A special election on May 19 will determine whether Susan Bonilla or Steve Glazer gets to be a California Senator representing the 7th Senate district. Susan came 2nd in the March 17th primary.
Glazer received 38,411 in the primary while Bonilla got 28,389, about 10,000 votes less. However, the next candidate was Joan Buchanan who received 25,534 and she endorsed Bonilla.
True, the Republican in the race came 4th and received 18,281 and endorsed Glazer (another red light when a Republican endorses a Democrat) before withdrawing from the race 1 month before the March primary. So many of the votes Glazer received were probably Republicans. Republicans that voted for Michaela Hertle even after she withdrew will probably not participate in the special election. So it will be close and we can make a difference.
“I am endorsing Steve Glazer for California State Senate District 7. Mr. Glazer has proven that he can work with Republicans and Democrats alike to find common sense solutions to our state’s needs”, said Hertle. “He is not beholden to labor or other special interests, as seen by his opposition to BART strikes.” The choice in ths special election in DailyKos' backyard is clear, Susan Bonilla, a great Democrat or Steve Galzer a blue dog.I'm far from the district but as a Single Payer activist I will do what I can to support Susan. She is all for Single Payer, Glazer is not. And we need Single Payer supporters in Sacramento so that what happened in 2012 doesn't happen again and so we can get to Single Payer however convoluted the road map has become in the era of Obamacare.
As a matter of fact, the recently launched Single Payer PAC has picked Susan as the first candidate to support. You can donate to her campaign via PayPal on the PAC page or donate to her campaign directly via ActBlue on her website.
Another red light, SF Gate seems to endorse Glazer;
Steve Glazer: A moderate Democrat, actually;
It’s true Glazer has business support. But that’s because private enterprise needs Democrats who are, as California Chamber of Commerce Veep Marty Wilson put it, “reform-minded” and “will stand up to the unions.” The chambers’ JOBSPac has spent more than $180,000 to help elect Glazer, a Democrat who helped push through a big tax increase, because the chamber is desperate to elect Democrats willing to buck the left’s entrenched interests. And those progressives in the Chamber of Commers obviously love Glazer even if he is a Dem.If you still have doubts, compare the endorsements of Bonilla vs. Glazer. Interestingly, Governor Jerry Brown has not endorsed Glazer even though he is one of his top advisors;
Glazer is known as Jerry Brown's leading political strategist. A yellow light at least IMO.And this from Calbuzz;
Op-Ed: Why Unions Back Bonilla Over Glazer
Bipartisan Bonilla: Experience is one reason labor backs Bonilla. A former high school English teacher, she has built a reputation in the Capitol as a workhorse who tackles tough issues. Susan has teamed up with Gov. Jerry Brown on a landmark restructuring of the state’s local education funding formula, and won bipartisan praise for her handling of the “Uber” bill last year as chair of the Assembly’s Business and Professions Committee. On income inequality, Glazer has refused to support an increase in the minimum wage, a bread-and-butter Democratic issue supported by Bonilla, not to mention President Obama and Gov. Brown.When Glazer was asked about the minimum wage at a candidate forum last year, he replied that, “Most of these jobs are being provided by small business people in our communities. I think you should talk to them. I think they’ll tell you things aren’t so grand,” hardly what we expect from someone running as a Democrat anywhere, especially in one of the wealthier enclaves of California.
Glazer also has angered environmentalists by suggesting that he’d push for unspecified major changes in the state’s landmark California Environmental Quality Act (better known as CEQA). By contrast, Bonilla, scored 81 percent on the California League of Conservation Voters scorecard.
Bill Clinton, Jerry Brown and Dianne Feinstein are all moderate Democrats. But none has crossed labor like Steve Glazer. He is pushing policies that damage the middle class and reflect the California Chamber of Commerce‘s agenda. His victory would signal that there is not much difference between Democrats and Republicans on economic issues. That is precisely what corporate interests want in California. So if you want a better Democrat in Sacramento and if you are a supporter of Single Payer, please get involved or at least donate.