I have gotten nothing but fliers and fliers and fliers from candidates running for State Senate District 26, the seat which Ted Lieu vacated to run for Congress.
![]("http://amyhoworthforsenate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Senate-District-26.png")
Who is running for this seat, anyway?
From Ballotpedia:
District 26
Note: Incumbent Holly Mitchell (D) is running for re-election in District 30.
- June 3 Blanket primary candidates:
!["Democratic]("http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/images/d/d7/Blue_Party_dot.png")
Ben Allen - Barbi S. Appelquist
- Betsy Butler
- Sandra Fluke
- Amy Howorth
- Vito Imbasciani
- Patric M. Verrone
!["Independent"]("http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/images/a/a7/Grey.png")
Seth Stodder
There is no Republican running in this seat. One resident called the race a "clusterf–k".
In spite of the broad cluster of Democrats running for this seat, there is one centrist Independent, Seth Stodder, running for the seat as well.
I will comment on him later.
For now, I want to focus on the seven Democrats running for the seat.
I have gotten fliers from three candidates so far.
Amy Howorth is the current mayor of Manhattan Beach. She has ties with the city, and she is touting her experience raising family and working with the school district.
![]("http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/tbrnews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/bd/5bd04588-6859-11e3-a6d3-001a4bcf887a/52b260f343af3.image.jpg") |
| Amy Howorth |
She also has an endorsement from Mayor Richard Riordan. Since he has already endorsed three candidates, the value of these endorsements has become more suspect.
Howorth claims in one ad after another that she will fight the waste and fraud in Sacramento.
Then there's Ben Allen, who not only champions the idea of killing the billion dollar bullet train boondoggle, he also cares about dealing with staggering job losses and lack of opportunities in the state of California. Another ad highlights the three Democratic state senator who have been convicted or indicted for corruption.
![]("http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/benallen/pages/50/attachments/original/1393446630/ben_half.png?1393446630") |
| Ben Allen |
Another candidate, Vito Imbasciani, stands on his prior medical experience. He has very little money of his own, but unions connected with the medical profession are backing his candidacy. One ad blasts the key importance of saving the middle class and providing a broad means of college students to get a good education without losing money.
![]("https://www.cmanet.org/files/societies/imbasciani.jpg") |
| Vito Imbasciani |
The first glaring concern about all these candidates — they are liberal Democrats running in a liberal seat. What gives anyone the impression that these politicians will stand up to Sacramento liberal-Democratic-statist-progressive pressures and special interest dominance?
The fact the Imbasciani has unions endorsing his pleas to protect the middle class should alarm voters all the more. Whatever good Amy Howorth claims that she has done for Manhattan Beach, no voter should believe that she can stand up to the Sacramento shuffle of going with the Democratic caucus which has said little and done even less regarding the three corrupted officials (with more to follow).
Ben Allen has gotten more positive press, in part because of former Republicans, now Independent and failed Congressional candidate Bill Bloomfield is bankrolling Allen's ad blitz. Enough already!
Allen has posted with Henry Waxman in key fliers already. What gives Allen the impression that he can tell the voters in the same district different stories and get away with it? He supports single-payer health care (worse than Obamacare) and legalizing marijuana, both marginal views which will not play well in the South Bay.
As for Betsy Butler, I have already written how beholden she has been to the unions and the Green Lobby. She went as far as suggesting that Californians give up their lawns to deal with the intense water shortage in the state.
!["Sandra]("http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2012_May_8_Sandra_Fluke_and_friend_cropped_to_collar.jpg") |
| Sandra Fluke |
Then there's Sandra Fluke. Aside from her brazen, entitled demand that the government pay for her birth control, there is nothing outstanding or worthwhile about this candidate, aside from the fact that she would rather by kidnapped by Nigerian terrorists rather than allow a Republican to touch her.
I am certain that voters with any sense or semblance of self-respect (or sanity) will not want to put a pen next to her name on a ballot, let alone touch her.
Her campaign is like her name — a total fluke, and a joke. Appelquist and Verrone have sent out nothing so far, and it looks as if their campaigns will be going nowhere fast.
Is this the best that the Democratic Party can offer the State Senate District 26?