News
Candidates Look to Replace Termed out Legislators
June 9, 2006
On June 6, 2006, California voters went to the polls in a statewide primary election, where Democrats selected state Treasurer Phil Angelides over state Controller Steve Westly to challenge incumbent Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the November General Election. In apparently the lowest voter turnout in California history, Angelides took 47.8 percent of the vote over 43.4 percent for Westly.
In another key statewide race, state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi took the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor, defeating state Senators Jackie Speier and Liz Figueroa. He will face Republican Senator and UCLA alumnus Tom McClintock in November.
Senator Debra Bowen defeated Senator Deborah Ortiz in the Democratic race for Secretary of State. Senator Bowen will face incumbent Bruce McPherson, a Republican, in the General Election. And in the Democratic contest for state Controller, state Board of Equalization member John Chiang beat Senator Joe Dunn. On the Republican side, former lawmaker Tony Strickland led Abel Maldonado, 40.2 percent to 37.1 percent.
Bill Lockyer, currently Attorney General, ran unopposed in the primary for state Treasurer. He will face Republican Claude Parrish, a Board of Equalization member who won over Assemblymember, and UCLA alumnus Keith Richman.
Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, a former Governor and Secretary of State, easily defeated Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo in the Democratic primary for Attorney General. Brown will face Republican Senator Chuck Poochigian in November.
Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante won the Democratic primary for state Insurance Commissioner. Steve Poizner will represent Republicans.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell will return to his nonpartisan post. He received more than 52 percent of the vote.
Ballot Initiatives
Voters rejected two propositions on Tuesday’s ballot. They defeated Proposition 81 to support libraries, 53.1 percent to 46.9 percent. Proposition 82 to fund preschool education failed, 61 percent to 39 percent.
Legislative Races
Of UCLA’s 35 assigned legislative districts, a total of 19 were open due to term limits and vacancies from legislators running for other office. There are two races in our assigned delegation that remain too close to call and will likely not be decided for several weeks. The first is State Senate District 30, where Bruins Rudy Bermudez and Ron Calderon were vying to replace Senator Martha Escutia. Currently Calderon holds a 394 vote lead over Bermudez. In Assembly District 51 where Curren Price and Steven Bradford were running to replace Jerome Horton, Price leads by 124 votes.
Click here for the latest updates on these and other California races.
Overall, barring any general election surprises, it looks like there will be 7 or 8 UCLA Bruins in the State Senate and another 6 in the State Assembly. UCLA alumni Sam Aanestad, Dean Florez, and Gil Cedillo are likely to win reelection to their Senate seats in November. Meanwhile alumni Pat Wiggins and Darrel Steinberg are likely to move up from the Assembly to the State Senate along with the winner of the 30 th Senate District primary. In Orange County, Lou Correa beat fellow UCLA alumnus Tom Umberg in the Democratic primary for the 34 th Senate Seat. Correa will face Assemblymember Lynn Daucher in one of the few contested races this November. The eventual winners will join alumna Senator Sheila Kuehl, who was not up for reelection.
In the State Assembly, UCLA alumni Roger Niello, Todd Spitzer and Mimi Walters are strongly favored for reelection. They will most likely be joined by newcomers and fellow alumni Mike Eng, Laura Richardson, and Ann Marie Caballero.
|
