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Assembly candidate excoriates his voters

March 13, 2012 By

You really don’t get to see political exits like this very often.

Adnan Shahab

While researching candidates recently, I found the website of Adnan Shahab, a Republican Assembly candidate who had run in 2010 and had filed to run again in 2012. In a statement on his website, Shahab had announced that although he was doubtless the best person to represent the area, he had decided not to run;

“There is still no doubt in my mind that I am the best person to represent Assembly District 20 in Sacramento. But at the same time, I believe the voters in the district are not ready to comprehend the fact that I am exactly the kind of person who they should be electing into office. For now, the majority of the voters in the area seem to be content electing unremarkable people into office.”

Shahab went on to scold the voters for being uninformed, ignorant, and displaying a “disgusting” apathy when it comes to selecting their representatives;

“The vast majority of the people in this area have absolutely no idea what is going on with their elected officials. I condemn the ignorance and apathy on the part of these people, as well as their acceptance of mediocrity in their elected officials. Clearly, I am not the right person to represent these people at this time.”

Shahab’s departure left the contest without a Republican. At the close of the filing period, the candidates in the race included three Democrats and one Independent.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Current Research, JoinCalifornia, State Assembly

2012 Candidate Listing begins

March 13, 2012 By

With the close of the regular candidate filing period on Friday, work has started on the listing of candidates for the 2012 elections. Of the 155 partisan contests to be decided in November, two (for President and U.S. Senate) have many candidates from many parties and the information will be posted as it becomes available.

The other 153 are being broken down into four categories;

  1. Extended Nominations – Races in which the incumbent officerholder has not filed to run for reelection (and the filing period has been extended until tomorrow (3/14). Because candidates can still file, the final number of candidates isn’t yet known.
  2. Listed Contests – Races in which the filing period has closed (so we know who the candidates are) and the total number of candidates is 1 or 2. With California’s new primary system, both candidates will go on to the November General Election.
  3. 3+ Candidates – In these races, the filing period has closed but there are three or more candidates who have qualified. In these cases, the candidates who will appear on the November ballot are not yet known.

The current break-down of candidate processing is;

Congress (53 seats)

  • 9 contests have extended nomination periods
  • 4 contests have been listed (all four have two candidates)
  • 15 contests have three or more qualified candidates.
  • 25 contests are spread over multiple counties and the qualified candidates have not yet been determined.

State Legislature (100 seats)

  • 44 contests have extended nomination periods (9 in the Senate and 35 in the Assembly)
  • 36 contests have been listed (33 have two candidates, 3 are single-candidate contests)
  • 11 contests have three or more qualified candidates.
  • 9 contests are spread over multiple counties and the qualified candidates have not yet been determined.
Filed Under: 2012 Election, Congress, Current Research, JoinCalifornia, State Assembly, State Senate, Top Stories

One Term Assemblymembers since 1991

March 9, 2012 By

Assemblymember Halderman

Assemblywoman Linda Halderman announced today that she would not seek a second term this November. The announcement, coming less than five hours before the filing deadline for the seat threw the race into confusion. According to the Secretary of State’s website, Halderman was the only candidate who had filed to run in the 23rd Assembly district, leading to an easy reelection.

Taking a look at the history books, there have been forty-four legislators who served a term or less in the Assembly in the “term-limits era” of 1991 to today. Half of the 44 had been legislators prior to term limits and the single term each served after 1991 was just the end of a longer career.

For the story of the other twenty-two;

Elected in 1990
Xavier Becerra – Skipped a second term in the Assembly to run for Congress. First elected Congress in 1992.
Tom Mays – Ran for a second term in 1992 and lost in the Primary.

Elected in 1992
Hilda  Solis - Skipped a second term in the Assembly to run for State Senate. Elected to the Senate in 1994. Elected to Congress in 2000.  U.S. Secretary of Labor (2009-Present)
Julie Bornstein  -Ran for a second term in 1994 and lost in the General Election.
Vivien Bronshvag  – Ran for a second term in 1994 and lost in the Primary.
Tom Connolly  – Ran for a second term in 1994 and lost in the General Election. Connolly is now listed on the Megan’s Law website after being convicted of two felonies involving a minor in 1997.
Margaret  Snyder  – Ran for a second term in 1994 and lost in the General Election. Worth noting is that Snyder was the author of the resolution that imposed the first ‘bill limits’ on the Assembly.
Kathleen Honeycutt  – Declined to seek another term citing health reasons.

