Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Below
is
our
simple
slate
for
your
convenience
when
you
fill
out
your
ballot
please
do
read
the
analysis
before
casting
your
vote
-
and
hang
on
to
this
document,
which
we
will
refer
to
after
the
election
in
several
organizational
events
to
develop
better
options
in
the
future.
1.
CA
State
Assembly
District
36
(Lackey
vs.
Fox)
Vote
Fox
2.
CA
State
Assembly
District
38
(Smith
vs.
Acosta)
Vote
Smith
3.
CA
State
Assembly
District
39
(Lopez
vs.
Bocanegra)
Vote
Lopez
4.
CA
State
Assembly
District
41
(Holden
vs.
Higgins)
Vote
Holden
5.
CA
State
Assembly
District
43
(Friedman
vs.
Kassakhian)
Neutral
6.
CA
State
Assembly
District
45
(Dababneh
vs.
Kowal)
Vote
Dababneh
7.
CA
State
Assembly
District
46
(Nazarian
vs.
Rupert)
Vote
Nazarian
8.
CA
State
Assembly
District
48
(Ellenson
vs.
Rubio)
Vote
Rubio
9.
CA
State
Assembly
District
49
(Chau)
10.
CA
State
Assembly
District
50
(Bloom
vs.
Craffey)
Vote
Bloom
11.
CA
State
Assembly
District
51
(Gomez
vs.
Everling)
Vote
Gomez
12.
CA
State
Assembly
District
52
(Rodriguez
vs.
Avila)
Vote
Rodriguez
13.
CA
State
Assembly
District
53
(Santiago
vs.
Mendoza)
Vote
Santiago
14.
CA
State
Assembly
District
54
(Ridley-Thomas
vs.
Ratcliff)
Vote
Ridley-Thomas
15.
CA
State
Assembly
District
55
(Fritchle
vs.
Chen)
Vote
Fritchle
16.
CA
State
Assembly
District
57
(Calderon
vs.
Topalian)
Vote
Calderon
17.
CA
State
Assembly
District
58
(Garcia
vs.
Alvarado)
Vote
Garcia
18.
CA
State
Assembly
District
59
(Jones-Sawyer)
19.
CA
State
Assembly
District
62
(Burke)
20.
CA
State
Assembly
District
63
(Rendon
vs.
Miller)
Vote
Rendon
21.
CA
State
Assembly
District
64
(Gipson
vs.
Sanford)
Vote
Gipson
22.
CA
State
Assembly
District
66
(Hadley
vs.
Muratsuchi)
Vote
Muratsuchi
23.
CA
State
Assembly
District
70
(ODonnell
vs.
Flores-Gibson)
Vote
ODonnell
24.
CA
State
Senate
District
21
(Wilk
vs.
Ervin)
Vote
Ervin
25.
CA
State
Senate
District
25
(Portantino
vs.
Antonovich)
Vote
Portantino
26.
CA
State
Senate
District
27
(Fazio
vs.
Stern)
Vote
Stern
27.
CA
State
Senate
District
29
(Newman
vs.
Chang)
Neutral
28.
CA
State
Senate
District
33
(Lara
vs.
Robson)
Vote
Lara
29.
CA
State
Senate
District
35
(Bradford
vs.
Furutani)
Neutral
30.
Los
Angeles
County
Board
of
Supervisors
District
4
(Hahn
vs.
Napolitano)
Vote
Hahn
31.
Los
Angeles
County
Board
of
Supervisors
District
5
(Barger
vs.
Park)
Vote
Park
32.
Californias
25th
Congressional
District
(Knight
vs.
Caforio)
Vote
Caforio
33.
Californias
27th
Congressional
District
(Chu
vs.
Orswell)
Vote
Chu
34.
Californias
28th
Congressional
District
(Schiff
vs.
Solis)
Vote
Schiff
35.
Californias
29th
Congressional
District
(Cardenas
vs.
Alarcon)
Vote
Alarcon
36.
Californias
30th
Congressional
District
(Sherman
vs.
Reed)
Vote
Sherman
37.
Californias
32nd
Congressional
District
(Napolitano)
38.
Californias
33rd
Congressional
District
(Lieu
vs.
Wright)
Vote
Lieu
39.
Californias
34th
Congressional
District
(Becerra
vs.
Edwards)
Vote
Edwards
40.
Californias
35th
Congressional
District
(Torres
vs.
Fischella)
Vote
Torres
41.
Californias
37th
Congressional
District
(Bass
vs.
Wiggins)
Vote
Wiggins
42.
Californias
38th
Congressional
District
(Sanchez
vs.
Downing)
Vote
Sanchez
43.
Californias
39th
Congressional
District
(Royce
vs.
Murdock)
Vote
Murdock
44.
Californias
40th
Congressional
District
(Roybal-Allard
vs.
Gonzalez)
Vote
Roybal-Allard
45.
Californias
43rd
Congressional
District
(Waters
vs.
Navarro)
Vote
Waters
46.
Californias
44th
Congressional
District
(Hall
vs.
Barragan)
Neutral
47.
Californias
47th
Congressional
District
(Lowenthal
vs.
Whallon)
Vote
Lowenthal
boosting
spending
on
Californias
environmental,
healthcare,
and
welfare
programs.
On
an
especially
promising
note,
Smith
has
refused
to
abide
conservative
arguments
about
fiscal
austerity,
by
indicating
that
she
will
not
sacrifice
critical
programs
in
order
to
balance
the
states
budget.
Still,
it
is
unclear
how
Smith
will
bring
in
all
the
funding
that
she
has
promised
for
the
states
vital
social
programs,
since
she
apparently
does
not
believe
that
Californias
tax
policies
need
to
be
significantly
adjusted.
Considering
that
US
state
governments
are
legally
bound
to
maintain
balanced
budgets
in
ways
the
federal
government
is
not,
a
well-developed
revenue
generation
plan
is
especially
crucial
for
any
state
legislator
seriously
looking
to
beef
up
spending.
Unfortunately,
Smiths
failure
to
put
forward
a
progressive
taxation
proposal
completely
undermines
her
social
program
goals
because
it
is
difficult
to
see
how
the
state
can
adequately
support
education
and
other
social
programs
going
forward
without
actually
confronting
Californias
wealthy
elite,
and
ultimately
raising
their
taxes.
Dante
Acosta
Republican
Dante
Acosta
is
a
Santa
Clarita
city
councilmember,
who
is
campaigning
on
the
usual
Republican
program
of
low
taxes
and
small
government.
Acosta
is
committed
to
ensuring
that
the
anti-property
tax
measure
Prop
13
remains
the
law
of
the
land
in
California,
and
he
has
declared
that
he
will
make
tough
decisions
on
government
spending.
Acosta
also
wants
everyone
to
know
that
he
believes
that
mans
rights
to
life,
liberty,
and
justice
come
from
our
Creator
not
the
government.
Apparently,
the
Creator
is
mostly
interested
in
reducing
property
taxes
for
Californias
most
affluent
residents.
It
should
come
as
little
surprise
though
that
Acostas
religiously
inspired
small
government
ideals
suddenly
disappear
once
the
conversation
shifts
to
issues
of
criminal
justice.
He
is
a
strong
opponent
of
any
legislation
aimed
at
rolling
back
mass
incarceration,
including
the
legislative
measures
AB
109
and
Prop
47,
which
he
argues
have
led
to
more
criminals
on
the
street,
more
drug
problems,
and
more
homelessness,
and
it
puts
our
families
and
communities
at
risk.
Basically,
for
Acosta,
only
the
punitive
side
of
the
state
is
Bible
approved,
while
those
programs
designed
to
teach,
feed,
and
care
for
the
needy
are
just
big
government
stuff
that
Jesus
would
hate.
Vote
Smith
most
politically
significant
labor
unions,
including
the
United
Teachers
Los
Angeles,
SEIU,
and
the
California
Nurses
Association.
Given
her
past
advocacy
and
her
labor
endorsements,
activists
would
be
wise
to
support
Lopez
this
fall
so
she
can
continue
fighting
for
the
interests
of
working
class
Californians,
and
challenging
the
complacent
politics
of
Californias
Democratic
Party
establishment.
Raul
Bocanegra
Democrat
Raul
Bocanegra
served
as
District
39s
representative
to
the
California
State
Assembly
from
2012
to
2014.
He
earned
a
Masters
degree
in
Urban
Planning
from
UCLA,
and
his
past
professional
experience
includes
working
as
an
aide
to
Los
Angeles
City
Council
President
Alex
Padilla
and
teaching
at
California
State
Northridge.
Bocanegra
makes
a
lot
of
his
supposed
policy
expertise,
and
he
cites
his
background
in
urban
planning
as
providing
him
with
the
necessary
training
to
pursue
the
types
of
government
initiatives
that
can
improve
the
LA
economy.
According
to
his
campaign
literature,
While
serving
as
a
top
aide
to
former
Los
Angeles
City
Council
President
Alex
Padilla,
Raul
helped
implement
numerous
successful
projects
resulting
in
new
job
creation
and
much
needed
economic
investment
in
the
Valley.
The
most
significant
law
that
Bocanegra
co-authored
expanded
tax
credits
for
film
and
TV
production
in
California,
and
he
was
also
especially
important
in
leading
the
effort
to
redevelop
the
Price
Pfister
property
into
Plaza
Pacoima,
which
he
claims
has
helped
to
generate
hundreds
of
good-paying
jobs
in
the
heart
of
the
Valley.
Though
Bocanegra
argues
that
developments
like
these
have
been
beneficial
to
the
underserved
communities
of
the
Northeastern
San
Fernando
Valley,
it
is
not
at
all
clear
how
the
low
wage
service
sector
jobs
at
the
supermarkets
and
retail
stores
that
now
occupy
Plaza
Pacoima
actually
provide
real
opportunities
for
local
residents
to
achieve
much
in
the
way
of
economic
advancement.
Aside
from
a
temporary
uptick
in
construction
jobs,
developments
like
Plaza
Pacoima
mostly
just
enrich
investors,
developers,
and
contractors,
while
they
fail
to
provide
large
numbers
of
quality
jobs
for
working
class
residents.
It
should
come
as
no
surprise
then
given
his
pro-development
track
record
that
Bocanegra
has
raised
as
of
this
past
June
more
than
$640,000,
largely
from
pro-business
interest
groups
and
corporations.
Additionally,
according
to
the
LA
Times,
by
June
he
had
also
benefited
from
more
than
$660,000
in
independent
expenditures
supporting
him
and
opposing
Lopez,
mostly
by
the
California
Assn.
of
Realtors,
the
California
Charter
Schools
Assn.
and
oil
companies.
