Former Senator Carole Migden (D-SF) had been toying with the idea of running for Supervisor in the 10th district here in San Francisco. It seems she has decided that it wouldn't be such a good idea:
Alas, "the reality of what that would have meant, including moving, was just too complicated," the South of Market Democrat said.(SF Chronicle)
Alas, she was tripped up by the complication of moving from SoMa to the Bayview. As somebody who has moved out of SoMa once, I'll testify to it being a pain in the butt. There's no parking and you get people honking at the truck. It was really an annoying day.
Yeah, I could see how one day of moving hell would make you want to not run for office.
Tomorrow's the big day (depending on your perspective I suppose), with local, legislative and proposition votes going on all over the state and the Montana and South Dakota primaries wrapping up the Presidential calendar. There's speculation that Sen. Clinton will suspend her campaign tomorrow night, plus an easy dozen congressional primaries to watch, the Leno/Migden/Nation battle royale, I'm masochistically fascinated by the San Diego mayoral race- the list goes on.
It looks like I'll be holing up for a bit at the Obama watch party at the W Hotel here in San Diego. I've also heard that local Young Dems will be at The Shore Club and City Council candidate Todd Gloria will be gathering with supporters at The Local. So that's a random and incomplete collection of spots around San Diego...What city/bar/restaurant/corner of your house will you be reporting from as we all obsess tomorrow evening?
Today is the last day to register to vote. Personally, I'd like to see same-day registration. After all, we are living in the era of cheap and tiny computers. This is a fundamental fairness issue, legal voters simply should not be turned away. Nonetheless, here's the voter reg SoS page. Other interesting stuff:
Frank Russo writes about a S-USA poll in the Rumble in the Bubble (SD-03). (I do some work for Leno.) Leno leads overall 42 -22(Nation)-21(Migden). Besides the fact that Leno is the only candidate with net favorables, a number of note is the breakdown for "liberal" voters. Leno leads that category 47-21(Migden)-17(Nation).
The Bay Guardian has released the audio of their endorsement interviews at their 2008 spring election center. I'm a big fan of news media outlets releasing such interviews. Good work SFBG!
The elected delegates met yesterday in Sacramento. They talked, chose more delegates, and generally had a good time. The media seems to want to make this some sort of bloodbath, but it seems there was more about unity than anything else.
Another item to be slashed in the next budget: Aid for California's disabled. Perhaps the legislators will go and help some of these Californians themselves? Maybe set up an oxygen tank here, help in the process of dressing there. I think Roger Niello and Mike Villines would be excellent at that. After all, they want to cut these funds, so why not provide a bit of their time in leiu of the money that is so desperately needed. That would help, right? Ok, not so much.
Democrat Lockyer, a former state Senate leader and attorney general, traces California's budget woes back to the 1978 passage of Proposition 13 -- the historic property tax cut -- and Sacramento's subsequent decision to bail out revenue-short local governments and schools.
"We've been bailing the sinking ship ever since," he says. "This may be the year when we have to say, 'OK, we're going to make these awful cuts and voters are going to see what the consequences are.' That's kind of a scorched-earth approach, but people somehow think that the budget is going to be balanced by the tooth fairy.
"I don't like it, but there are days when I think that voters need to persuade themselves and reluctant legislators that cuts like these are unacceptable. It's time to do whatever needs to get done to escape this annual torture."
I'd start by placing a measure on the ballot allowing budgets to be passed by a majority vote -- as they are in 47 other states.
But a two-thirds vote is what's ludicrously required today. So the legislators and governor must deal with it.
As of tonight, it looks like it is indeed a two-way race for the State Seanate District 3. A new Survey USA poll gives Mark Leno a strong lead over with Joe Nation and Carole Migden tied for a distant second place.
Greg Pettis, in his 14th year as Cathedral City Councilman, former-Mayor Pro-Tem of Cathedral City, and Candidate for the CA 80th Assembly District, has now received the endorsements from every member of the California Legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Caucus in Sacramento. Pettis has widespread support in the LGBT community Nationally, State-wide, and locally because of his progressive stands on issues important to the LGBT communities: Pettis fully supports the HIV/AIDS communities, universal healthcare, a strong local economy, good local schools and responsible academic oversight, a healthy environment, equality and justice for all Californians, and mentoring other members of the LGBT community.
Although there have been reports that the California LGBT Legislative Caucus is in danger of extinction the truth is that in January 2009 it is very likely that it will be as large as ever.
The only current members of the LGBT Caucus who are not termed out are State Senators Christine Kehoe and Carole Migden. However, Migden is facing a tough primary fight which she is very likely to lose.
