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No Endorsement in the 80th AD
Manuel Perez may not have the money nor the local poohbah incumbency, but he definitely had the mojo this weekend. I stand in awe of the union members who are my fellow delegates in Manuel's corner. Wizards with lists and cell phones, truly incredible.
The endorsing caucus for the 80th AD was pretty intense, and the days preceding it packed with manuevering, accusations, threats. Greg Pettis had put out press releases pre-announcing his endorsement after his March 13th PreEndorsement meeting victory, so he had a lot to lose here. Greg managed to place every proxy he could, plus switching one of our votes. But it wasn't enough to reach 60% of the vote, as Manuel Perez also had strong support from delegates, and Rick Gonzales found proxies for his folks, too. So, no endorsement until the primary is over.
The real winner is the district, as we have an abundance of Democratic talent in this race. Manuel Perez just won the endorsement of many more legislators, met with Karen Bass, the new speaker, won the endorsement of Alice Huffman- President of the California State Conference of the NAACP, also won the California Nurses Association (which is a huge plus), also the California Medical Association, the California Teachers Association, SEIU State Council. I truly believe that Manuel is not only the best progressive in the race, but that he'll win the primary and the general. He's a proven advocate for immigrants, students, and impoverished communities in the eastern end of the district, and a true progressive who stands up for gay rights, the environment, and a women's right to choose, the major issues on the west end of the district. Greg is great, so is Rick, but neither cover all the bases that Manuel does, nor do they have his charisma and passion for change. He's inspiring.
Here's what David Dayen said, and I agree completely:
I continue to be very impressed with Manuel Perez; he is a transformational and not a transactional candidate, someone who doesn't just check the boxes of the single-issue groups and vote the right way, but really changes the conversation and fights for progressive change.
I wish I were still there, but my son's tenth birthday begins in a matter of hours, so that's that. It's good to see the Calitics crew always, and particularly fun this time to talk to kid oakland and Caligirl, as I hadn't had the chance before.
We have an exciting race ahead.
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