While
the
strong
support
he
has
been
receiving
from
conservative
business
groups
is
certainly
troubling,
activists
should
be
especially
worried
that
charter
school
interests
are
backing
his
campaign,
since
nothing
has
done
more
to
undermine
LAs
public
schools
in
recent
years
than
the
growth
of
charters.
Californias
Democratic
Party
establishment
has
revealed
their
true
cards
in
this
political
contest,
since
Bocanegra
has
managed
to
earn
the
states
Democratic
Party
endorsement
despite
Lopezs
incumbent
status.
Activists
already
had
good
reasons
to
be
suspicious
of
Bocanegra
due
to
his
ties
to
powerful
real
estate
interests,
but
the
support
he
is
now
receiving
from
the
charter
school
lobby
and
oil
companies
should
make
it
even
more
obvious
at
this
point
that
Bocanegra
is
the
corporate
candidate
in
this
important
California
State
Assembly
race.
Vote
Lopez
preferable
to
his
Republican
opponent,
and
if
he
is
reelected,
activists
should
concentrate
on
pressuring
him
to
take
actions
to
increase
funding
for
public
education,
while
also
calling
on
him
to
push
back
against
the
growth
of
charter
schools.
Casey
C.
Higgins
Republican
Casey
Higgins
earned
his
law
degree
from
Loyola
Marymount
Law
School
in
2004,
and
has
worked
as
a
Deputy
District
Attorney
since
2006.
In
his
2016
run
for
the
State
Assembly,
Higgins
has
been
playing
up
his
prosecutor
background,
and
his
campaign
has
remained
narrowly
focused
on
issues
of
criminal
justice.
Higgins
seeks
to
maintain
and
some
cases
return
to
highly
punitive
criminal
sentencing
guidelines
in
California.
He
is
particularly
keen
to
overturn
Proposition
47,
which
was
passed
in
order
to
reduce
prison
overcrowding,
and
to
provide
opportunities
for
prisoners
with
nonviolent
convictions
to
receive
rehabilitation
and
reduced
sentences.
Higgins
has
argued
that
Prop
47
did
not
really
do
what
it
claimed,
and
What
it
really
did
was
make
felony
possession
of
drugs
a
misdemeanor.
It
removed
the
threat
of
serious
jail
time,
which
was
the
only
way
to
get
people
to
participate
in
drug
programs.
It
also
reduced
most
felony
theft
and
repeat
theft
offender
charges
to
misdemeanors.
It
released
thieves
onto
our
streets.
So
basically,
as
the
aforementioned
statement
makes
clear,
Higgins
wants
to
go
back
to
the
harsher
sentencing
that
created
Californias
current
problems
of
an
exploding
prison
population,
and
a
state
budget
geared
towards
policing
and
mass
incarceration
rather
than
the
promotion
of
quality
education,
healthcare,
and
affordable
housing
for
residents.
Since
Higgins
has
not
really
addressed
any
of
Californias
other
pressing
issues
during
this
years
campaign,
his
harsh
stance
on
criminal
justice
should
be
enough
of
a
reason
not
to
vote
for
him
this
fall.
Vote
Holden
Aside
from
education,
Kassakhian
also
claims
to
be
a
strong
supporter
of
affordable
housing,
and
he
has
come
out
in
support
of
increased
funding
at
the
state
and
local
level
through
a
combination
of
both
public
and
public-private
partnerships
to
create
more
affordable
housing
units.
While
it
is
nice
to
see
that
Kassakhian
is
speaking
out
about
the
scarcity
of
affordable
housing
in
the
state,
it
is
less
clear
how
efficacious
public-private
partnerships
actually
are
when
it
comes
to
generating
affordable
housing.
In
the
past,
when
LA
developers
have
been
given
the
go
ahead
on
building
projects
after
claiming
that
a
certain
percentage
of
their
dwelling
units
were
affordable,
more
often
than
not,
these
units
have
ended
up
still
being
too
expensive
for
many
local
residents.
As
a
result,
such
public-private
development
schemes
have
tended
only
to
enrich
developers
and
to
trigger
gentrification
by
raising
surrounding
property
values,
which
inevitably
results
in
the
removal
of
low
income
populations
from
the
area.
Given
that
Kassakhian
is
being
heavily
supported
via
large
campaign
contributions
from
developer
groups
in
this
years
contest,
it
seems
likely
that
his
vague
calls
for
affordable
housing
are
merely
a
posture
aimed
at
placating
opponents
of
gentrification
during
the
campaign
season.
From
the
looks
of
things,
the
real
estate
lobby
appears
to
have
jumped
behind
his
candidacy
because
they
see
him
as
a
pliable
errand
boy,
who
can
be
counted
on
to
serve
their
interests
once
in
office.
Neutral
defeat
job-killing
initiatives
like
minimum
wage
hikes
and
mandatory
insurance
requirements
that
put
small
companies
out
of
business.
Given
these
statements,
it
should
come
as
no
surprise
that
Kowal
shares
with
his
Democratic
opponent
a
strong
appreciation
for
Prop
13.
When
it
comes
to
criminal
justice,
he
opposes
prisoner
early-release
programs
and
other
dangerous
initiatives
that
will
put
our
children
at
risk
and
leave
our
neighborhoods
less
safe.
Considering
his
terrible
positions
on
various
issues,
it
is
at
least
good
to
know
that
Kowal
has
barely
managed
to
raise
any
money.
During
the
campaign,
he
has
really
embraced
his
apparent
outsider
status,
and
proudly
proclaimed,
Im
not
a
career
politician,
and
I
never
will
be!
Activists
might
consider
doing
Kowal
a
favor
this
fall
by
ensuring
that
he
never
has
a
reason
to
be
tempted
by
such
potential
horrors.
Vote
Dababneh
workers
receiving
less
than
$20,000
per
year
will
be
required
by
Gomezs
bill
AB
908
to
raise
their
family
leave
obligations
from
55
to
70
percent
of
the
employees
income.
Gomez
also
authored
legislation,
which
if
enacted
would
require
that
25%
of
the
fees
currently
being
paid
by
polluters
into
the
states
Greenhouse
Gas
Reduction
Fund
be
invested
in
low
income
communities.
Gomezs
legislative
efforts
show
that
he
is
inclined
to
look
out
for
the
interests
of
working
class
Californians
on
state
policy
matters.
However,
it
is
unclear
that
he
has
the
vision
to
adequately
confront
the
political
and
economic
forces
that
are
making
life
increasingly
precarious
for
the
working
class
residents
of
District
51,
who
are
struggling
under
the
onslaught
of
gentrification.
Gomez
appears
to
have
bought
into
the
revitalization
rhetoric
undergirding
the
land
grabs
currently
underway
in
Northeast
LA.
His
uncritical
support
for
LA
river
revitalization
efforts
has
served
to
provide
cover
for
all
the
gentrifiers
who
are
buying
up
land
in
close
proximity
to
these
initiatives.
The
consequence
has
been
a
dramatic
increase
in
the
cost
of
rent
for
tenants,
which
has
occurred
in
neighborhoods
like
Frogtown
in
just
the
past
few
years,
and
if
these
developments
continue
apace
more
and
more
working
class
Latinos
in
Northeast
LA
will
be
pushed
out
of
the
district
in
the
near
future.
While
we
should
applaud
Gomez
for
some
of
his
legislative
wrangling
in
support
of
progressive
causes,
we
should
also
be
well
aware
that,
like
most
of
his
Democratic
colleagues
in
the
LA
area,
Gomez
is
comfortably
seated
aboard
the
gentrification
train.
Mike
Everling
Libertarian
Mike
Everling
is
a
libertarian,
who
does
not
appear
to
have
functioning
campaign
website
at
the
moment.
I
guess
the
big
government
bureaucrats
and
the
crony
capitalists
must
be
trying
to
silence
him
or
something.
While
theres
no
accessible
information
on
Everling,
his
status
as
a
member
of
the
Libertarian
Party
provides
us
with
all
the
information
we
need
to
dismiss
his
candidacy.
Vote
Gomez
common
refrain
among
the
Republican
contenders
in
this
guide,
Topalian
hates
Prop
47,
loves
Prop
13,
and
she
wants
to
go
back
to
the
old
days
of
integrity
and
honesty.
We
are
almost
tempted
to
advocate
voting
for
her
just
to
stick
it
to
a
fail
son
turned
rising
star
like
Calderon,
but
we
wouldnt
want
Topalian
to
lose
her
wonderful
sense
of
outsider
self-righteousness.
Vote
Calderon
Johnson
Theater
(now
the
Rave
in
Baldwin
Hills)
and
the
Staples
Center
Arena.
Given
the
role
that
the
Staples
Center
has
played
in
the
gentrification
of
Downtown
Los
Angeles,
Jones-Sawyers
past
connections
to
redevelopment
projects
should
be
concerning
for
working
class
voters
who
have
been
struggling
with
dramatic
increases
in
the
cost
of
living
that
has
resulted
from
these
initiatives.
While
Jones-Sawyers
past
role
in
gentrifying
redevelopment
schemes
is
problematic,
since
joining
the
Assembly
he
has
been
involved
in
a
number
of
efforts
that
have
been
beneficial
to
the
working
class
constituents
in
his
district.
For
example,
he
authored
and
helped
pass
the
Fair
Chance
Employment
Act,
which
decreased
the
impediments
for
ex-offenders
to
obtain
employment
by
requiring
private
contractors
to
remove
the
conviction
history
box
from
job
applications
when
hiring
workers
for
jobs
that
fall
under
the
State
Contract
Act.
Jones-Sawyer
has
also
supported
legislation
to
allow
felons
to
serve
on
juries,
and
which
makes
individuals
with
criminal
records
a
protected
class
when
searching
for
housing.
Other
important
criminal
justice
legislation
that
he
has
initiated
include
providing
services
for
those
who
have
been
wrongfully
convicted
once
they
are
released,
and
requiring
a
disclosure
of
rights
given
up
in
a
plea
deal.
Moreover,
it
has
been
especially
promising
to
see
Jones-Sawyer
speak
about
how
these
progressive
criminal
justice
reforms
are
part
of
his
larger
vision
to
end
the
school-to-prison-pipeline.
As
a
part
of
this
endeavor,
Jones-Sawyer
has
also
led
the
way
to
secure
nearly
$100
million
for
recidivism
reduction
grants
as
Chair
of
the
Public
Safety
subcommittee.
In
his
past
campaigns,
Jones-Sawyer,
who
once
served
as
Vice
President
of
SEIUs
(Local
721)
Los
Angeles
Professional
Managers
Association,
has
garnered
the
support
of
SEIU,
CNA,
and
IBEW,
as
well
as
dozens
of
other
unions.