Here is a table showing the members of the LGBT caucus for the current legislative sessiob and a projection of what the caucus will look like after being sworn in in January 2009.
January 2007January 2009Assembly
Mark Leno (AD-13) Tom Ammiano (AD-13)
John Laird (AD-27) John Perez (AD-46)
Chris Cabaldon (AD-8)
State Senate
Christine Kehoe (SD-39) Christine Kehoe (SD-39)
Carole Migden (SD-3) Mark Leno (SD-3)
Sheila Kuehl (SD-23)
In addition, there's the possibility that Laurette Healey may win her primary to replace
Assemblymember Lloyd Levine in the 40th Assembly District and it's possible that Greg Pettis will win his primary in the 80th district (but it's unlikely he will win the general election in this Republican-leaning district).
Ok, so last week, I thought all this hubub about the Light Brown Apple Moth was much ado about nothing. I hadn't even seen one, and they didn't seem to be bugging me. So, I didn't get what Arnold's big rush to spray pheremones or what not on to the Bay Area.
Things have changed. Last week a friend of ours was over at our house. It was a fine afternoon, the weather was nice, so we spent the time chatting outside. We get to the conversation of this little moth. Turns out that our friend, a big shot lawyer at a video game company to remain nameless, is the patient zero of the Light Brown Apple Moth scourge upon her city. She claimed they were all over her apartment, and sure enough, we went down there, and there they were. Sneaking around her place. I put the pieces together, she travels all over the world for work, and she has tons of them in her house. How much more evidence do we need? Well, how much more was answered the next day when we saw some of the little buggers around our house. Now the things are all over our house. Apparently the've really taken to the Bay Area, and I'm pretty sure she's the vector.
Now, they don't seem to be really bothering me at this point here in SF, they're just annoying. But, I say, get some helicopters or bush planes, or whatever it takes, in the air, and let's get to dumping all sorts of chemicals on my fair city. What's a little caplet of inhaled pseudo-moth pheremones compared to some bugs in my house? What could possibly go wrong when we drop a chemical on to heavily populated urban areas? Really, I can't think of anything. Sure, some judge said the state can't spray, but whatever, let's do it anyway.
With today being Earth Day, I thought readers would enjoy reading my article about Joe Nation's environmental record.
Ex-Marin Assemblyman and State Senate candidate Joe Nation is working to stay above the fray between Mark Leno and Carole Migden. Despite his moderate record on other issues, he speaks earnestly about the environment and climate change. But why hasn't the Sierra Club endorsed him, and why is he not popular with environmentalists in Marin County? It may be because when Nation was on the Marin Municipal Water District in the late 1990's, he proposed bottling water from Mount Tamalpais, voted for a pipeline to siphon water from the Russian River and supported widening the US-101. Today, Nation is a climate change consultant for ENVIRON, where he primarily advises Coca-Cola - whose environmental record has spawned protests across the globe. Now Coca-Cola runs a corporate green-washing campaign that pushes "water stewardship" - which is code for privatization of a natural resource, while running bottled water plants in California.
Campaign finance reform has been bubbling as an issue for a number of years. And any time someone manages even a small step forward, you know you're going to have the big money corporations, the Club for Growth, and all other manner of rich righties lining up to defend their right to freely spend their money on as much questionable propaganda as they can muster. Normally the battle lines are pretty clear on this, ideologically speaking. That is, of course, unless you subscribe to Sen. Carole Migden's particular brand of "progressivism".
After the Fair Political Practices Commission barred her from accessing more than $640,000 from an old campaign account because, well...she didn't transfer it out of her Assembly campaign account before she left the Assembly (whoops), she sued to get it back. Free political speech, her argument goes, trumps playing by the rules.
And today, a District Court judge agreed. U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Brennan granted a temporary injunction against the FPPC's locking of the account:
Some reflections now that I'm back home on the shores of the Monterey Bay:
- The Leno-Migden fight certainly reached a dramatic climax today, and the result was stunning. After the vote was finalized Eden James argued that it was a representation of the power of the grassroots within the party, and I think that analysis is absolutely right. Migden had pulled out all the stops and leaned on every party official she could find to get this endorsement, but the rank and file delegates overwhelmingly refused to go along. I wish I could have stuck around to interview some of these delegates and get a sense of why they voted as they did. If anyone did ask those questions, or if we have any delegates here who wish to discuss the vote, please weigh in with a comment.
