman in Powerful Job in California":

Ms. Bass begins with a track record with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, who has called her a terrific leader and with whom she worked on the foster care system.

“He’s a Republican, and I’m a Democrat,” Ms. Bass said in a telephone interview from Sacramento, where she lives half the week. “I would describe it as a positive relationship.”

Leading the Assembly “is not a job I’ve always dreamed of,” said Ms. Bass, who before being elected from the 47th Assembly District in 2005 ran the Community Coalition in South Los Angeles. “I have been a lifelong community activist and frankly did not dream of being in public office.”

Karen Bass becomes Speaker on May 13

Karen Bass, the first African American woman named to head a legislative body in the United States, will become Speaker of the California Assembly on Tuesday May 13. Bass is a Democrat from Los Angeles.

Karen Bass Becomes Speaker-Elect of the California Assembly

Los Angeles Assemblyperson Karen Bass (D-47) was unanimously elected Speaker-Elect of the California Assembly on Thursday by the Democratic Caucus. When she assumes the office later this year after Speaker Fabian Nuñez retires, Bass will become the first African American woman to head a legislative body. She will be the second African American (after Willie Brown) and the second woman (after Republican Doris Allen) to hold the second most important role in California government.

(And, yes, Karen Bass is supporting Barack Obabam for President.)