Activists
should
offer
Jones-Sawyer
their
critical
support
going
forward,
by
pushing
him
to
continue
pursuing
progressive
criminal
justice
reforms
and
working
to
bring
further
resources
to
constituents
of
District
59
as
part
of
this
vital
struggle
to
end
LAs
oppressive
school-to-prison-pipeline.
farms
that
are
the
main
culprits
in
Californias
water
crisis.
Though
there
are
worse
Democrats
who
could
be
serving
in
Rendons
place
as
Speaker,
in
the
absence
of
social
movement
pressure,
working
class
voters
should
not
expect
him
to
pursue
the
kinds
of
wealth
redistribution
policies
that
require
a
serious
fight
with
Californias
corporate
power
brokers.
Adam
J.
Miller
Republican
Adam
Miller,
who
also
ran
for
District
63
in
2014,
is
once
again
mounting
another
hopeless
protest
campaign.
Miller
believes
that
the
old
guard
GOP
has
lost
its
way,
and
that
Californias
Republican
Party
should
be
doing
more
to
support
entrepreneurship
and
pushing
public
schools
to
emphasize
the
STEM
fields
of
science,
technology,
engineering,
and
mathematics,
as
well
as
creative
thinking
and
language
skills.
From
the
looks
of
it,
he
does
not
appear
to
have
much
in
the
way
of
money,
media
exposure,
or
significant
endorsements
to
make
this
a
competitive
contest.
Vote
Rendon
game
pretty
well
when
it
comes
to
aiding
and
abetting
a
bunch
of
murderous
war
profiteers.
Johnathon
Ervin
Democrat
Given
the
political
forces
that
dominate
District
21,
it
should
come
as
no
surprise
that
the
Democratic
contender
in
this
contest,
Jonathon
Ervin,
appears
equally
prepared
to
grease
the
wheels
for
local
military
industrial
complex
ghouls.
Ervins
campaign
literature
contains
plenty
of
imperialistic
cheerleading
and
love
letters
to
the
leaders
of
Antelope
Valleys
aerospace
industry.
For
example,
after
a
banal
ode
to
the
importance
of
service
before
self,
the
first
bit
of
text
that
one
finds
upon
visiting
his
campaign
webpage
begins
with
Ervin
proclaiming,
I
fully
understand
that
the
world
is
a
dangerous
place
and
our
district
has
a
very
important
role
to
play
in
the
defense
of
our
great
nation
and
our
allies.
Ive
seen
our
districts
innovation
first
hand
in
the
Middle
East
as
we
launched
an
arsenal
that
we
developed.
Every
time
I
walk
down
the
flight
line
while
I
am
on
reserve
duty,
I
get
to
see
our
districts
proud
aerospace
legacy
in
action.
About
the
only
decent
thing
Ervin
has
made
reference
to
in
his
campaign
literature
is
preventing
utility
rate
hikes,
and
vague
promises
about
how
he
will
ensure
that
our
community
colleges
and
state
universities
receive
the
resources
they
need
to
train
our
workforce
for
the
jobs
of
the
21st
Century.
Ervin
might
be
less
of
a
conservative
ideologue
than
Wilk,
but
he
may
as
well
be
a
Republican
given
his
policy
prescriptions.
Vote
Ervin
including
cocaine,
heroin,
and
methamphetamines.
Antonovich
argues
that
these
policies
have
hampered
local
law
enforcement
efforts.
Antonovichs
calls
for
harsher
criminal
punishments
is
the
last
thing
California
needs
at
a
moment
when
so
much
money
that
could
be
spent
on
improving
education,
healthcare,
and
providing
jobs
is
going
to
police
and
prisons.
In
reference
to
LA
Countys
high
rates
of
homelessness,
Antonovich
asserts
that
more
housing
will
not
solve
the
problem
because
the
homeless
population
is
divided
into
four
different
groups:
drug
addicts,
alcoholics,
the
mentally
ill,
and
the
economically
deprived.
Of
those
four,
only
the
economically
deprived
will
benefit
from
housing
and
job
training
to
become
productive
citizens.
Basically,
Antonovich
has
given
up
a
huge
chunk
of
the
states
prison
population,
and
instead
of
providing
the
necessary
resources
and
opportunities
for
these
Californians
to
improve
their
situations,
he
prefers
to
just
spend
more
money
on
incarceration.
While
he
can
clearly
be
counted
on
to
ensure
that
plenty
of
government
money
continues
to
be
spent
on
police
and
prisons,
he
has
also
boasted
about
how
as
a
county
supervisor
he
helped
prevent
the
LA
County
government
from
spending
much
money
on
anything
else.
Consequently,
given
that
he
has
spent
his
long
career
promoting
mass
incarceration,
while
also
fighting
to
reduce
funding
for
necessities
like
housing
and
education,
there
is
no
reason
we
should
not
feel
inclined
to
finally
kick
Antonovich
off
of
the
public
dole
for
the
first
time
in
nearly
five
decades
this
November.
Vote
Portantino
California
Association
of
Highway
Patrolmen.
While
his
positions
on
economic
matters
and
criminal
justice
issues
do
not
look
promising,
an
examination
of
his
past
experience
and
his
campaign
statements
suggests
that
activists
may
be
able
to
push
him
to
support
more
funding
for
education
and
to
pursue
more
serious
environmental
regulations
if
he
is
elected.
Vote
Stern
procedurally
buried
SB
1286,
a
bill
that
would
have
opened
to
the
public
all
documents
related
to
law
enforcement
disciplinary
proceedings
(currently,
California
is
one
of
only
three
states
in
which
all
internal
law
enforcement
documents
are
withheld
from
the
public).
This
bill
represented
one
of
the
key
explicit
policy
demands
of
Black
Lives
Matter
groups
within
California.
Additionally,
Lara
failed
to
vote
on
SB
1132,
the
proposed
fracking
moratorium
from
2014,
which
ended
up
going
down
to
defeat
in
a
close
State
Senate
vote.
All
told,
Lara
should
be
considered
marginally
above
par
on
issues
of
immigration,
though
deeply
compromised
by
both
archliberal
and
careerist
political
considerations.
Honor
Mimi
Robson
Libertarian
Honor
Mimi
Robson
is
the
hopeless
Libertarian
Party
candidate
in
this
race,
who
is
not
worth
your
protest
vote.
Remember
the
th
Libertarian
Party
wants
to
go
back
to
the
good
old
days
of
the
19
century
robber
barons,
when
labor
union
organizing
and
strikes
were
often
suppressed
with
incredible
violence,
there
were
no
minimum
wage
or
child
labor
laws,
Social
Security
did
not
exist,
and
many
cities
were
completely
devoid
of
adequate
sanitation
and
public
health
safeguards.
Vote
Lara
30.
Los
Angeles
County
Board
of
Supervisors
District
4
(Hahn
vs.
Napolitano)
Janice
Hahn
Democrat
Janice
Hahn
is
running
for
office
to
the
LA
County
Board
of
Supervisors
in
District
4,
which
stretches
from
Marina
del
Rey
and
LAX,
through
the
South
Bay,
Los
Angeles
Harbor
Region,
and
the
Gateway
Cities,
to
the
southwestern
San
Gabriel
Valley.
Hahn
comes
from
an
important
Los
Angeles
political
family,
and
her
father
served
for
40
years
as
LA
County
Supervisor.
Her
past
political
experience
includes
working
as
a
LA
City
Councilmember,
and
since
2011
serving
as
a
member
of
the
US
House
of
Representatives.
Hahn
has
a
solid
track
record
when
it
comes
to
defending
workers
rights
and
she
was
viewed
to
be
one
of
the
most
pro-labor
th
members
of
the
LA
City
Council
during
her
time
spent
representing
the
Councils
15
District.
In
2002,
Hahn
defended
dockworkers
from
the
International
Longshore
and
Warehouse
Union
(ILWU)
in
their
struggle
with
the
Pacific
Maritime
Association
(PMA),
after
the
PMA
resorted
to
a
lockout
in
an
effort
to
extract
concessions
from
the
ILWU
during
contract
negotiations.
When
the
Bush
Administration
threatened
to
send
in
the
National
Guard
to
keep
the
Port
of
Long
Beach
open
in
the
event
of
a
strike,
Hahn
spoke
out
forcefully
against
the
possibility
of
such
an
action
by
declaring,
Theres
no
room
for
the
federal
government.
Theres
only
one
reason
for
them
to
get
involved,
and
thats
to
break
the
union.
Aside
from
her
past
support
for
workers
rights,
Hahn
has
tended
to
take
positions
that
are
well
within
the
Democratic
Partys
mainstream
on
most
issues.
When
it
comes
to
the
environment,
she
has
spoken
in
opposition
to
proposals
for
more
offshore
oil
drilling
in
Californias
coastal
waters.
Yet,
Hahns
overall
environmental
record
has
been
problematic
at
times.
In
2012,
Hahn
voted
for
a
bill
requiring
the
Federal
Energy
Regulatory
Commission
to
approve
a
permit
for
the
Keystone
XL
Pipeline
project,
an
effort
to
bring
oil
extracted
from
Canadas
tar
sands
to
US
refineries,
which
would
have
exacerbated
climate
change
by
increasing
carbon
emissions,
and
also
brought
the
threat
of
toxic
oil
spills
to
a
number
of
communities
located
along
the
proposed
pipeline
route.
However,
she
did
subsequently
change
her
outlook,
and
ultimately
voted
against
approving
the
project
in
2015.
Hahn
certainly
shares
many
of
the
limitations
of
her
fellow
Democrats,
but
her
strong
statements
in
support
of
workers
rights
and
her
past
history
of
walking
picket
lines
nonetheless
suggests
that
she
is
still
far
more
inclined
to
enter
the
fray
on
the
side
of
working
class
constituents
than
the
vast
majority
of
her
Democratic
colleagues.
Steve
Napolitano
Republican
The
Republican
contender
in
this
contest
is
Steve
Napolitano,
who
has
worked
as
the
Senior
Deputy
to
the
soon
to
be
termed
out
current
District
4
Supervisor
Don
Knabe.
Before
joining
Knabes
office,
he
served
on
the
Manhattan
Beach
City
Council
from
1993
to
2005,
where
he
apparently
never
missed
a
single
Council
meeting.
In
his
campaign
literature,
Napolitano
has
sought
to
downplay
his
party
membership
and
emphasize
his
commonsense
and
nonpartisan
approach
to
government.
Nevertheless,
being
the
good
conservative
that
he
is,
Napolitano
proclaims
that
Public
Safety
has
to
be
governments
#1
priority.
You
cant
have
good
schools,
good
neighborhoods
or
a
good
economy
if
people
dont
feel
safe.