Elected in 1994
Brian  Setencich - Served as Speaker in 1995-1996 with the support of Democrats. Ran for a second term in 1996 and lost in the Primary. Ran in the General Election as a write-in candidate and lost. Convicted of tax evasion in 2000 and was sentenced to seven months in a halfway house.
Phil Hawkins  – Left the Assembly to run for State Senate in 1996. Lost. Ran for Assembly again in 1998. Lost.

Elected in 1996
Deborah Ortiz  – Left the Assembly to run for State Senate in 1998. Won.
Robert Prenter  – Ran for a second term in 1998 and lost in the General Election.

Elected in 1999
Audie Bock   – Elected as a Green in a Special Election. Ran for a second term in 2000 as an Independent and lost in the General Election. Was a recall candidate for Governor in 2003.

Elected in 2000
Dennis Hollingsworth -  Left the Assembly to run for State Senate in 2002. Won. Served as Senate Minority Leader in 2009-2010.

Elected in 2002
Bob Dutton - Left the Assembly to run for State Senate in 2004. Won. Served as Senate Minority Leader in 2010-2012. Had announced that he would run for Assembly again in 2012, but has since decided to run for Congress.
Steve Samuelian  – Declined to run again after some embarassing issues.

Elected in 2004
Mike Gordon  – Died in office.
Joe Baca Jr.  – Left the Assembly to run for State Senate in 2006. Lost. Running for Assembly again this year.

Elected in 2006
Mark DeSaulnier  – Left the Assembly to run for State Senate in 2004. Won.
Richard Alarcon  – First elected to the Senate in 1998, Alarcon termed out after two full terms in 2006. He was elected to the Assembly in 2006 and served 102 days before resigning after being elected to the LA City Council. Now termed out of the City Council, Alarcon is running for the Assembly again this year.
Laura Richardson  – Resigned from the Assembly after 261 days, having been elected to Congress in a Special Election.

Elected in 2008
Danny D. Gilmore  – Declined to seek another term after a ‘frustrating’ year in the Assembly. Gilmore (a Republican) had been elected from a district that previously elected Democrats, earning him the wrath of Speaker Karen Bass.

Elected in 2010 (still serving)
Linda Halderman – Declined to seek another term, noting “This is my home… I just need to go back”.
David Valadao - Leaving the Assembly to run for Congress in 2012.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Current Research, ElectionVolunteer, JoinCalifornia, State Assembly, State Senate, Top Stories

Dreier not running for reelection

February 29, 2012 By

Congressman David Dreier announced today that he will not seek another term in Congress. The surprising announcement, less than two weeks before the filing deadline, throws into doubt who will run for his seat. Currently, only two candidates (Norma Macias and Roger Hernandez) have filed to run for the District 32 seat.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Congress, Current Research

Sharon Runner receives lungs transplant

February 24, 2012 By

Sharon Runner

Senator Sharon Runner today became California’s first state legislator with a lung transplant. Runner had been on an organ recipient list for more than a year. When Runner returns to the Senate, she will join Senator Tom Berryhill, who was the first heart-transplant survivor to serve in California’s state legislature.

Although lung transplants are uncommon, there have been a number of officeholders nationally who have received the surgery. Congressman Floyd Spence (R-South Carolina) had a double-lung transplant in May of 1988 and Charlie Norwood (R-Georgia) had a single lung transplant in 2004.

We wish Runner a fast and easy recovery.

LINK: SacBee Article

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Current Research, JoinCalifornia, State Senate

Primary Candidate Tracking Report (2/14/2012)

February 14, 2012 By

There are currently 176 candidates for Congress and 299 candidates for the State Legislature in the 2012 Primary Election who are currently being tracked in preparation for updating the JoinCalifornia database.

