'Tis the Season of Membership-Stacking-for-Endorsements in California: What Does it Mean to Get the “Democratic Party Endorsemen

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Linda Sutton

Most Californians are sure that their election is over. All the media coverage is blaring babble from the most recent presidential debate in distant states as well as other inane minutia that denigrates the process.

Yet, if you look closely, really closely, you may find evidence that there is yet another election coming up here in June. Yes, June 3rd to be exact.

This season, in spite of the state being billions of dollars in debt, and the cries of horror about budget cuts, our state legislators gave us the special treat of spending double on TWO elections!!!.

And the citizens who ARE paying attention to the obscure references to the June 3rd primary are again faced with figuring out who is worth voting for, if anyone.

With little information in the mainstream media, many turn to their local Democratic Clubs and special interest groups for guidance. Or, they look to their Democratic party. This guidance most often comes in the form of the last minute slate mailers, the topic of this conversation.

But IS the endorsement of the club or party truly well thought out? And DOES it actually represent the opinion of the regular club membership? And how many members are actually involved in any of these clubs? Or, has the endorsement been manipulated by the last minute sign-ups that dump cash into the club the day before the membership cut-off date for eligibility to vote? Then, a busload of "new members" appears for this one event.

From my vantage point in the San Fernando Valley, I can assure you that the custom of stacking-new-members-just-in-time-for-the-endorsement-vote is alive and well in the 40th Assembly District race. The four Democratic candidates are Laurette Healey, Dan McCrory, Stewart Waldman and Bob Blumenfeld.

The season opened with the Young Democrats of the SFV and a ground war between two guys who both think they are entitled to the Assembly seat in the 40th AD (that's mid-SFV from Van Nuys out to West Hills). These "Young Dems," by the way, are heavily sprinkled with incumbent politicians' staffers. Stewart Waldman, the former staffer for the incumbent in the 40th AD, snatched this one away, having been the founder of the group. He's too old to be a member now, but says strong ties to many board members got him the endorsement.