Still,
in
contrast
to
many
of
the
other
Republicans
in
this
guide,
he
has
issued
a
statement
calling
for
diversion
programs
that
would
end
the
practice
of
cycling
addicts
and
mentally
ill
individuals
through
LAs
jails,
and
he
has
spoken
about
the
need
to
obtain
increased
federal
aid
to
help
the
county
address
homelessness.
Napolitano
has
also
acknowledged
the
high
rates
of
poverty
that
exist
in
LA
County,
but
unfortunately,
in
his
proposed
solutions
to
such
hardships,
he
mostly
resorts
to
a
lot
of
tired
old
arguments
about
the
importance
of
creating
a
business
friendly
regulatory
environment.
As
if
politicians
have
not
been
doing
exactly
that
for
decades,
and
yet
poverty
remains
widespread.
As
far
as
Republicans
go,
you
could
definitely
do
worse
than
Napolitano,
but
his
quaint
idealism
about
public
service
and
nonpartisanship
is
no
substitute
for
a
political
program
with
specific
measures
to
materially
improve
the
lives
of
District
4s
working
class
residents.
Vote
Hahn
31.
Los
Angeles
County
Board
of
Supervisors
District
5
(Barger
vs.
Park)
Kathryn
Barger
Republican
In
District
5,
which
covers
the
Antelope
Valley,
parts
of
the
San
Gabriel
Valley
Foothills,
and
Glendale,
Kathryn
Barger
is
looking
to
replace
her
old
boss
Michael
Antonovich,
who
is
about
to
be
termed
out.
She
has
spent
the
past
15
years
working
as
District
5s
Chief
Deputy
Supervisor,
and
her
campaign
literature
claims
that
her
work
with
Supervisor
Antonovich
has
made
her
an
expert
on
healthcare,
mental
health,
and
childrens
issues.
Barger
is
being
backed
not
only
by
Republicans
in
this
contest,
but
also
by
Mayor
Garcetti,
who
has
declared
that
she
has
the
experience
and
the
ability
to
hit
the
ground
running.
She
has
also
been
endorsed
by
the
Democratic
3rd
District
Supervisor
Sheila
Kuehl,
and
by
former
Supervisor
Gloria
Molina,
also
a
Democrat.
Throughout
the
campaign,
Barger
has
been
touting
her
commitment
to
bipartisan,
along
with
the
fact
that
she
is
not
a
career
politician.
There
is
often
nothing
more
ideological
than
claiming
not
to
have
an
ideology,
and
Bargers
non-ideological
program
includes
the
usual
conservative
tropes
about
fiscal
responsibility
and
public
safety.
Darrell
Park
Democrat
Darrell
Park
is
the
Democratic
contender
in
this
race.
According
to
his
campaign
literature,
Parks
past
career
experience
has
included
a
stint
in
Washington
D.C.
working
in
the
White
House
Office
of
Management
and
Budget,
and
since
moving
to
Los
Angeles
County
over
a
decade
ago,
he
has
divided
his
time
between
helping
clean
energy
start-up
companies,
teaching,
and
writing.
Like
Barger,
Park
also
emphasizes
his
commitment
to
fiscal
discipline,
and
he
has
highlighted
his
role
helping
the
Clinton
Administration
balance
the
federal
budget
back
in
the
1990s.
He
has
made
some
reasonable
sounding
statements
during
the
campaign
about
improving
the
foster
care
system,
protecting
services
for
disabled
residents,
and
he
has
spoken
out
against
the
influence
of
large
corporations
on
government
policy.
Still,
most
of
his
policy
recommendations
have
been
fairly
vague,
and
his
fetish
for
balanced
budgets
suggests
that
if
elected
he
will
hold
to
the
status
quo
on
most
issues.
On
a
more
promising
note,
Park
has
stated
that
the
provision
of
housing
represents
the
key
to
tackling
the
countys
homelessness
crisis.
This
may
be
an
issue
that
activists
could
press
him
on
if
he
is
elected,
since
Park
seems
to
be
one
of
the
very
few
LA
politicians
to
seriously
stress
how
allowing
individuals
struggling
with
homelessness
to
secure
housing
is
the
critical
first
step
to
actually
addressing
their
needs.
Vote
Park
32. Californias 25
th
Stephen
Knight
Republican
th
Stephen
Knight
is
the
incumbent
candidate
in
Californias
25
Congressional
District,
which
includes
the
cities
of
Santa
Clarita,
Simi
Valley,
Palmdale,
Lancaster,
and
a
portion
of
the
northern
San
Fernando
Valley.
Knight
is
running
for
a
second
term
in
LA
Countys
most
Republican
congressional
district,
after
having
previously
been
a
state
senator
from
2012
to
2014,
and
an
assemblymember
from
2008
to
2012.
Knight,
who
loves
himself
some
guns,
had
spent
18
years
working
for
the
LAPD
before
entering
politics.
Since
th
Knight
represents
the
cop
paradise
that
is
the
25
Congressional
District,
it
is
not
surprising
that
hes
also
been
known
to
pepper
his
campaign
literature
with
badass
action
movie
statements
like
Those
who
commit
acts
of
violence,
regardless
of
how
they
do
it,
should
be
put
in
prison,
where
they
belong.
Even
more
awesome,
Knights
House
website
allows
you
to
purchase
flags,
and
you
will
be
glad
to
know
that
All
flag
purchases
include
a
dedication
message,
which
may
be
customized
for
the
recipient
and
You
may
choose
to
have
your
new
flag
flown
over
the
U.S.
Capitol
for
an
additional
charge
of
$7.
I
mean
if
you
really
love
America,
how
are
you
not
voting
for
Knight
and
buying
yourself
some
premium
flags
in
2016.
Bryan
Caforio
Democrat
Given
what
you
now
know
about
Knight,
you
would
think
that
Bryan
Caforio
has
no
chance
against
the
heroic
incumbent
congressman.
Unfortunately
for
Knight,
his
time-consuming
patriotic
duties,
and
the
need
to
respond
to
numerous
customized
flag
dedication
requests
must
have
made
it
difficult
for
him
to
address
the
Aliso
Canyon
gas
leak
that
occurred
in
his
district
last
year
in
close
proximity
to
the
Porter
Ranch
neighborhood.
Apparently,
Knight
failed
to
appear
publicly
in
Porter
Ranch
for
a
full
two
and
half
months
after
the
leak
was
discovered,
resulting
in
some
bad
press,
and
Caforio
has
been
harping
on
issue
during
the
campaign.
Caforio
is
an
attorney,
who
claims
to
have
taken
on
some
of
the
biggest
banks
in
the
world,
and
won,
and
throughout
the
campaign
he
has
been
pushing
a
populist
anti-establishment
and
anti-corporate
message.
However,
his
actual
policy
prescriptions
are
fairly
mild,
and
he
takes
mostly
standard
Democratic
Party
positions
on
various
issues.
Caforio
has
at
least
come
out
strongly
against
corporate
tax
breaks,
and
for
requiring
millionaires
and
billionaires
to
pay
the
same
percent
of
their
incomes
towards
Social
Security
as
less
affluent
Americans.
On
economic
policy,
Caforio
employs
the
usual
Democratic
talking
points
about
the
importance
of
small
businesses,
and
he
wants
to
expand
the
availability
of
Small
Business
Administration
loans.
On
a
more
disturbing
note,
he
has
been
rather
bellicose
on
foreign
policy
matters,
and
has
been
scaremongering
about
Iran
possibly
cheating
on
the
nuclear
deal.
Overall,
Caforio,
despite
his
populist
style,
does
not
offer
a
substantive
left
alternative
to
Knight,
though
he
appears
to
be
the
lesser
evil
in
this
contest.
Vote
Caforio
33. Californias 27
th
Judy
Chu
Democrat
Judy
Chu
is
running
for
reelection
in
District
27,
which
covers
significant
portions
of
the
San
Gabriel
Foothills.
Chu,
who
became
a
US
Representative
in
2009,
has
had
a
long
political
career.
She
got
her
start
in
politics
back
in
the
1980s
when
she
joined
the
Monterey
Park
City
Council.
In
the
House,
Chu
has
mainly
emphasized
education,
while
also
supporting
campaign
finance
reform,
along
with
legislation
aimed
at
protecting
members
of
the
public
from
government
spying.
She
has
sponsored
a
number
of
bills
that
would
provide
more
resources
for
the
nations
public
K
through
12
schools,
and
has
sought
to
lessen
the
burden
of
student
loan
debt
for
college
graduates.
One
of
her
more
encouraging
actions
was
introducing
HR
6204
in
2010,
which
would
have
subjected
US
charter
schools
to
greater
accountability
with
regards
to
their
financial
dealings.
Additionally,
Chu
has
been
a
vocal
supporter
of
immigrant
workers
rights,
and
she
has
received
strong
labor
union
support
in
the
past.
On
economic
policy,
Chu
has
generally
taken
progressive
stances
on
taxation
and
government
spending,
and
has
refused
to
abide
conservative
arguments
about
the
necessity
of
fiscal
austerity
in
the
aftermath
of
the
2008
economic
crash.
In
addition
to
being
supportive
of
increasing
the
federal
governments
commitments
to
education
and
other
social
welfare
programs,
Chu
has
on
multiple
occasions
voted
to
decrease
military
spending.
Yet,
despite
these
solid
progressive
stances,
she
has
not
proven
immune
from
hawkish
foreign
policy
arguments.
For
instance,
Chu
voted
to
authorize
President
Obamas
use
of
force
against
Libya
back
in
2011,
contributing
to
the
terrible
destruction
and
chaos
that
now
engulfs
that
country.
Chus
support
for
military
action
in
Libya
after
the
recent
disastrous
episode
in
Iraq
definitely
makes
one
question
her
political
judgment.
Chu,
like
most
of
her
Democratic
colleagues,
also
came
out
in
support
of
Hillary
Clinton
over
the
much
more
progressive
Bernie
Sanders
during
the
recent
primary
contest.
In
addition
to
receiving
large
financial
contributions
from
labor
unions,
she
has
also
been
well-
funded
by
real
estate
interests,
the
pharmaceutical
industry,
and
telecommunications
firms.
In
her
rhetoric,
even
though
she
remains
supportive
of
increasing
government
spending
to
create
jobs,
Chu
tends
to
adopt
a
lot
of
neoliberal
talking
points
about
promoting
innovation
and
the
importance
of
small
business
startups.
While
Chus
record
suggests
that
she
is
one
of
the
more
progressive
US
Representatives,
her
lack
of
populist
combativeness
and
her
unwillingness
to
act
independently
of
the
Democratic
Party
establishment
should
make
it
clear
that
she
will
not
be
pushing
for
serious
change
any
time
soon
unless
she
is
forced
to
respond
to
pressure
from
below.
