Donkeys in Disneyland
THE PULP IN ORANGE COUNTY: Although overshadowed by how he would address the energy crisis and maintain his own political viability, Governor Gray Davis still found time to host a Friday night, lights-on party with the media and delegates in Disneyland’s version of Hollywood Pictures Backlot.
The celebration opened the Democratic state party convention. This year the highlight was the three L’s — as in “Latino,” “labor” for Cesar Chavez’s birthday, which became a state holiday on Saturday, and “Loretta” Sanchez, the Orange County Congresswoman who gained her seat by shooting down ultraconservative Bob Dornan.
BALLOT FOR BUCKS: San Francisco’s Alicia Wang was re-elected over Steve Ybarra for first vice-chair of the California Democratic Party. Wang, the only Asian American in the party leadership and one of its few women, managed to hold her own delegates, despite fear that some of her supporters would leave Sunday morning to catch flights home before the balloting began.
Just days before Wang’s re-election, local Democrats anted up nearly $4,000 to sustain the party until their May fundraiser. The donkeys weren’t hee-hawing when county committee member Henry Louie asked Wang for financial help in San Francisco. While it sounded innocent enough, Louie’s comments came just before the party’s March 28 vote to endorse her for re-election as vice-chair. At least one county member accused him of “extortion” and condemned his remarks as “inappropriate.”
In Louie’s defense, Criss Romero of the reform wing rebuked, “To call it extortion or inappropriate is very subjective.”
It’s ironic that “reform” Democrats like Romero and Louie have condemned party establishment members for letting hard and soft money influence the process. However, when a “reformer” like Louie asks for money before a vote, well, that’s something else. Anyway, both reform and establishment Democrats unanimously endorsed Wang, who said, “I’ve never turned down a request from any Democrat.”
MR. FIX-IT: Also at the convention, Assembly majority leader and 12th District member Kevin Shelley offered his version of “fixing our voting system.”
Shelley has authored Assembly Bill 55, which would provide a major and timely overhaul of the state election system, including replacing the old punch card (chad) voting systems with touch screen voting in multiple languages, and increasing access among traditionally under-represented voters.
“Our problem isn’t ending chads, our problem is bringing disenfranchised Californians in,” Shelley said last Sunday.
Certainly, the bill is an obvious response to the Florida presidential debacle. And, it will be a good cornerstone for Shelley’s campaign for California secretary of state, which is responsible for administering elections and voter registration, and key to the emerging Latino, Asian and African American population, which is a majority of the state.
Shelley, though, faces some tough competition, namely from former insurance commissioner and state Senator John Garamendi, 1998 secretary of state candidate Michela Alioto, and former secretary of state March Fong Eu, all of whom have run statewide, unlike him.
WILLIE GOES TO DISNEYLAND: The mayor seemed primed for the moment on Saturday morning at the California Democratic Party convention, despite the fact that just 24 hours earlier, he had a near physical showdown with the much taller Supervisor Chris Daly.
The mayor commented on President Bush. He wasn’t so complementary, however.
±aid Brown: “Have you heard [Bush]? My mind boggled when I heard him say it. He said, ‘Just because I don’t seem to make sense when I speak, you should not mis-underestimate me.’”
The mayor went on to say, “There ain’t no brother in Oakland, nor anywhere else, who would read the phrase and mix up the words the way this cat does. This raises serious questions about whether or not he’s really white.”
“BEARING” ALL BUT THE UNION LABEL: One of the most popular personalities at the convention was State Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg (District 40, Los Angeles, North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Woodland Hills, San Fernando Valley). During an event he hosted, he quickly became known as the serial hugger. (He loves to give bear hugs.) With a pompadour and sideburns, he handed out inscribed beer glasses, while taking free portraits with guests and impersonating the Elvis impersonator. With beer glasses on, Hertzberg gave out hundreds of miniature teddy bears with banjos, but minus the manufacturer tags, which appeared to be cut off. The standing order for good Democrats like Hertzberg is to buy only goods with “made in the U.S.A.” union labels. After the party, however, Hertzberg’s volunteers were seen moving out the orphan bears in suspect boxes clearly labeled “Made in China.”
BEAR YOUR SOUL: qend your comments to me by e-mail at samson@sfindependent.com or potsticker@prodigy.net or call at 415-359-2899. |
