CA-37: This might get messy

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics: Soapblox California - Front Page]

Yesterday I reported on Sen. Jenny Oropeza running for the late Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald's seat. Assemblywoman Laura Richardson is also running for that seat.  While Oropeza may have greater name ID from her longer service, it will be no walk in the park.

The upcoming congressional race between Sen. Jenny Oropeza and Assemblywoman Laura Richardson has no shortage of subplots. There is an ethnic component: Richardson is African-American, Oropeza is Latino. Then there's the inherent Senate vs. Assembly rivalry. But the race may also become a proxy in the battle between labor unions and Indian tribes over new gaming compacts pending in the state Legislature. ... Oropeza, D-Long Beach, has long been a champion of organized labor. But earlier this year, she voted against labor, and with Senate leadership, to support the compacts on the floor of the state Senate.

Soon after the vote, a group of labor leaders, including Maria Elena Durazo, the powerful head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, met with Oropeza to express their displeasure. "There were a lot of folks who were unhappy," says Mary Gutierrez, the organization's spokeswoman. (Capitol Weekly 5/3/07)

On the previous thread, some pointed out jennyoropeza.com, which is a hit site that lingered from her failed run against our current Speaaker. Or perhaps it was pre-emptive for just such a race.  Either way, somebody has some bad blood with Senator Oropeza.

On the other hand, Assemblywoman Richardson is pretty new to this game. So, she still has yet to garner a whole lot of enemies, but converse may also be true. So, either way, I don't think this is going to end so smoothly as was anticipated. Term limits ensure that.