We have much to discuss. For example: are you getting as many e-mails and robocalls as I am?
I want to open up a discussion about this upcoming weekend's convention, in the hope that our blog colleagues from elsewhere in the nation won't mind. This will bring out the worst in many people, I'm afraid, but on the whole I'm hoping that it will be a useful exercise. I suggest one ground rule: if you are paid by, volunteering for, or even on record as endorsing one of the many candidates for state or local office, please let us know in the first comment you leave here.
I want to note something from the front page earlier today:
Join Netroots Nation for Changemakers: Celebrating progressive change in California
Friday April 16, 10 p.m. until ___
The Figueroa Hotel
939 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles
Join us for an evening of progressive camaraderie in celebration of the 2010 California Democratic Party Convention, with special guest California State Assembly Speaker John Perez. Other guests TBA.
Co-hosted by Brave New Films, Courage Campaign, Daily Kos, Democracy for America and Drinking Liberally
RSVP here.
You don't find this out until you get to the sign-up page, but the tickets cost $15. It's a fundraiser for Netroots Nation, though, so it is money well spent.
One thing that we'll be doing amidst all the caucusing and such (and in my case, commuting from OC, keeping me from being able to stay all that late) is voting on endorsements for candidates, so I'm interested in getting people's impressions of the three statewide races that, judging from my inbox, seem to be getting all of the attention. (There are other local races, such as the faceoff between Jane Harman and Marcy Winograd, that are also attracting attention, and I know that people may want to talk about them too. I just don't plan to do so up here.)
Those races are: Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Insurance Commissioner.
Lieutenant Governor
This is a face-off between San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and LA City Councilwoman Janice Hahn. Both sides are rolling out the robocalls, endorsements, and whatnot. Both of them would probably be decent Lt.Govs, the power from which (aside from taking over "just in case" and positioning oneself for future greater glories) largely involves serving as a member of various boards such as the Coastal Commission. Either would cast good votes. But, unlike AG, Controller, Secretary of State, and many other statewide conditions, this job doesn't actually require that much "getting things done." So, for me, this is really a vote about who I do or do not want to see get a leg up for higher office.
That makes the vote easy for me: I'll support Janice Hahn. In so doing, I feel that I'm supporting a wide variety of other potential candidates for Governor who would otherwise probably have to make way for Gavin Newsom.
We have some great statewide Democratic officials in California, and that doesn't even count the person who recently left the Lt.Govship, John Garamendi. Debra Bowen, John Chiang, and my favored candidates for Attorney General and Insurance Commissioner are all people that, at this point, I would like to see have a shot at Governor or Senator. And in voting for Janice Hahn, I'm voting to keep the path that much more open for someone I really like.
I don't hate Gavin Newsom by any means, but I find the intensity of his personal ambition unsettling and offputting. I don't like his having gotten all John Ensign-y with his best friend's wife (I won't dwell on that here, you can look it up) and I don't like how easily he seemed to forgive himself -- I hear echoes of the word "bygones" when I see him -- which suggests too much of a feeling of privilege, generally a warning sign in politicians, especially good looking young ones. I don't like that after being driven out of the Governor's race by Jerry Brown he didn't decide, as Antonio Villaraigosa did in Los Angeles, that maybe during this state fiscal meltdown the Mayor of a major city ought to settle in and do some governing. (For god's sake, the man is only 42!)
Does he deserve credit for taking a pro-gay-marriage stand? Sure -- but this was not much of a profile in courage for a guy trying to prove his liberal bona fides in San Francisco. (His actions were also not well planned out and I felt that they smacked of political calculation.) So, while I'll vote and campaign for him without much regret if he wins, I'd much rather see him not such the air out of the upper echelons of a pretty good state party because he wants it more than others do.
Attorney General
It feels like hundreds of people are running for AG. My main criterion is that whoever is elected has to be able to beat the execrable Cheneyite law professor John Eastman (or Orly Taitz, as the case may be. I think that all of the ones I discuss here meet that criteria.
I've heard Pedro Nava speak (impressive -- and doesn't want higher office!), have a lot of respect for Ted Lieu, and don't want to see Facebook honcho Chris Kelly win. Right now -- while I'm still open to influence -- I'm leaning towards Kamala Harris, because she does seem like someone I want to see fighting it out for higher office.
Harris would be the first woman and first African-American (or minority of any kind - and she is specifically of Jamaican-Tamil ancestry) to be elected Attorney General. That's nice, but it's not enough for me to support her. She's the San Francisco District Attorney, where she has a good record both as a prosecutor and civil rights advocate. I can't remember hearing anything bad about her except for those who think that being a District Attorney is a sign of moral weakness of some sort; I think that that argument evaporates when we're talking about a prospective Attorney General.
This will be a fascinating race; while I'm not nearly as plugged in as some around here, I'll be surprised if anyone has the votes to get an endorsement.
Insurance Commissioner
This match is between Dave Jones and Hector de la Torre. I've met them both and looked into their hearts. (I've used less GWBushian methods of research as well.) I like Dave Jones a lot -- he has a strong record as a consumer advocate and a privacy advocate, which is what I want in an Insurance Commissioner. He's also smart, personable, good-looking, and a little self-effacing, all of which I like in someone who may someday seek higher office. Hector de la Torre seems like a decent guy, but he's moderate for my taste and doesn't stand out for his consumer advocacy. Watching Jones, I feel that I see someone who is looking forward to taking on the insurance companies. Watching de la Torre, I feel that I see someone who went through the list of offices and tried to figure out which would be the easiest to win.
Conclusion
So those are my picks in the controversial races; you probably disagree and I invite you to do it loudly but nicely. To put my cards on the table, I was asked to endorse Dave Jones and did so; I have not been asked to endorse, nor have I any other relationship, with the campaigns of Hahn and Harris.
Your turn!