The Grand Old Party figures it has a decent shot to win back a seat in Congress, but first it needs to settle on a candidate. The 11th congressional seat, currently represented by Jerry McNerney (and formerly Richard Pombo), which covers East Contra Costa County and parts of San Joaquin County, seems like a likely candidate for a Republican take-away, as the district is generally more conservative than McNerney.
David Harmer, GOP candidate for CD-11 | DavidHarmerforCongress.com
Hard to handicap the GOP primary, though: Of the four candidates running, none have major name recognition. Voters may remember David Harmer, a Tea Party-style Mormon lawyer from Dougherty Valley, from last year’s failed bid to fill the CD-10 seat (won by John Garamendi), but that wasn’t exactly a blockbuster election. CQ Politics, which, for what it’s worth, calls the district “leans Democrat,” pointed out Tony Amador, a former U.S. Marshall, as an interesting candidate, as he already has the endorsement of Rep. Tom McClintock, the Republican congressman next door (Harmer has Mitt Romney’s endorsement).
For now, the four seem busy fighting each other. One wonders whether the party ought to have cleared the field, spared one of these guys the bruising primary, and just geared up tons of cash for November.
Related: In a recent blog post, the CoCo Times’ Lisa Vorderbrueggen reported that Amador’s internal polling suggests he’s gained major ground since January. Take with a grain of salt.
Besides those two, Elizabeth Emken of Danville and Brad Goehring of Clements are also on the ballot. Here’s a link to a four-way debate they staged. Also, for another primer on the GOP primary, see HalfwaytoConcord’s piece.
On to the day’s links:
Um… remember when we said John Laird figured to benefit from a consolidated runoff November election to fill Abel Maldonado’s SD-15 seat, now that Abel has been confirmed as Lt. Guv? Not so much, reports Politi-Cal. Turns out Arnold has called for a special summertime election (cost: $2.5 mill) — a move that will undoubtedly affect turnout, and by proxy, hurt a Democrat (like Laird) trying to pick up the seat.
Steve Poizner kinda-sorta doesn’t like the Arizona immigration plan.
Not all connections to Goldman are equal, writes CalBuzz.
Gary Toebben writes for Fox-n-Hounds about the need for 12-year term limits in Sac — whether in the senate, assembly or both.
Bold prediction: Fabrice “Fabulous Fab” Tourre, the 31 y-o Goldman exec who took a beating from the senate today becomes American’s new favorite enemy. Fabulous Fab?!! That’s perfect. Sign me up. I know what I’m dressing up as for Halloween.
From the Dept. of Common Sense: Panel says its unwise for state to sell property and lease it back. This just in: It’s also unwise to buy groceries when you’re starving. BTW — Oakland has been kicking the tires on selling the Henry J. Kaiser auditorium to the Peralta Colleges to help close the budget. Little different situation, but still a shame.
SNL skit about “Public Service Awards” banquet. Pretty rich.
californ-ian 