Jack
Orswell
Republican
Jack
Orswell
is
a
former
FBI
Agent,
who
has
been
trying
to
use
the
deadly
attack
in
San
Bernardino
as
political
capital
in
his
quixotic
quest
to
enter
the
US
House
of
Representatives.
During
the
campaign,
he
has
complained
about
the
fact
that
Chu
voted
against
requiring
background
checks
for
Syrian
refugees,
and
his
campaign
literature
suggests
that
a
flat
income
tax
might
be
required
in
order
to
reduce
the
federal
deficit.
Orswell
is
right
to
argue
that
we
need
new
people
in
Congress,
he
just
doesnt
happen
to
be
one
of
them.
Vote
Chu
34. Californias 28
th
Adam
Schiff
Democrat
Adam
Schiff
is
the
incumbent
candidate
in
District
28,
covering
parts
of
Hollywood,
Los
Feliz,
Silver
Lake,
Glendale,
and
Burbank.
Prior
to
his
political
career,
Schiff
obtained
a
law
degree
from
Harvard,
and
gained
some
fame
back
in
the
1980s,
when
he
was
responsible
for
prosecuting
Richard
Miller,
an
FBI
agent,
who
was
eventually
convicted
of
espionage
for
providing
classified
documents
to
Soviet
intelligence
agents.
After
a
short
stint
as
a
member
of
the
California
State
Senate,
he
joined
the
US
House
in
2001,
where
he
has
become
an
influential
figure
on
foreign
policy
and
national
security
issues.
For
some
reason,
Democrats
who
vote
for
idiotic
policies
like
the
Iraq
War
always
seem
to
be
taken
more
seriously
by
the
American
foreign
policy
establishment
and
their
stenographers
in
the
media.
Along
with
voting
to
give
George
W.
Bush
the
go
ahead
against
Saddam
in
2002,
Schiff
also
voted
to
authorize
military
intervention
in
Libya,
and
he
refused
to
support
a
resolution
that
would
have
removed
US
troops
from
Afghanistan
in
2011.
He
has
now
amassed
a
long
track
record
of
working
with
neocons
in
support
of
militaristic
foreign
policy
measures
while
making
US
imperialism
an
easier
sell
to
more
skeptical
members
of
the
public
by
giving
it
a
nice
liberal
sheen.
Schiff
has
combined
such
craven
services
to
the
Pentagon
with
the
usual
unwavering
apologetics
for
Israeli
war
crimes.
In
addition
to
his
problematic
foreign
policy
outlook,
Schiff
has
been
generally
supportive
of
anti-labor
free
trade
agreements
during
his
time
as
a
US
Representative.
Nevertheless,
US
labor
unions
continue
to
endorse
him
and
generously
fund
his
campaigns.
Though
he
receives
a
large
amount
money
from
labor,
Schiff
is
not
overly
dependent
on
unions
for
contributions,
and
his
campaign
coffers
are
overflowing
with
money
from
the
finance,
real
estate,
electronics,
and
defense
industries.
One
of
the
relative
bright
spots
in
his
voting
record
has
been
on
climate
change
and
other
related
environmental
legislation.
Schiffs
overall
domestic
economic
positions
appear
to
be
fairly
moderate,
and
he
generally
toes
the
standard
Democrat
Party
line
when
it
comes
to
taxation
and
fiscal
policies.
His
past
votes
in
favor
of
free
trade
agreements
with
Peru,
Panama,
and
South
Korea
suggest
that
he
is
basically
a
neoliberal
who,
in
slight
contrast
to
the
Republicans,
favors
a
bit
more
government
regulation
in
order
to
ensure
that
the
capitalist
system
functions
smoothly.
Consequently,
working
class
voters
have
little
reason
to
get
excited
about
this
race,
and
given
that
Solis
has
very
little
hope
of
making
things
competitive
anyway,
it
does
not
make
a
lot
of
sense
to
waste
much
energy
supporting
Schiff
this
fall.
Lenore
Solis
Republican
Lenore
Solis
is
a
Republican
outsider
lacking
the
money
and
campaign
infrastructure
to
make
this
much
of
a
contest.
Solis
runs
a
small
document
preparation
business
in
Atwater
Village,
and
from
the
little
bit
of
information
available
about
her
from
past
failed
runs
for
office,
we
have
gathered
that
she
hates
class
war
and
loves
God,
though,
from
the
reviews,
her
store
seems
to
have
pretty
reasonable
prices
if
you
need
help
getting
any
documents
prepared
or
notarized.
Vote
Schiff
35. Californias 29
th
Tony
Cardenas
Democrat
th
Tony
Cardenas
is
running
for
reelection
to
US
House
in
Californias
29
Congressional
District,
which
encompasses
areas
of
the
East
San
Fernando
Valley,
including
Sylmar,
Pacoima,
Panorama
City,
Van
Nuys,
and
North
Hollywood.
Cardenas
has
long
been
an
important
political
figure
in
the
East
Valley,
starting
when
he
first
caught
the
attention
of
the
political
power
broker
James
Acevedo,
who
oversaw
his
first
successful
run
for
office
in
1995.
After
his
tenure
in
the
State
Assembly,
which
lasted
until
2002,
Cardenas
th
eventually
went
on
to
join
the
LA
City
Council
in
2003,
and
he
has
represented
the
29
Congressional
District
since
2013.
Cardenass
background
is
in
real
estate,
and
thus
its
no
surprise
that
a
political
deal
maker
turned
real
estate
developer
like
Acevedo
decided
to
seek
him
out
as
an
ally.
In
his
campaign
literature,
Cardenas
speaks
of
attracting
businesses
to
the
Valley
and
creating
quality
jobs,
but,
as
his
record
plainly
demonstrates,
Representative
Cardenas
has
a
habit
of
employing
such
rhetoric
in
order
to
justify
shady
dealings
that
subsidize
corrupt
developers
and
slumlords.
For
example,
a
2008
LA
Weekly
investigation
revealed
how
one
of
his
campaign
contributors,
Ruben
Islas,
who
Cardenas
publicly
vouched
for
after
Islas
received
$8
million
in
taxpayer
money
from
the
Community
Redevelopment
Agency
(CRA)
for
a
controversial
renovation
of
the
Rosslyn
Lofts
in
Downtown
LA,
had
been
responsible
for
maintaining
deplorable
conditions
at
the
nearby
Alexandria
Hotel,
one
of
Islass
other
publicly
subsidized
developments.
On
July
9,
2008,
the
LA
Weekly
reported
that
tenants
at
the
Alexandria
had
no
running
water
or
drinking
water
in
the
midst
of
summer
heat,
and,
without
running
water,
toilets
were
backing
up
with
raw
sewage.
Not
only
did
Cardenas
provide
Islas
cover
when
constituents
voiced
complaints
at
a
CRA
hearing,
but
emails
obtained
by
the
LA
Weekly
revealed
how
he
privately
pressured
Mayor
Villaraigosa
to
step
in
on
his
slumlord
friends
behalf
after
the
CRA
had
opposed
Islass
demand
for
an
extra
$4
million
in
subsidies.
Apparently,
the
citys
public
servants
eventually
saw
the
light,
and
the
CRA
suddenly
reversed
course
to
approve
the
deal.
The
above
episode
perfectly
illustrates
the
way
so
much
of
LAs
politics
is
driven
by
the
needs
of
unscrupulous
developers,
who
make
a
living
off
seizing
government
money
that
could
otherwise
be
spent
actually
meeting
the
needs
of
ordinary
residents.
Politicians
like
Cardenas
may
spout
liberal
platitudes,
but
protecting
real
estate
vultures
who
contribute
to
their
campaigns
is
usually
priority
number
one.
No
matter
how
Cardenas
might
try
rationalize
his
actions
as
being
necessary
to
get
things
done,
working
class
Californians
should
waste
no
time
abiding
such
nonsense
since
Cardenas
has
nothing
to
offer
them
other
than
more
of
the
same
sycophantic
establishment
politics
that
has
left
so
many
Angelenos
with
inadequate
housing,
schools,
and
mass
transit.
Richard
Alarcon
Democrat
Like
Cardenas,
Richard
Alarcon
got
his
start
in
East
Valley
politics
after
being
groomed
by
James
Acevedo.
Alarcons
political
career
began
when
he
was
elected
to
the
LA
City
Council
in
1993,
and
he
subsequently
went
on
to
spend
time
in
the
California
State
Assembly
and
State
Senate.
Though
they
eventually
had
a
falling
out,
when
they
first
joined
forces
in
the
1990s,
Alarcon
and
Acevedo
were
mainly
committed
to
getting
Latinos
elected
to
political
office
since
at
that
time
the
San
Fernando
Valley
was
completely
devoid
of
successful
minority
politicians.
Although
Alarcon
has
been
known
to
engage
in
the
usual
political
nepotism,
he
has,
in
sharp
contrast
to
Cardenas
and
Acevedo,
at
least
taken
some
steps
to
assist
his
working
class
Latino
constituents.
With
his
2016
run
for
Congress,
Alarcon
is
seeking
a
return
to
politics,
following
a
brief
hiatus
where
he
faced
charges
for
allegedly
not
living
in
his
district
during
his
second
stint
as
a
Los
Angeles
city
councilmember
from
2007
to
2013.
This
past
spring
an
appeals
court
overturned
Alarcons
conviction,
enabling
him
to
mount
another
campaign
for
office,
though
his
candidacy
has
been
considerably
weakened
by
the
whole
affair.
Although
Alarcon
leaves
much
to
be
desired,
in
the
past
he
has
tended
to
rely
more
heavily
on
backing
from
labor
unions
than
Cardenas,
who
in
turn
has
typically
received
more
support
from
developers.
In
this
years
contest,
the
situation
is
even
more
stark,
with
Cardenas
holding
a
considerable
advantage
in
overall
campaign
contributions,
including
especially
large
donations
from
pharmaceutical
companies,
entertainment
firms,
and
finance,
along
with
all
the
money
that
his
campaign
continues
to
rack
up
from
real
estate
industry
snakes.
During
his
career,
Alarcon
has
also
tended
speak
much
more
forcefully
than
Cardenas
about
the
need
to
fight
poverty
in
the
East
Valley,
and
as
a
member
of
the
California
State
Senate,
he
established
the
Senate
Select
Committee
on
the
Status
of
Ending
Poverty
in
California
back
in
2003.
At
the
time,
Alarcon
explained
that
the
committees
objective
would
be
to
draft
a
master
plana
substantive
package
of
legislation,
which
will
be
held
up
as
a
commitment
from
our
state
to
end
poverty.