- Migden's failed endorsement is also further evidence, along with the rescinded AD-40 endorsement and the split over Prop 93 earlier in the year, to a huge divide between the party grassroots and the Sacramento leadership in particular. Senate Democrats and their staffers had worked hard over the weekend to get a Migden endorsement and the delegates would not go along with it. To their credit, Speaker Núñez and his office have been reaching out more to the netroots, and a lot of the delegates are eagerly awaiting Karen Bass' speakership, so this divide may not be difficult to bridge. The Senate seems to have more work to do on this, and Darrell Steinberg's ascension to the leadership might well bring some welcome change.
- Speaking of the new speaker, Karen Bass is a rising star within the party - and someone who already has a lot of support from the delegates. She got a rapturous welcome at the Progressive Caucus Friday night, and her name was on many lips all weekend long. Her endorsement of and speech for Mark Leno today right before the vote may well have played a decisive role in denying Migden the party endorsement, which would be an interesting sign of how much respect she is already being given by party members. It's a shame that her term will be so short, but it may be a transformative two years.
- I also sense growing disapproval of the party making an endorsement in contested primaries. Nobody I talked to could remember the last time even one endorsement was pulled from the consent calendar and overturned by delegates, not to mention two - and there were a few other instances where the district endorsement caucuses overturned the pre-endorsement vote (such as in AD-80). The Progressive Caucus was exploring a motion to reduce incumbents' advantages in the voting process, and a lot of delegates I talked to felt that the party shouldn't be endorsing at all. Look for this issue to take a higher profile in the coming months and years.
- Overall I am left wondering whether the party convention is a good use of time and resources. Delegates seemed bored with most of the speeches and few paid attention to the party business. If endorsements were done away with, there wouldn't have been much going on at all, aside from the caucus meetings, which were popular and well-attended. That suggests to me that the party should explore ways to use the convention to spur activism and training - to help catalyze political action.
- On a personal level it was great to hang out with the California blogosphere, whether I'd met you before, hadn't seen you in a few years (like Dante Atkins) or met you for the first time (like Lucas). I want to give a special shout-out to the unsung but important and valuable Caliticians, such as soyinkafan and Caligirl, who were very active and engaged at the convention and helped bring some of those stories to your attention here; and to friends of Calitics such as Frank Russo and Dave Johnson. Matt Lockshin, Penny Denenberg, and Crystal Strait were all excellent hosts who helped make this first-time attendee feel welcome and supported.
Last week I learned that Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer was hosting a Thrusday fundraiser for Carole Migden along the Embarcadero. It was a cheap event and, though I am a Leno supporter, decided to drop a little spare change and check it out. It was a small room that was pretty packed. Betty Yee was the most prominent official there. But what struck me was that Migden knows how towork a room when her mood is on an even keel. She was even quite funny and actually had me questionning the rationale for change. Then I read the events at the State Convention and remember why. She really is Jekyle and Hyde.
Perhaps not surprising, but certainly striking nonetheless, is the explosion of press and outside-the-center activity now that Bill Clinton's arrival is near at hand. Where once the blogger riser was empty, now there's no room for everyone. Leno/Migden and Blumenfield/Healey/Waldman will apparently be kicking things off this morning- presumably catching everyone while they're half asleep and/or hungover from last night. Frank Russo kinda stole my headline before I could write it, but it's a good one- Migden-Leno Endorsement Fight May Overshadow Bill Clinton Speech at California Democratic Party Convention Today. As a few of us were discussing earlier, it'll be a story for the ages if Carole Migden manages to steal the spotlight from Bill Clinton.
...and we're off.
[Update by Lucas] To clarify how this vote is going down, a "Yes" vote would be for the initial winner of yesterday's endorsement (Migden and Blumenfield) while a "No" vote would mean no endorsement of anyone.
[Update by Dave] ...the Hillary visibility extras are massing on the floor. Incidentally, I heard that Phil Donahue's movie, which screened here last night, is uncompromising on Hillary's war vote, and during the time when she talks about it in the film she was booed. The reaction from the audience here to the Big Dog should be interesting.
[Update by Dave] ...Christine Pelosi is talking about the party platform. Marriage equality is in there, which is awesome, as well as the party's commitment to a safe and orderly withdrawal from Iraq and single payer healthcare. That's a good platform. And it passed without any incident. Fantastic.
[Update by Dave] ...Inola Henry on the Resolutions Committee reports that the party endorses a no vote on 98 and yes on 99 for the June election, and endorses the recall of Jeff Denham in SD-12. That's great, though I hope that the party will put some muscle behind the racall. Prop. 98 would end rent control throughout the state, and it must be stopped. Art Torres says "that's the easiest resolutions report we've ever had."
[Update by Lucas] San Francisco DA Kamala Harris is taking the stage now, speaking on behalf of Obama. Suddenly people have energy in the room.
