CA Democratic Party Signals Support for Out Candidates

A number of out Democratic non-incumbents seeking state legislative seats have secured pre-endorsements ahead of the California Democratic Party's convention to be held later this month in San Jose.

Due to receiving at least 70 percent of support from their district's delegates at pre-convention endorsement caucuses held last weekend, their being endorsed by the party will now be placed on the consent calendar for simple ratification at the convention.

Intraparty opponents, however, can still maneuver at the party's statewide gathering to try to pull the endorsement off the consent calendar and stop it from being approved. However, with new rules in place this year, party insiders say blocking the endorsements will not be easy.

For months gay San Francisco District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener, who is seeking the Senate District 11 seat, had worked behind the scenes to secure enough support to land early backing for his party's endorsement. The strategy paid off, as Wiener received 80 percent of the Region 6 vote; his opponent, District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim, earned less than 20 percent as several people opted for a no endorsement in the race.

"As a lifelong Democrat and former chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party, I couldn't be more proud to earn the support of these grassroots activists," stated Wiener. "They work tirelessly to elect leaders who will fight to protect our environment, expand affordable housing, ensure access to quality, affordable health care, fight to improve our schools, and protect a woman's right to choose."

Sabrina Cervantes, a lesbian who is seeking to oust Assemblyman Eric Linder (R-Corona) from his 60th Assembly District seat centered in northwestern Riverside County, walked away with 95 percent of the votes cast at the Democratic Party's pre-convention caucus for its Region 13.

"I am humbled by the outpouring of support from grassroots Democratic Party activists," she stated. "The 60th Assembly District is likely to be one of the most competitive races in the state, and I am excited to be one step closer to earning the official endorsement of the California Democratic Party."

In Region 19, Palm Springs resident Greg Rodriguez , a gay married father who is HIV-positive, secured a 93 percent vote at the pre-endorsement meeting. He is seeking to oust from office freshman Assemblyman Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley) from his 42nd Assembly District seat, which covers most of Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

With state Senator Marty Block (D-San Diego) announcing last week that he was dropping his re-election bid, outgoing lesbian Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) walked away with 94 percent of the pre-endorsement vote of her bid for Block's Senate District 39 seat. The Region 20 caucus meeting also saw gay San Diego City Councilman Todd Gloria , who is running for Atkins' Assembly seat, earn a 100 percent pre-endorsement vote.

Unlike Wiener, the other four out candidates who secured pre-endorsements do not face an intraparty primary challenge. Thus, the caucus results are hardly a surprise.

Three other out non-incumbent legislative candidates, all of whom are running against fellow Democrats, failed to secure pre-endorsement backing over the weekend.

Bryan Urias, a gay man seeking the 48th Assembly District seat located in the San Gabriel Valley, fell 2 percentage points below the required threshold needed at the Region 15 caucus. He is running to succeed Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina), who is termed out of office next year, and is in a tough race against teacher Blanca E. Rubio .

His campaign noted in a statement that his 68 percent is more than the 60 percent threshold of eligible delegates required to win the party's endorsement at the convention.

"This vote today was very humbling for me" stated Urias. "These delegates are people I respect and work side by side with to ensure we advance Democratic candidates and Democratic policies at all levels of government. I am so proud to have received this level of support."

Lesbian Pasadena resident Katherine Aguilar Perez-Estolano, who is seeking the open 25th Senate District seat, also came up short. Instead, former Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge) landed 70 percent to secure the Region 11 caucus's pre-endorsement.

Meanwhile, Joel Fajardo, a gay man and current mayor of San Fernando who is running for the 39th Assembly District seat held by Assemblywoman Patty Lopez (D-San Fernando), was not listed as eligible for the party pre-endorsement vote. In that contest, former Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, who lost to Lopez two years ago, scored 95 percent at the Region 12 caucus.

The party's state convention will be held in San Jose February 26-28.

Candidates Report 2015 Fundraising Hauls

State legislative candidates also reported their 2015 fundraising hauls this week, with Wiener having raised more than $852,000 since entering the race last July.

In a news release, his campaign said that more than 75 percent of Wiener's donors live in the district and most gave $250 or less. As of January 1, Wiener had $662,324 remaining in his campaign account.

Kim, who officially entered the race in October, raised a little more than $300,000 and reported having spent hardly any of it as of December 31.

Atkins, due to holding her powerful leadership post, had the biggest, by far, campaign cash total of the out non-incumbent legislative candidates. She raised more than $1.7 million last year, though the bulk of it came from her former campaign accounts, and reported having more than $1.6 million to spend on her campaign.

Gloria raised close to $362,000 for his bid to succeed Atkins and had more than $242,000 in his campaign account at the start of 2016.

Urias raised $277,329 last year and had $195,906 left over. His opponent, Rubio, reported $182,710 in donations, with $132,604 in cash on hand.

Perez-Estolano took in $109,605 with $82,718 left in the bank. It paled in comparison to the $512,593 her opponent, Portantino, raised last year, bringing his financial resources to $994,069 for the June primary race, where the top two vote-getters advance to the November election.

Another candidate in the Senate race, Phlunte Riddle, netted $177,729 from donors last year. The retired Pasadena police lieutenant reported having $106,157 left over to spend. Republican Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich class=txt7> raised $248,902 last year toward his bid for the Senate with $224,325 left on hand.

(Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, in December withdrew from the Senate race and is now eyeing a run for lieutenant governor in 2018. He reported having more than $2 million in his campaign account for that race; Leno is also considering a bid for the statewide office and reported having $37,371 for a potential campaign.)

For her Assembly bid, Cervantes netted $99,453 last year and had nearly $72,000 remaining. Her opponent, Linder, raised $360,160 and had more than $252,000 to spend.

Rodriguez reported $80,523 in contributions last year for his Assembly race with $51,579 unspent. His opponent, Mayes, raised $431,518 with $260,425 in cash on hand.

Raising the least amount of money in 2015 was Fajardo, who reported a total haul of $10,475. He started the new year with $7,384 to spend on his Assembly bid.

The incumbent, Lopez, reported raising $29,108 last year and had spent all but $1,582 by December 31. Bocanegra, on the other hand, was sitting on a campaign war chest of $456,807, having raised $377,330 last year.

Gay Ex-Congressman Stumps for Honda

Just days after appearing at a fundraiser for Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), gay former Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank will be stumping for embattled South Bay Congressman Mike Honda (D-San Jose).

Frank, who left office in 2013, will be in San Francisco Friday, February 12 to help raise money for Honda, who is fighting an ethics investigation into his fundraising practices as well as a strong challenge from venture capitalist Ro Khanna in a rematch of their 2014 race.

The morning of Monday, February 8 Frank is slated to be the featured guest at a breakfast event for Lee hosted by the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club.

Invites to Frank's Honda fundraiser note that Honda is the founder and chair of the newly formed U.S. Congressional Transgender Equality Task Force. Among the co-hosts is gay Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell).