The main stream media in Southern California can't wait to write off Debra Bowen.
As her main opponent, LA City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, racks up dozens of endorsements from politicians and business leaders, and thousands of dollars from the shipping and petroleum industries, our local media seems ready to call the race,
Racking up a big fat collection of political endorsements in an election doesn’t always mean much. But when it’s a low-information, low-turnout contest, where voters are looking for cues, endorsements can have a huge impact.
Which is why Democrats Janice Hahn and Debra Bowen have been scrambling like mad to snag as many as they can in the May 17 special election to replace Democratic U.S. Rep. Jane Harman in California’s 36th Congressional District.
Thus far, in the race for endorsements, Hahn, the LA City Councilwoman, is beating the pants off Bowen, the California Secretary of State.
This week, however, Debra Bowen received two significant endorsements which, taken together, could have a significant impact on the race to replace Jane Harman in Congress.
First, former Governor and DNC Chair Howard Dean took the rare step of endorsing a candidate in a primary race.
I rarely endorse candidates in Congressional primaries. But Secretary of State Debra Bowen is a rare kind of leader, so when I heard that Debra was running for Congress, I pledged to do everything I could to help her.
I'm proud to endorse Debra Bowen - an intelligent, humble, and passionate public servant who has the courage to stand up to the special interests, and the record to back it up. We simply can't afford to let this opportunity to send a leader like Debra to Washington pass us by.
Debra is the grassroots candidate in this race, and is a hero for working families, the environment, and better government. She won the John F. Kennedy "Profile in Courage Award" for her commitment to government transparency. And she will fight for jobs in ways that are pragmatic yet progressive, working from the bottom up to re-invest in our education system, protect our social safety nets, and trim our deficit while investing in our future.
Dean's endorsement, and the endorsement of Democracy of America, the grassroots organization Dean founded, bring with it significant fundraising and organizational resources. DFA has 7,000 members in CA-36, and a million members nation-wide.
Then today, the California League of Conservation Voters, which describes itself as "the non-partisan political action arm of California's environmental movement", announced they were backing Debra Bowenin her bid to replace Jane Harman in CA-36.
Secretary Bowen has a long track record of expertise and leadership on the environment. During her fourteen years serving in both houses of the Legislature, Bowen authored bills to protect our coast and restrict offshore oil drilling. She also co-authored four landmark environmental laws including the first bills in California to ever address global warming, environmental justice, and create a renewable portfolio standard. She also aided Senator Alan Lowenthal with his critical legislation to clean-up pollution in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
In fact, if protecting the environment alone was the only reason to send Secretary Bowen to Washington, it would be enough. But electing her to Congress would also add an incredibly important leader in the field of fair elections and open government. While her environmental work has been notable, Secretary Bowen's single most important piece of legislation was arguably AB 1462, the landmark law that made all of California's bill information available on the Internet. A voter can easily find out how his or her legislator voted on any piece of legislation because of this bill, so if you're following any piece of legislation online as it works its way through the California Legislature at the Senate and Assembly websites, you have Debra Bowen to thank for it.
Bowen received a 96% lifetime score on CLCV's Environmental Scorecard for her votes on priority environmental legislation while serving as a state legislator. While in the Assembly, Bowen served as Chair of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.
As a state Senator, Bowen helped pass AB 32, the groundbreaking law that made California a global leader in the fight against climate change and for clean energy. The author of AB 32, Senator Fran Pavley, has also endorsed Bowen for CA-36.
The CLCV describes it's endorsement process as rigorous.
Candidates receive the League's endorsement the old-fashioned way: They earn it. Before each election, we conduct field research to determine candidates' environmental records. Then we send them questionnaires, testing their views on key issues. Finally, the candidates are interviewed by a panel of the League's staff, board members and local environmentalists.
CLCV most recently endorsed Jerry Brown and Kamala Harris for the 2010 election.
It's important to note that while Janice Hahn lists the endorsements of "environmental leaders" on her campaign website, she has yet to earn the endorsement of any environmental organization. Her council district includes San Pedro and Wilmington, two of the most polluted communities in CA-36, which have struggled for decades with environmental justice issues caused by petroleum and shipping industries.