Nearly six weeks after Jane Harman first announced she would resign from congress, voters finally have an election date, May 17th.
We now have less than nine weeks to sort through a bewildering number of candidates (19 have filed already) to determine who will replace the congresswoman in CA-36.
Under California's new "top-two" election rules, voters can cast a ballot for any candidate, regardless of party affiliation. If no one candidate receives 50%+1 of the vote, the top two vote-getters advance to a second round of voting on July 12.
With so many candidates, it's highly likely the May 17 election will end in a run off. That run off will probably be between the two presumed front-runners, California's Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn.
Not long after Harman resigned, I received a phone call from Janice Hahn. As the first person to throw her hat in the ring to replace Harman, I had a strong suspicion as to why she was calling.
It turns out my suspicion was correct - she wanted my endorsement.
We had a very pleasant conversation, but in the end I told her I needed to wait to see who else would get in the race (Debra Bowen wouldn't announce for another week).
Before we hung up, I told her I'd be happy if either she or Bowen ended up replacing Harman in Congress.
At the time, I meant it. But over the last few weeks, as I've researched and written about both candidates, I no longer feel that way.
The choice between Debra Bowen and Janice Hahn, in fact, could not be more clear.
It's the choice between the transformational vs. the transactional, between having a partner in congress or having a broker, between having someone who is willing to stand up for what is right in spite of the consequences or having someone who will be buffeted by the competing wishes of special interests.
It is the difference between having as our advocate in Congress an experienced and nationally respected lawmaker who's already represented our district for 14 years or having a termed-out LA City Councilwoman looking for a place to land.
That's why today, without hesitation or reservation, I support Debra Bowen for Congress.
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