[Update by Dante]Debra Bowen is talking about her review of the state's voting systems. Meanwhile, both Robert and Brian are looking at Debra Bowen's Facebook page.
[Update by Lucas] Video montage of the Convention just ended. Clips of Willie Brown being awesome, candidates, Pelosi, activists, on and on. Pretty cool, if with a bit of an 'end of summer camp' vibe.
[Update by Brian]: And we're killing time. This has got to be the longest secretary's report EVER.
[Update by Lucas] Well, here comes Bill. And everyone's gettin excited. Also, I could do without ever getting shushed by Art Torres again.
A bitter fight for the endorsement by the California Democratic Party between incumbent State Senator Carole Migden and challenger Assemblymember Mark Leno is shaping up to be the biggest battle at the state party convention being held in San Jose. The picture above is typical of what delegates and other other observers have seen over the last two days as they exit the convention floor.
The Democratic Senate leadership has pulled out all the stops to get Migden endorsed as dozens of Senate staffers, along with other supporters of hers, have been holding signs in meetings and the hallways urging that the party endorse her. Unfortunately, this is one of those incumbent protection moves, where challenges to an incumbent must be fought at all costs. Delegates appointed by Senators who would have supported Leno, the challenger, have been replaced by those loyal to Senator Migden.
Tempers flared last night at a dinner for Take Back Red California outside the convention center, and a Migden supporter grabbed a Leno supporter's arm and blocked the doorway in an attempt to prevent her from gathering signatures needed to get a floor vote to overturn the packed endorsing caucus. Migden suporters were out in force to prevent signature gathering by those seeking to force a vote by the full convention.
It's not often that the 300 signatures are gathered to actually pull something off of the consent calendar, but it happens. What doesn't happen is getting twice the number of required signatures. A few signatures over 600, in fact.
Tomorrow, Bill Clinton will be speaking to the convention, and Kamala Harris, SF's DA, will be speaking on behalf of Obama. While I have great respect for the 42nd president of the United States, he is not known for being a timely gentleman. What time the platform, the SD-03 race, and the consent calendar will come up are pretty much all dependent upon when President Clinton shows up.
Tomorrow should be an exciting day for the San Francisco folks and the Clinton delegates. Should be fun.
UPDATE: From the comments, AD-40, Lloyd Levine's (termed out, running for state senate) district, was also pulled from the consent calendar. Bob Blumenfield got the 60% required, but it will be going to the floor. Also competitive in that race are Laurette Healey & Stuart Waldman.
I've been attending the convention (my first state convention, actually), and the one thing that really struck me is how much more excitement is being paid to the Carole Migden-Mark Leno race than to the presidential election, likely a reflection of the audience. The convention naturally attracts activists, who know about the intricacies of that senate race and Migden's $9 million fine, especially because the convention is in San Jose, very close to Senate District 3. Others have focused on the dynamics of the race and the hijacks at the convention, but the sheer resources that are being expended at the convention, both by Migden and Leno, and by other potential candidates for office, and I have to wonder--why bother?
I'll be liveblogging the SD-3 regional endorsement battle between Senator Carole Migden, Assemblymember Mark Leno, and former Assemblymember Joe Nation. Stay tuned! This should be fun, horrifying, or a fascinating drama depending on your perspective.
[Update by Lucas] Leno campaign is reporting more than 50 Leno supporter ballots are missing. "Disenfranchisement" is running through the room.
5:41 -- Sorry for the delay. I had connection issues. One of the moderators assured the crowd that "this is a fair and open process, and we will wait for all ballots to be counted." Around 5:30 or so, Leno spoke followed by Migden. Both touted their records as one would expect. Said Leno, "Without choice, there is no accountability. Without accountability, there is no responsibility." Meanwhile, Migden emphasized the gender imbalance in the Senate, concluding her speech with "I am a woman. I am a woman. And let me just say, I still am a woman." Voting officially closed at 5:41, and they say results will be coming in 20 minutes or so.
6:29 -- Counting now. Attention Adam Borelli. You're wanted in room. Currently 15-9 Migden ahead.
6:38 -- Currently 46-27. About 270 in total.
6:47 -- Some dispute over a vote by Migden's folks. It would be a "fair and open process" if the moderators articulated into the microphone a little more! Seriously, I have no clue what that was about. Anyway, we're up to 75-57. Migden still ahead.
7:05 -- 128-97. Migden ahead.
7:13 -- Vote is 149-115 with 2 for Nation, 2 without endorsement, 1 challenge against Leno, 1 questionable, and 2 unmarked. That leaves the unofficial but close enough for this famished soul tally at 55% Migden and 42% Leno. The next step: once the vote is finalized, Leno folks are going to try and gather enough signatures (300) of delegates to remove the endorsement from the consent calendar. If they succeed, the endorsement vote will happen during a general session with all delegates able to vote. The Leno folks have until 11 pm to gather the signatures. Obviously, the missing ballot issue earlier delayed this process a bit. I suspect this isn't the last we've heard of that incident from the Leno campaign.
• I truly think that the governor's mansion is Jerry Brown's if he wants it. I always aprreciate a guy who's been marginalized and demonized by the right for so long, and just keeps going, shoving it right back in their faces. Brown's speech at the convention, delivered without a teleprompter, was great for red meat but also reflected an agile mind that has been right about so many issues for so long. I like a guy who takes "Governor Moonbeam" as a compliment. I really think that if he wants to be Governor again the seat is his. Outside of President I don't believe he's ever lost a political race. (Plus I still remember that Joe Trippi ran his campaign against Bill Clinton in 1992.)
• I don't have a connection to the Leno-Migden fight outside of what I read on Calitics and what I hear from my friends on the site. But I have to say that, looking at it from the outside, this is the biggest waste of resources I've ever seen in my life. What would happen if these hundreds of volunteers walked precincts in the district, instead of providing "visibility" while fighting for an endorsement in a high-information area that won't ultimately matter much? The battle is swamping the entire convention, and it's clearly become a giant pissing contest between the Assembly and the Senate, with each side taking up for their colleague. As you've read here, Migden is nuts, and I have pretty strong opinions about who should serve, and in particular the principle of the unbalanced endorsement process, where an incumbent needs a lower threshold to get the party endorsement than a challenger. That's ridiculous, and in fact Joye Swan of the Progressive Caucus is leading an effort for a bylaw change to address just that. But this is a waste.
• Relevant to that, I think Bill Clinton has NO IDEA what he's about to step into on Sunday. The Leno-Migden thing is sucking up most of the oxygen out of this convention. Clinton and San Francisco DA Kamala Harris are speaking for Hillary and Barack Obama tomorrow, but there's going to be less focus on that than he'd expect.
• We are doing several interviews with Congressional and legislative candidates. So far we had a good chat with Bill Durston, a candidate in the rapidly purpling area of CA-03. We have interviews with Charlie Brown (CA-04), Hannah-Beth Jackson (SD-19) and Russ Warner (CA-26) later on. We will be posting the audio as we get it in. We also had a nice chat between bloggers and Mayor Gavin Newsom. His effort to sue for restoration of Medi-Cal reimbursements is a very strong stand. What I didn't get a chance to ask him about is why he's trying to curtail free speech when the Olympic torch relay comes to San Francisco on April 9.
The buzz in San Jose is all about Carole Migden's meltdown yesterday at the CDP Convention. She was giving a speech at the Women's Caucus and became upset when she saw people handing out copies of press releases from the FPPC's recent $9 million fine against her. She began screaming and, not unlike Carole at most events, speaking loudly but incoherently. She attempted to lead the crowd in a chant (directed at Mark Leno) of "Shame on You, Shame on You!" Not exactly understanding what Mark Leno should be shameful about (he didn't break the law hundreds of times), nobody in the crowd followed her lead. So she was standing there, alone, chanting.
Visibly upset about not being able to "Lead," Carole became even more belligerent. She pointed out a group of male and female supporters holding Mark Leno signs, and screamed "I mean, are those women or big fat men." The crowd literally booed her off the stage using her only mantra of "Shame on you, Shame on you!!"
Now we all know that Carole often has lapses in sanity. But for her to attack people based not only on their gender, but also on their weight, is disgusting. It is an insensitive, transphobic comment that shows just how desperate Carole has become.
Even more reasons that the CDP must not endorse Carole Migden.
Randy Shaw wrote this for today's Beyond Chron.
In late February, a David Binder poll found State Senator Carole Migden badly trailing Mark Leno and Joe Nation in the race for Senate District 3. Since that time, Migden agreed to pay $350,000 in fines for state campaign law violations, filed a federal lawsuit against the FPPC challenging campaign finance limits as unconstitutional, and was sued by the FPPC for $9 million in an action that charged, among other violations, that Migden "failed to report a number of large transactions entirely, while reporting other large transactions which simply never occurred." In political trouble before the FPPC's actions, Migden now has no chance to win re-election. She appears to be remaining in the race solely to defeat Leno, a strategy that would put a moderate Democrat from Marin in a seat that would otherwise be held by a San Francisco progressive.