Moreover,
as
a
state
senator,
Alarcon
helped
to
secure
$200
million
for
teacher
recruitment
training
and
salary
increases,
and
with
Gil
Cedillo,
he
co-authored
the
Cedillo-Alarcon
Community
Clinic
Investment
Act
in
2000
that
brought
an
additional
$85
million
to
the
states
community
health
clinics.
While
Alarcons
support
for
working
class
Californians
has
often
been
more
symbolic
than
real,
he
is
certainly
preferable
to
his
pro-slumlord
opponent.
Vote
Alarcon
36. Californias 30
th
Brad
Sherman
Democrat
Brad
Sherman
is
the
incumbent
member
of
the
US
House
of
Representatives
for
Californias
District
30,
which
encompasses
the
western
San
Fernando
Valley.
After
receiving
his
law
degree,
Sherman
worked
as
a
Certified
Public
Accountant
during
the
1980s,
and
he
later
went
on
to
serve
on
the
California
State
Board
of
Equalization,
before
joining
Congress
in
1997.
Given
his
accounting
background,
it
makes
sense
that
Sherman
often
tends
to
focus
on
the
arcane
technocratic
side
of
the
legislative
process,
and
less
on
the
articulation
of
a
clear
political
vision
and
ideological
perspective.
When
it
comes
to
domestic
affairs,
Sherman
has
generally
gone
along
with
his
Democratic
colleagues
on
most
issues.
He
has
taken
some
solid
positions
on
consumer
protection,
and
has
authored
legislation
to
defend
credit
card
holders
from
arbitrary
interest
rate
increases
and
retroactive
interest
rate
hikes
on
existing
balances.
Sherman
has
also
spoken
out
against
the
offshoring
of
manufacturing
jobs,
and
has
voted
against
various
free
trade
deals
since
joining
Congress.
Whatever
limited
merits
a
bland
centrist
like
Sherman
has
on
domestic
matters
disappears
when
it
comes
US
foreign
policy.
Sherman
voted
to
authorize
the
Bush
Administrations
use
of
force
in
Iraq
back
2002,
and
he
has
been
a
crazed
devotee
of
any
and
everything
Israel
does
during
his
almost
two
decades
in
office.
Recently,
he
has
been
rattling
on
about
the
supposed
Iranian
threat,
and
he
voted
against
the
Obama
Administrations
nuclear
deal.
Over
the
years,
Sherman
has
played
a
central
role
in
congressional
efforts
to
lavish
untold
weaponry
on
our
erratic
and
murderous
closest
ally
and
friend
in
the
Middle
East.
Apparently,
Sherman,
who
has
received
sizeable
financial
contributions
from
the
Pro-Israel
lobby,
is
either
incredibly
craven
or
delusional,
since
he
is
also
calling
for
the
US
to
move
its
embassy
in
Israel
to
Jerusalem,
which
would
dramatically
exacerbate
tensions
in
the
region.
Apparently,
Shermans
new
hobby
horse
is
going
after
free
speech
on
college
campuses,
where,
in
contrast
to
the
US
Congress,
people
are
able
to
actually
talk
about
facts
on
the
ground
in
Israel,
the
West
Bank,
and
Gaza.
In
an
effort
to
undermine
the
Boycott,
Divestment,
and
Sanctions
(BDS)
movement,
Sherman
has
recently
been
leading
the
charge
to
censure
UCLA
students
who
support
BDS
and
voice
criticism
of
Israels
violent
suppression
of
the
Palestinian
people,
by
accusing
BDS
activists
of
anti-Semitism.
Unfortunately,
Shermans
ludicrous
and
unfounded
charges
against
BDS
activists
have
been
repeated
by
many
of
his
fellow
House
Democrats,
including
a
number
of
representatives
from
California,
who
have
happily
chosen
to
participate
in
this
disgusting
smear
campaign.
Mark
Reed
Republican
If
voters
were
looking
for
a
decent
alternative
to
an
unhinged
imperialist
like
Sherman,
they
certainly
will
not
find
it
in
Mark
Reed.
In
between
all
the
God
bless
America
boilerplate
that
covers
his
campaign
webpage,
theres
some
nice
scaremongering
about
ISIS,
along
with
a
link
to
a
video
of
President
Reagan
talking
about
the
dangers
that
centralized
power
poses
to
individual
freedom.
Further
adding
to
the
dystopian
experience
is
an
amusing
advertisement
from
some
pro-Israel
group
blaming
Obama
for
not
doing
enough
to
kiss
Israels
backside.
The
few
substantive
tidbits
one
comes
across
suggest
that
Reed
is
basically
just
vying
for
a
chance
to
grease
the
wheels
for
more
pork
barrel
defense
industry
boondoggles.
If
for
some
reason
none
of
what
you
have
just
read
about
Reed
and
Sherman
is
inspiring
you
to
make
your
voice
heard,
it
looks
as
though
Sherman
is
a
sure
bet
to
win
this
years
contest,
so
we
totally
understand
it
if
you
decide
to
leave
this
one
blank
on
your
2016
ballots.
Vote
Sherman
37. Californias 32
nd
Grace
Napolitano
Democrat
Grace
Napolitano
is
the
incumbent
in
District
32,
which
includes
El
Monte,
Monterey
Park,
West
Covina,
and
southern
Glendora.
Napolitano
is
currently
running
unopposed
after
her
opponent
Democratic
State
Assemblymember
Roger
Hernandez
dropped
out
of
the
race
this
past
September
following
a
scandal
involving
allegations
of
domestic
violence
against
his
ex-wife.
Napolitano,
who
has
been
a
member
of
the
US
House
since
1999,
was
also
once
a
California
assemblymember,
and
a
Norwalk
City
Councilmember.
Napolitano
is
a
member
of
the
Congressional
Progressive
Caucus,
and
she
has
tended
to
emphasize
the
issues
of
mental
healthcare
and
water
security
during
her
tenure
in
the
House.
As
far
as
water
goes,
Napolitano
has
made
some
encouraging
statements
in
the
past
urging
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency
to
hold
polluters
responsible
and
require
them
to
provide
the
funds
necessary
to
restore
clean
groundwater.
However,
she
appears
to
put
too
much
stock
in
the
efficacy
of
desalination,
which
is
both
prohibitively
expensive
and
a
way
to
skirt
the
need
to
confront
Californias
corporate
agriculture
giants
over
their
profligate
water
usage.
Napolitano
also
led
an
effort
to
establish
the
House
Mental
Health
Caucus,
and
she
has
been
a
strong
advocate
for
increasing
the
federal
governments
commitment
to
improving
access
to
quality
mental
healthcare.
Like
many
of
her
fellow
Democrats
in
the
House,
Napolitano
unfortunately
tends
to
emphasize
the
importance
of
entrepreneurship
when
it
comes
to
job
creation.
Nevertheless,
she
has
also
sought
to
prevent
the
outsourcing
of
manufacturing
jobs.
As
part
of
these
efforts,
Napolitano
took
part
in
the
formation
of
the
Manufacturing
Task
Force
in
her
district.
However,
it
is
not
yet
clear
if
this
initiative
really
has
workers
interests
at
heart,
since
it
also
appears
to
be
an
attempt
on
the
part
of
local
Chambers
of
Commerce
to
rebrand
their
efforts
to
secure
corporate
tax
breaks
and
other
business
friendly
legislation.
Napolitano
has
generally
been
less
bellicose
on
foreign
policy
than
many
other
members
of
Congress,
and
she
voted
against
the
authorization
to
use
force
in
both
Iraq
and
Libya.
Nevertheless,
she
is
a
vocal
supporter
of
Israel,
and
last
year
she
broke
with
most
of
her
Democratic
colleagues
to
vote
against
the
Iran
nuclear
deal,
which
the
pro-Israel
lobby
also
vigorously
opposed.
There
are
worse
representatives
than
Napolitano
out
there,
but
nonetheless
she
remains
a
deeply
flawed
candidate.
38. Californias 33
rd
Ted
Lieu
Democrat
rd
Ted
Lieu
is
seeking
reelection
to
the
Californias
33
District
of
the
US
House
of
Representatives,
which
stretches
from
Malibu
through
the
Beach
Cities
to
the
Palos
Verde
Peninsula.
Lieu,
who
joined
Congress
in
2015,
after
having
spent
time
in
both
the
California
State
Assembly
and
State
Senate,
is
another
member
of
the
Congressional
Progressive
Caucus,
whose
voting
record
sometimes
make
you
wonder
what
the
word
progressive
even
means.
Last
year,
he
joined
his
fellow
Progressive
Caucus
member
Grace
Napolitano
in
voting
against
the
Iran
nuclear
deal,
and
he
has
been
a
leading
supporter
of
the
crackdown
against
BDS
at
UCLA.
Still,
Lieus
foreign
policy
orientation
is
less
coherent
than
many
of
his
fellow
warmongers,
and
he
has
sponsored
some
reasonable
legislation
calling
on
the
US
government
to
block
arm
sales
to
Saudi
Arabia
in
response
to
the
devastation
that
our
second
closest
Middle
East
ally
is
currently
inflicting
upon
Yemen.
If
there
is
one
area
where
he
appears
to
be
more
consistent
and
progressive,
it
is
on
environmental
matters.
In
2014,
while
a
member
of
the
California
State
Senate,
Lieu
voted
for
establishing
a
moratorium
on
fracking
that
unfortunately
failed
to
pass.
When
it
comes
to
addressing
global
warming
he
has
suggested
that
the
US
should
study
countries
that
have
been
more
successful
at
reducing
carbon
emissions,
and
begin
implementing
similar
measures
at
home.
As
far
as
political
fundraising
goes,
Lieu
has
received
major
campaign
contributions
from
the
real
estate
industry,
finance,
and
from
the
pro-Israel
lobby.
A
thorough
investigation
of
Lieus
political
resume
and
his
sources
of
funding
make
it
exceedingly
clear
that
he
leaves
much
to
be
desired,
but
regrettably
we
are
left
with
no
good
alternatives
to
his
candidacy
this
November.
Kenneth
Wright
Republican
Lieus
challenger
in
2016
is
Kenneth
Wright,
who
when
hes
not
surfing
at
Torrance
Beach
works
as
a
pediatric
eye
doctor.
Dr.
Wright
calls
himself
a
Progressive
Republican,
and
why
shouldnt
he
given
the
nebulous
nature
of
the
term
progressive
in
todays
political
discourse.
Yet,
unlike
a
lot
of
the
other
Republican
so-called
outsider
candidates,
Wright
does
come
across
as
a
well-
meaning
though
misguided
person,
who
genuinely
wants
to
help
less
advantaged
members
of
society.
In
his
campaign
literature,
Wright
appears
to
be
struggling
to
formulate
a
humane
approach
to
social
policy
within
the
constraints
of
a
neoclassical
economic
framework
that
forecloses
the
possibility
of
any
alternative
to
market-based
remedies.
