A few months ago, observers were shocked when no Democrat filed to run in the 15th Senate District against Abel Maldonado, despite the fact that the district is plurality Democratic. One such observer was Dennis Morris, a local resident who got his ballot in the mail and saw that he had no Democrat for which to vote. Instead of shaking his head and moving on, Morris decided to do something about it. And so today he is mounting a last-minute write-in campaign to get his name on the November Ballot. From the SLO County Dems:
The San Luis Obispo County Democratic Party endorsed Dennis Morris on May 14th in his write-in bid to run against Republican Abel Maldonado for the 15th Senatorial District which includes all of San Luis Obispo County as well as parts of several neighboring counties. The Party is urging all Democrats in San Luis Obispo County and elsewhere in the 15th Senatorial District to WRITE-IN "Dennis Morris" for that office on their JUNE 3rd BALLOT.
There are TWO steps to the process. First, the bubble to the left of the write-in line MUST be darkened. Second, the name "Dennis Morris" without quotes, must be written in on the write-in line provided on the ballot.
If enough Democrats write-in on their June 3rd ballot, Dennis Morris will be able to appear on the November ballot as the Democratic Party candidate for the 15th District Senatorial Seat.
This is crucially important. With the possible demise of the Denham recall and an unopposed Maldonado seat, Democrats were missing out on two of their best opportunities to achieve a 2/3 majority in the State Senate. Morris' bid at least provides the opportunity for a real race in one of them. Don Perata allegedly prevented top local Dems from running in this race. But this is a people-powered action that could actually be more impactful.
My spies tell me that Morris would make a good candidate. He's a non-politician, a former legal scholar who retired to grow grapes on his vineyard. There are parallels to Jerry McNerney's first candidacy, accomplished through a write-in ballot in 2004. That ended well. Maybe this will too.
I'm scrambling to get more information from Morris and hopefully set up an interview. |