Congress (53 Seats; 176 Candidates)
89 Democrats
79 Republicans
3 Libertarians
2 Greens
3 Independents/No Party Preference

State Senate (20 Seats; 47 Candidates)
30 Democrats
14 Republicans
1 Libertarians
2 Independents/No Party Preference

State Assembly (80 Seats; 252 Candidates)
150 Democrats
82 Republicans
1 Green
1 Peace and Freedom
17 Independents/No Party Preference

Of the 299 state legislative candidates, 115 have appeared previously on General Election ballots, 75 are current legislators, and 13 are former legislators.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Current Research, ElectionVolunteer

Election Tracking

February 10, 2012 By

What to expect on the General Election ballot? Well, although we are still early in the candidate nomination period, we still have some idea of what to expect.

With the “Top Two Primary” going into effect this year, the number of candidates on the General Election ballot will be capped at 315 this year, although we’re likely to see a few less than that. In recent years, we have seen around ten races each year that have only one candidate, so expecting about 305-310 candidates is probably reasonable. The candidate numbers break down;

7 candidates for U.S. President
2 candidates for U.S. Senator
106 candidates for U.S. Representative (2 per district for 53 districts)
40 candidates for (2 per district for 20 districts)
160 candidates for State Assembly (2 per district for 80 districts)

We should find out who the candidates are (with the exception of the Presidential nominees) in two waves;

  • In races with only one or two candidates, we should know who will be appearing on the November ballot shortly after the end of the filing period (on or before March 24th).
  • In races with three or more candidates, we will have to wait until after the Primary Election (June 5th) to see which two candidates received the most votes and will continue to the General Election.

If not before, Presidential nominees should become apparent after each of the party conventions;

  • American Independent nominee to be selected at convention by April 21.
  • Libertarian nominee to be selected at convention by May 6.
  • Americans Elect nominee to be selected online by July 1.
  • Green nominee to be selected at convention by July 15.
  • Peace & Freedom nominee to be selected at convention by August 5.
  • Republican nominee to be selected at convention by August 30.
  • Democratic nominee to be selected at convention by September 6.
Filed Under: 2012 Election, ElectionVolunteer, JoinCalifornia, Top Stories

Merv Evans for…

February 9, 2012 By

Merv Evans with Jerry Brown

Friday marks the 59th birthday for Mervin Evans, one of California’s prolific candidates for public office.

In the two decades since he began running, Evans has sought election to statewide office (4 times), the State Assembly (5 times), State Senate (just once), Congress (8 times), and U.S. Senate (three times in two states), while running for local office in Los Angeles six times as well.

Running for so many offices can be confusing; the title bar on his website [http://mervpac.net/] currently reads “Mervin Evans for State Assembly” while the banner at the top of the page clearly indicates that Evans is running for Congress in District 37.

Evans runs similar campaigns in each election, focusing on the core issues of stopping child molesters and bear poachers while protecting the Second Amendment and expanding services for military veterans. Evans faces another tough race this year, running against Congresswoman (and former Assembly Speaker) Karen Bass for the seat she first won in 2010.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, JoinCalifornia, Top Stories

Current Voter Registration Numbers

February 8, 2012 By

Apologies for not posting this earlier. The latest voter registration numbers for California’s political parties are (as of January 3, 2012);

Bold indicates a Qualified Political Party
Italic indicates a Political Party Seeking to Qualify

Democratic – 7,429,684
Republican – 5,170,592
No Party Preference – 3,617,466 (Voters registered with no political party)
American Independent – 428,560
Green – 111,319
Libertarian – 93,300
Peace & Freedom – 59,012
Reform – 20,722 (Disqualified December 31, 2002)
Americans Elect – 3,165
Conservative Party – 494
La Raza Unida – 461
We Like Women – 382
Justice – 183
Whig – 167
Constitution – 121
Christian – 117

Note: Parties with fewer than 100 registered voters are not included on this listing.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Current Research, ElectionVolunteer, JoinCalifornia

Presidential Candidates List Released

February 6, 2012 By

The Secretary of State released the list of Presidential candidates who will appear on the June 5th Primary ballot in California.

The candidate list at ElectionVolunteer.com has been updated to include the names of the these candidates and is now available.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Current Research, ElectionVolunteer
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