So
it
should
come
as
no
surprise
that
Dr.
Wrights
solution
to
the
flawed
Obamacare
insurance
system
is
not
single-payer,
but
more
free
market
nonsense.
Sadly,
Wright
seems
to
have
also
bought
into
a
lot
of
the
conservative
fetishism
about
deficits
and
fiscal
responsibility,
and
his
responsible
approach
to
governance
offers
nothing
for
working
class
Americans
to
get
behind.
Vote
Lieu
39. Californias 34
th
Xavier
Becerra
Democrat
th
Xavier
Becerra
is
a
longtime
incumbent,
who
currently
represents
Californias
34
Congressional
District,
which
includes
neighborhoods
in
Central,
East,
and
Northeast
Los
Angeles.
Prior
to
joining
the
House,
he
served
as
Deputy
Attorney
General
in
the
California
Department
of
Justice
from
1987
to
1990,
before
going
on
to
join
the
State
Assembly
for
a
brief
stint.
Despite
his
supposedly
progressive
credentials,
Becerra
has
been
a
fairly
reliable
supporter
of
free
trade
ever
since
he
voted
for
NAFTA
in
the
early
days
of
his
congressional
career.
A
perusal
of
his
initiatives
in
Congress
indicates
that
Becerra
tends
focus
on
relatively
innocuous
and
technocratic
legislative
matters.
Given
that
Becerra,
who
comes
across
as
a
wonkish
liberal,
received
his
formative
legislative
training
during
the
Clinton
Era,
it
should
come
as
no
surprise
that
Becerra
also
loves
himself
some
balanced
budgets.
As
his
2016
Democratic
National
Convention
speech
illustrates
well,
Becerra
likes
to
resort
to
cheesy
personal
anecdotes
and
banal
clichs
that
are
supposed
compensate
for
his
lack
of
a
well-articulated
political
vision
and
program.
Despite
his
shilling
for
a
warmonger
like
Hillary
Clinton
in
2016,
at
least
Becerra
tends
to
take
a
less
belligerent
approach
to
foreign
policy
issues
than
many
of
his
fellow
Democrats.
Still,
Becerra
is
not
much
for
taking
bold
stances,
and
anti-imperialists
should
not
view
him
as
anything
close
to
an
ally
given
his
obvious
careerist
tendencies.
Becerra
is
fortunate
to
be
surrounded
by
a
bunch
war
hawks
and
corporate
underlings,
since
his
nondescript
status
quo
politics
does
very
little
to
inspire
much
enthusiasm.
Angela
Nicole
Edwards
Democrat
Angela
Nicole
Edwards
is
the
protest
vote
candidate
in
this
foreordained
Becerra
landslide.
Her
campaign
website
does
not
appear
to
be
in
operation
anymore,
and
it
is
impossible
to
find
much
in
the
way
of
information
about
her
political
outlook.
However,
she
did
post
some
videos
of
Bernie
Sanders
on
her
Facebook
page
during
the
run-up
to
last
Junes
primary.
Voters
might
as
well
try
to
boost
Edwardss
2016
general
election
numbers
just
to
shake
Becerra
out
of
his
complacent
servitude
to
the
Democratic
Party
establishment.
Vote
Edwards
40. Californias 35
th
Norma
Torres
Democrat
th
Norma
Torres
is
seeking
reelection
to
Californias
35
Congressional
District,
which
covers
portions
of
the
western
Inland
Empire,
including
Chino,
Fontana,
Ontario,
and
Pomona.
Torres
was
born
Guatemala,
and
relocated
to
Los
Angeles
as
a
child.
Prior
to
entering
politics,
she
worked
as
a
9-1-1
dispatcher,
while
being
an
active
member
of
AFSCME,
and
serving
as
local
3090s
shop
steward.
After
spending
time
on
the
Pomona
City
Council,
Torres
eventually
entered
the
California
Legislature
in
2008,
and
is
now
coming
to
the
end
of
her
first
term
in
the
US
House
of
Representatives.
Despite
her
experience
in
the
labor
movement,
she
does
not
evince
much
class
consciousness
in
her
various
campaign
and
policy
statements.
While
she
often
begins
her
policy
declarations
with
sympathetic
feel
your
pain
homilies,
she
usually
follows
this
up
with
apolitical
calls
for
unity.
For
example,
in
a
2012
statement
that
acknowledged
the
weakness
of
the
economic
recovery,
Torres
explained
that
it
is
critically
important
that
local
and
state
elected
officials
join
business
leaders
to
come
up
with
innovative,
out
of
the
box
policy
solutions
that
will
speed
things
along
and
get
our
community
back
to
work.
Torress
habit
of
resorting
to
these
sorts
of
paeans
to
business
leaders
and
innovation
may
partly
explain
why
she
appears
to
have
had
such
little
difficulty
raising
money
from
various
corporate
lobby
groups,
though
its
certainly
also
possible
that
her
past
vote
against
Californias
proposed
fracking
moratorium
may
provide
an
even
better
explanation
for
why
many
of
these
business
leaders
have
come
to
view
Torres
as
such
a
worthwhile
investment
opportunity.
Still,
you
have
to
at
least
give
Torres
some
credit
for
her
unwillingness
to
kowtow
to
the
Clinton
political
machine
and
remain
neutral
in
this
years
th
Democratic
Primary
contest,
that
is
until
she
finally
caved
a
week
before
the
vote
to
become
the
36
out
of
39
Democratic
members
of
the
US
House
from
California
to
endorse
Secretary
Clinton
(none
of
the
39
endorsed
Senator
Sanders).
Tyler
Fischella
Republican
Thankfully,
Tyler
Fischella,
the
Republican
contender
in
this
race
at
least
provides
voters
some
much
needed
comic
relief
this
year
(we
encourage
readers
to
go
online
and
check
out
his
campaign
site
just
to
view
the
webpages
slick
photo
of
this
proud
millennial).
Fischella
loves
himself
some
Uber
and
some
charter
schools,
and
he
should
have
no
trouble
winning
the
millennial
vote,
since,
unlike
these
old
guard
politicos,
Fischella
really
knows
what
young
peoples
primary
concerns
are
(NASA
cuts
of
course).
Thus,
in
his
campaign
literature,
he
reminds
us
of
that
terrible
day
back
in
2010
when
President
Obama
cut
NASAs
budget,
which
made
millennials
and
the
science
community
furious!
In
addition
to
supporting
more
giveaways
to
the
aerospace
industry,
Fischella
declares,
He
will
support
private
companies
such
as
SpaceX,
Virgin
Galactic,
Orbital
Sciences
Corp,
and
any
missions
to
Mars.
Just
think
about
how
many
more
millennials
Bernie
Sanders
could
have
turned
out
to
vote
during
the
primary
if
only
he
had
talked
more
about
Mars.
Vote
Torres
41. Californias 37
th
Karen
Bass
Democrat
Karen
Bass
is
the
incumbent
US
Representative
from
Californias
District
37,
which
covers
parts
of
West,
Central,
and
South
LA,
including
Culver
City,
Baldwin
Hills,
the
Crenshaw
District,
Exposition
Park,
along
with
portions
Westwood
and
Koreatown.
She
has
been
a
member
of
Congress
since
2011,
after
serving
for
three
terms
as
a
California
assemblymember.
Bass,
who
is
a
member
of
the
Congressional
Progressive
Caucus,
has
amassed
a
solidly
liberal
voting
record,
and
in
the
past
she
has
been
a
critic
of
fiscal
austerity
and
cuts
to
various
social
programs.
During
her
time
in
the
California
Legislature,
she
helped
author
legislation
that
imposed
stronger
regulations
on
subprime
lending,
and
co-sponsored
a
bill
expanding
access
to
transitional
housing
services
for
foster
youth.
In
Congress,
she
has
continued
to
look
out
for
the
needs
of
foster
children
by
authoring
the
successfully
passed
Education
Stability
for
Foster
Youth
Act,
which
was
aimed
at
ensuring
that
the
nearly
400,000
young
people
who
are
a
part
of
our
nations
foster
care
system
can
stay
in
the
school
of
their
choice
if
they
move
homes
and
guarantees
foster
youth
have
a
support
system
to
help
them
throughout
their
educational
career.
Regrettably,
on
more
general
matters
of
economic
policy,
Bass
remains
trapped
inside
the
same
neoliberal
box
that
seems
to
limit
the
political
vision
of
so
many
of
her
fellow
Progressive
Caucus
Democrats.
She
has
called
for
tax
credits
to
small
businesses,
and
her
campaign
literature
includes
standard
neoliberal
evocations
about
the
wonders
of
innovation.
While
Bass
tends
to
be
less
hawkish
than
other
members
of
Congress,
she
did
vote
to
authorize
President
Obamas
use
of
force
in
Libya.
Furthermore,
her
enthusiastic
support
for
Clinton
during
the
primary
also
suggests
it
is
unlikely
that
she
would
ever
come
out
in
strong
opposition
to
the
Democratic
Party
establishment
on
matters
of
both
foreign
and
domestic
policy.
Chris
Wiggins
Democrat
The
challenger
in
what
is
likely
to
be
a
Bass
landslide
is
Chris
Wiggins,
who
is
running
as
a
Democrat
and
as
a
Bernie
Sanders
supporter.
According
to
his
campaign
website,
he
has
spent
the
past
5
years
working
as
a
recruiter
for
various
LA
area
entertainment
and
media
companies.
In
addition
to
his
recruiting
work,
Wiggins
currently
serves
on
the
Advisory
Board
of
the
Design
and
Gaming
School
of
Los
Angeles,
and
he
also
does
work
with
A
Place
Called
Home,
a
South
Central
based
non-profit.
Despite
his
identification
with
the
Sanders
insurgency,
Wiggins
comes
across
as
a
standard
neoliberal
Democrat,
whose
main
criticism
of
the
US
political
establishment
is
its
failure
to
get
money
out
of
politics.
While
it
is
certainly
the
case
that
our
democracy
has
been
perverted
by
corporate
cash,
Wigginss
narrow
focus
on
campaign
finance
reform
and
overturning
Citizens
United
fails
to
address
the
depth
of
the
American
political
systems
rot.
In
contrast
to
Sanders,
his
campaign
literature
seems
to
be
wholly
lacking
in
any
kind
of
class
analysis.
Unfortunately,
Wiggins
shares
a
lot
of
the
same
ideological
limitations
that
plague
his
opponent
Representative
Bass,
as
he
tends
to
emphasize
the
importance
of
opportunity
rather
than
wealth
redistribution.
This
emphasis
on
opportunity
fits
nicely
with
market-based
solutions
like
charter
schools,
and
predictably
Wiggins
takes
the
position
that
There
should
be
choices
available,
so
more
opportunities
for
students
to
attend
public,
charter,
and
magnet
schools
which
fit
their
needs.
