In case you didn't notice, there was an election on June 6. Apparently, elections in California are becoming much like rate filings in workers' compensation insurance—we do it every six months whether we need it or not. Although much of the focus was on the multimillion-dollar, mudslinging Democratic primary for governor, some very important—for the workers' comp community—legislative races also were decided. In newly reapportioned legislative districts, the real action is in the primary and, in this case, a few races where the action was hot and heavy.
As we all can see, term limits are working some interesting dynamics in electoral politics. For many, it is up and out. Senators Joe Dunn, Liz Figueroa, Abel Maldonado, Deborah Ortiz and Jackie Speier can look forward to watching daytime television in November, having lost their bid to gain the nomination for statewide office.
Assemblymembers Ray Haynes, Jerome Horton, Keith Richman and Juan Vargas also lost in their efforts to extend their political careers, Haynes and Horton losing in primaries for the Board of Equalization. Assembly Insurance Committee Chairman Juan Vargas failed in his attempt to be elected to Congress.
The "up and out" phenomenon (also known as the Sacramento Shuffle) isn't the only guaranteed change that term limits have created. There is also a philosophical shift as members from the Assembly move to the Senate. Over the years, a so-called "moderate caucus" of Democrats not overtly hostile to business has developed in the Senate. Its influence has been seen in a host of proposals dating back to Governor Davis' administration. But over time, as elections take their toll, members of that caucus begin to filter into the Senate. In 2006, with many "progressive" Senators having to move on, a significant number of moderates were looking to establish a beachhead in the upper house.
For insiders, this created quite a buzz. The business community, through a number of independent expenditure campaigns, began amassing a significant war chest. But then there's always the other side, and so did the trial lawyers and the applicants' attorneys. In a widely distributed communiqué, California Applicants' Attorneys Association (CAAA) solicited its members for contributions to four critical Senate races. When the dust settled, they won only one.
One battle royal was in the 10th Senate District, encompassing Alameda and Santa Clara counties in the Bay Area. Three former Assembly members squared off. The moderates' choice was former moderate caucus chairman John Dutra. CAAA's choice was former Assembly member John Klehs. Neither won. The winner was former Assembly Judiciary Committee chair Ellen Corbett, also a favorite of the Consumer Attorneys of California, whom most of us know as the trial lawyers. While technically a loss for CAAA, in the practical world it was a win.
CAAA also had a win in the 28th Senate District, which stretches along the coast in Los Angeles. There, Assembly member Jenny Oropeza defeated Assembly member George Nakano. In the San Bernardino area, District 32, Assembly member Gloria Negrete McLeod handily defeated Assembly member Joe Baca, Jr. So far, CAAA is 2-1 in the elections.
But just as is the case with sports, not all wins are quality wins. The aforementioned races basically elected someone who philosophically was pretty much in the same camp as the person vacating the seat. While an enormous sum of money was spent in the 10th Senate District, it is hard to say that Ellen Corbett is substantially more "progressive" than soon-to-be-former Senator Liz Figueroa. The real issue in that race was keeping John Dutra out of the Senate, and both Johan Klehs and Ellen Corbett fit that bill.
The real confrontation came in the Democratic primary in the 34th Senate District in Orange County. Assembly member Tom Umberg squared off against former Assembly member and Orange County Supervisor Lou Correa. The winner would be the favorite to replace trial lawyer go-to guy Senator Joe Dunn, who himself was embarking in a failed bid to become Controller. This race had all the same dynamics as the 10th—a moderate going against a trial lawyer. This was also a CAAA priority.
But what distinguishes this race from all the others is not the interest groups that entered the fray but rather that Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata endorsed, and some would say solicited, Correa's candidacy. It's one thing to go up against the Chamber of Commerce and the rest of the business community, as CAAA is prone to do. It is quite another to go up against the Senate leader, especially a veteran leader with political instincts as sharp as Perata's. Welcome to the big leagues.
CAAA's efforts weren't helped when Umberg filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) alleging that Perata's independent expenditure campaign on behalf of Correa was coordinating with the candidate—a serious no-no. At that point, it became a personal issue for Perata. Correa wins, Umberg loses, and CAAA has enough egg on its face to open a Denny's somewhere on I-5.
Final tally? 0-1. In this league, only quality wins count.
