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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

“Occupation” Day at the Capitol

March 5, 2012 By

I wonder sometimes what people must think of the State Capitol if the only time they ever visit is on a big protest day like today. They probably see the lines of police officers in riot gear and the helicopters circling overhead, and think “Wow, this must be a really crazy place to work”. Yes, sometimes it is.

But on the average day, having the bomb squad pull up to investigate an abandoned package on the West Lawn would have been the most notable thing to happen. Instead today, it was so overshadowed by the Occupy Education protests that hardly anyone even noticed the lunchtime closure of the north side of the West Lawn. At the North and South Doors, lines of people waiting to enter the building were out the door. On the historic first floor, the exhibit rooms and historic offices were closed. In short, it was an unusual day.

Bomb Crew inspects abandoned backpack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A protester with a trash-can shield

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHP officers on the West Steps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Occupy Education protest at noon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHP "Orange Team" prepares to occupy the West Steps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHP "Blue Team" near the West Steps

 

 

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

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

David Broderick at 192

February 4, 2012 By

Today marks the 192nd anniversary of the birth of  David C. Broderick (born February 4, 1820 in Washington, DC). Broderick, a member of the Whig Party, was elected to the California State Senate a month at age 29 birthday and was became a U.S. Senator at 36. He served almost three years before being killed in a duel with Supreme Court Justice David Terry in September 1859. The duel, easily the most notorious in state history, played a significant part in the establishment of California’s “Wild West” reputation.

Saturday also marks the 146th anniversary of the death of Assemblyman Daniel Showalter, a participant in California’s second most famous duel. This fight, held in 1861, pitted two Democratic legislators against eachother at the home of Assembly Speaker Charles Fairfax. Showalter (died February 4, 1866) fled to Mexico after the fall of the Confederacy and was later fatally injured in a bar fight in Mazatlan.

Finally, it’s also State Senator Tim Leslie‘s 70th birthday. According to our research, Leslie has never fought in a duel.

Filed Under: Congress, Deaths, JoinCalifornia, State Senate

Primary Candidate Tracking Report (2/1/2012)

January 31, 2012 By

There are currently 177 candidates for Congress and 324 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; 177 Candidates)
88 Democrats
79 Republicans
3 Libertarians
3 Greens
3 Independents/No Party Preference

State Senate (20 Seats; 58 Candidates)
34 Democrats
21 Republicans
2 Libertarians
1 Independents/No Party Preference

State Assembly (80 Seats; 264 Candidates)
156 Democrats
88 Republicans
1 Green
1 Peace and Freedom
21 Independents/No Party Preference

Of the 298 state legislative candidates, 130 have appeared previously on General Election ballots, 85 are current state legislators, and 17 are former legislators.

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

Blakeslee Attempts Veto Override

January 19, 2012 By

During the Senate floor session today, State Senator Sam Blakeslee brought up one of his bills in order to attempt a veto override. The override of SB 356 (2011), vetoed in September by Governor Brown, failed on a 13-22 vote.

Earl Warren

Although veto-overrides are threatened on occasion, it has been more than 30 years since the legislature exercised this ability. This is because veto-overrides are seen as a significant insult to the Governor and major disruption to the balance of power relationship between the three branches of government.

In the last 72 years, only six bills have had their vetoes overturned by the legislature. In his ten years in office, Earl Warren had only one veto overridden (in 1946). Governor Reagan had a single override as well (in 1974). In his previous two terms in office, Jerry Brown had a total of four vetoes overridden (in 1977 and 1979).

 

Number of Veto Per Year Over-rides by Governor (since 1921)
Date Governor Majority Party
(Senate / Assembly)		  Veto Overrides
1979 Jerry Brown (D) Democrat / Democrat  3
1977 Jerry Brown (D) Democrat / Democrat  1
1974 Ronald Reagan (R) Democrat / Democrat  1
1946 Earl Warren (R) Republican / Republican  1
1941 Culbert Olson (D) Republican / Democrat  8
1939 Culbert Olson (D) Republican / Democrat  3
1933 James Rolph (R) Republican / Republican  17

 

Filed Under: Current Research, JoinCalifornia, State Senate

Primary Candidate Tracking Report (1/19/2012)

January 19, 2012 By

There are currently 166 candidates for Congress and 320 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; 166 Candidates)
85 Democrats
73 Republicans
3 Libertarians
2 Greens
2 Independents/No Party Preference

State Senate (20 Seats; 52 Candidates)
30 Democrats
20 Republicans
1 Libertarians
1 Independents/No Party Preference

State Assembly (80 Seats; 246 Candidates)
143 Democrats
85 Republicans
1 Green
1 Peace and Freedom
16 Independents/No Party Preference

Of the 298 state legislative candidates, 120 have appeared previously on General Election ballots, 87 are current legislators, and 18 are former legislators.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Congress, JoinCalifornia, State Assembly, State Senate, Top Stories

Hertzberg running for State Senate?

January 10, 2012 By

Speaker Hertzberg

The Los Angeles Daily News had an article on the potential campaign by former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg for the newly drawn State Senate District 27.

If Hertzberg does decide to run, he will be breaking the mold. Although it wasn’t uncommon for Assembly Speakers to be elected to the Senate in the early years of the state (in fact, two individuals served as both Assembly Speaker and Senate pro Tem), it has been 84 years since the last Speaker moved to the upper house.

Governor Merriam

The last Assembly Speaker to become a State Senator was Frank F. Merriam (Speaker in 1923-1926), who was elected to the State Senate in 1928 and went on to be Governor in 1934. Since Merriam, at least four other Speakers have run for (and lost) races for the State Senate;

A decade after Merriam was elected to the Senate, Speaker Edgar C. Levey lost a General Election campaign for SD-14 in 1938. In the 1950s, Sam L. Collins lost a Primary Election bid for SD-35 in 1952 and James W. Silliman lost in a Special Election for a SD-25 in 1955. Finally, Doris Allen ran in the SD-35 Special Election of 1995 (losing the primary to Ross Johnson).

With incumbent State Senators Fran Pavley and Tony Strickland already in the race, Hertzberg has some major challenges to overcome. But if Stickland withdraws to run for Congress, Hertzberg’s positive relationship with legislative Republicans might be a major advantage in the new Top Two Primary structure.

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

Senator Ruben Ayala died

January 5, 2012 By

Ruben S. Ayala

Former State Senator Ruben Ayala died Wednesday night in Ontario. A report in the Sacramento Bee noted that Ayala had fought a long illness. Ayala, who served in the Senate from 1974-1998, was the long-time Chair of the Agriculture and Water Committee, a powerful position that he used to draft a bill authorizing the construction of a peripheral canal through the Sacramento Delta.

Senior staffers at the Capitol noted that Ayala (who served in World War II) had been active in the Legislative Marine Brigade, a group of former Marines who had served in the legislature. Other members of the group included Pete Wilson, Bill Craven, and Don Rogers.

LINK: Sacramento Bee CapitolAlert obituary

Filed Under: Current Research, Deaths, State Senate
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