On
a
positive
note,
he
at
least
says
that
he
supports
single-payer
healthcare.
Wiggins
certainly
is
a
flawed
candidate,
but
it
would
be
a
good
idea
for
leftists
to
vote
for
him
simply
as
a
way
to
keep
Bass
from
completely
ignoring
her
left
flank.
Nevertheless,
while
it
makes
sense
to
tactically
support
self-identified
Berniecrats
like
Wiggins,
in
order
to
put
pressure
on
establishment
candidates
who
have
chosen
to
fall
in
line
behind
Clinton,
working
class
voters
should
have
no
illusions
about
any
candidate
who
fails
to
put
class
struggle
on
the
table.
Vote
Wiggins
42. Californias 38
th
Linda
Sanchez
Democrat
Linda
Sanchez,
who
has
been
a
US
Representative
since
2003,
is
running
for
reelection
in
Californias
38th
Congressional
District,
comprising
areas
of
southeastern
Los
Angeles
and
parts
of
the
San
Gabriel
Valley.
Sanchez
began
her
career
as
an
attorney
specializing
in
labor
law,
and
has
also
worked
as
a
compliance
officer
for
Local
441
of
the
International
Brotherhood
of
Electrical
Workers
(IBEW)
Local
441.
Additionally,
prior
to
joining
Congress,
she
served
as
the
Executive
Secretary/Treasurer
of
the
Orange
County
Central
Labor
Council.
Considering
the
congressional
candidates
that
have
populated
the
guide
thus
far,
it
is
certainly
a
breath
of
fresh
air
to
come
across
a
Progressive
Caucus
member
who
actually
has
a
bit
of
class
struggle
bite,
at
least
in
terms
of
her
rhetoric.
As
a
consequence
of
her
labor
background,
Sanchez,
unlike
many
of
her
fellow
progressive
Democrats,
seems
comfortable
deploying
populist
class
tinged
language
in
her
policy
arguments,
and
she
was
a
co-founder
of
the
Labor
and
Working
Families
Caucus,
whose
sated
purpose
is
to
protect
workers
rights
and
working
families
by
tackling
important
issues
like
overtime,
minimum
wage,
and
health
care.
While
she
has
been
known
to
voice
support
for
unions
and
workers
rights,
Sanchez
also
tends
to
come
across
as
a
much
bolder
opponent
of
the
neoliberal
fiscal
austerity
logic
than
most
of
the
other
so-called
progressive
Democrats
in
the
House.
Among
Californias
congressional
Democrats,
Sanchez
has
been
one
of
the
most
outspoken
critics
of
the
ongoing
Republican
campaign
to
cut
food
stamps.
After
the
GOP
gained
control
of
Congress
following
the
2010
midterm
elections,
she
led
the
charge
against
a
Farm
Bill
containing
$8
billion
in
cuts
to
the
Supplemental
Nutrition
Assistance
Program
(SNAP),
which,
sadly,
was
eventually
passed
in
2014,
thanks
to
the
support
of
many
Democratic
House
members.
At
the
time,
Sanchez
complained,
These
proposed
cuts
to
SNAP
would
quite
literally
take
food
out
of
the
mouths
of
children.
In
my
district,
SNAP
helps
provide
food
for
seniors,
kids,
veterans,
and
working
familiesI
dont
understand
why
in
good
conscience
Congress
would
ask
millions
of
struggling
Americans
to
go
hungry
in
order
to
subsidize
big
agribusiness.
Its
also
heartening
to
note
that
in
addition
to
her
strong
opposition
to
cutting
various
federal
social
programs,
Sanchez
supports
reducing
defense
spending
as
a
preferable
way
to
overcome
budgetary
constraints.
Yet,
in
spite
of
her
calls
to
reduce
spending
on
the
military,
Sanchez
has
not
exactly
been
an
opponent
of
US
imperialist
practices,
and
she
voted
to
support
the
Obama
Administrations
2011
bombing
campaign
in
Libya.
Even
on
the
domestic
front,
Sanchezs
populism
has
its
obvious
limits,
as
her
vocal
support
for
Wall
Streets
favorite
candidate
during
the
2016
presidential
primary
clearly
demonstrates.
Regrettably,
Sanchezs
willingness
to
fight
for
the
interests
of
working
class
Americans
appears
to
be
seriously
compromised
by
the
usual
careerist
calculations.
Ryan
Downing
Republican
Ryan
Downing,
the
hopeless
Republican
challenger
in
what
looks
to
be
a
foreordained
Sanchez
victory,
comes
across
as
fairly
mild
and
sane
compared
to
many
of
the
other
Republican
wackos
and
narcissists
that
populate
our
guide.
He
appears
to
be
trying
to
brand
himself
as
a
Republican
with
sensible
views
on
immigration.
However,
his
campaigns
actual
immigration
program
is
nowhere
to
found,
since
he
is
only
asking
that
California
adhere
to
the
1986
Immigration
Reform
and
Control
Act,
and
continue
to
grant
amnesty
to
undocumented
immigrants
who
are
able
to
prove
that
they
have
resided
in
the
US
continuously
since
January
1,
1982.
This
Republican
so-called
friend
of
immigrants
offers
no
specific
policy
proposals
that
apply
to
those
undocumented
residents
not
covered
by
the
1986
Act,
and
the
rest
of
his
campaign
literature
is
equally
irrelevant
and
nebulous.
Vote
Sanchez
43. Californias 39
th
Ed
Royce
Republican
Ed
Royce
is
an
incumbent
and
longtime
member
of
the
House,
representing
Californias
39th
District,
which
includes
various
municipalities
and
suburban
areas
near
the
intersection
of
the
Los
Angeles,
Orange,
and
San
Bernardino
counties.
According
to
his
campaign
literature,
before
becoming
a
politician,
Royce
had
been
a
business
owner,
a
controller,
a
capital
projects
manager,
and
a
corporate
tax
manager.
After
spending
some
time
in
the
California
State
Senate,
he
has
been
a
member
of
Congress
since
1993.
Royce
tends
to
focus
on
fighting
pork
barrel
legislation,
which
in
his
mind
is
anything
not
spent
on
the
war
machine,
and
that
actual
benefits
ordinary
Americans.
Since
he
has
little
to
offer
his
constituents
on
domestic
matters,
it
not
surprising
that
Royce
spends
an
inordinate
amount
of
time
scaremongering
about
illusory
threats
to
American
power.
The
current
boogeyman
of
the
moment
appears
to
be
Russia,
though
he
has
also
been
playing
the
Iran
card
a
lot
in
recent
years.
Not
surprisingly,
in
addition
to
the
sizeable
protection
payments
that
he
has
received
from
the
usual
Wall
Street
crooks,
Royce
has
also
been
well-funded
by
the
pro-Israel
lobby
in
this
years
campaign.
Additionally,
he
has
collected
large
checks
from
real
estate
sharks,
who
have
been
happy
to
repay
Royce
for
all
those
years
of
public
service
devoted
to
reducing
the
governments
involvement
in
the
provision
of
affordable
housing.
Given
Royces
aforementioned
resume,
working
class
constituents
of
District
39
have
plenty
of
reason
to
vote
for
Royces
long
overdue
retirement
in
2016.
Brett
Murdock
Democrat
The
Democrat
in
this
race,
Brett
Murdock
at
least
talks
a
good
game
about
campaign
finance
reform,
and
overturning
Citizens
United.
However,
this
a
pretty
easy
stance
for
an
outsider
candidate
to
take,
and
it
remains
to
be
seen
whether
Murdocks
populist
pandering
is
more
than
just
a
useful
rhetorical
device
that
he
has
chosen
to
employ
in
order
to
gain
admission
to
the
party.
His
campaign
literature
also
highlights
the
issue
of
debt-free
college,
and
predictably,
given
his
legal
background,
he
proposes
to
solve
the
problem
by
amending
the
tax
code
to
make
it
easier
for
middle
class
Americans
to
pay
back
student
loans
and
take
serious
steps
toward
making
higher
education
affordable
for
all.
Even
with
Sanders
opening
up
the
mainstream
discourse
to
the
concept
of
free
college
during
the
2016
campaign
season,
Murdock
appears
uninterested
in
proposing
anything
of
the
sort,
and
instead
chooses
to
advocate
fairly
tepid
and
vague
solutions
to
this
ever
worsening
crisis
of
unaffordability.
The
rest
of
Murdocks
campaign
statements
consist
of
the
usual
Democratic
Party
boilerplate,
leaving
working
class
voters
with
very
little
that
would
inspire
much
enthusiasm,
but
at
least
hes
not
Ed
Royce.
Vote
Murdock
44. Californias 40
th
Lucille
Roybal-Allard
Democrat
Lucille
Roybal-Allard
is
seeking
reelection
to
the
US
House
for
Californias
40th
District,
which
covers
parts
of
South
Central,
East
Los
Angeles,
and
southeastern
LA
County.
Roybal
is
a
longtime
incumbent,
who
prior
to
entering
Congress
in
1993,
had
spent
time
in
the
California
State
Assembly.
She
is
another
Congressional
Progressive
Caucus
member,
whose
rhetoric
is
fairly
bland
and
devoid
of
a
class
critique.
Roybal
has
spent
much
of
her
time
in
office
focusing
on
health
issues,
and
one
of
her
more
recent
initiatives
on
that
policy
front
was
the
Newborn
Screening
Saves
Lives
Reauthorization
Act,
which
she
introduced
and
helped
pass
in
2014
that
expanded
programs
that
screen
for
heritable
diseases
in
newborns
and
children.
Despite
her
past
legislative
work
in
support
of
similarly
sensible
health
policy
initiatives,
Roybal
has
failed
to
speak
out
strongly
for
anything
resembling
a
real
universal
healthcare
program,
and
she
has
uncritically
lauded
the
severely
compromised
and
market-based
Affordable
Care
Act.
This
could
have
something
to
do
with
her
own
ideological
blinders,
but
it
also
may
be
no
coincidence
that
various
corporate
entities
associated
with
the
healthcare
industry
complex
have
been
some
of
her
key
sources
of
campaign
contributions
in
recent
years.
One
area,
where
she
has
shown
a
bit
more
concern
for
working
class
interests
has
been
on
the
issue
of
farmworkers
rights,
and
during
past
two
presidential
administrations
she
has
repeatedly
introduced
the
Childrens
Act
for
Responsible
Employment
(CARE),
which
seeks
to
end
the
double
standard
that
allows
an
estimated
400,000
farm
worker
children
to
work
for
longer
hours
and
at
earlier
ages
than
children
in
every
other
industry.
While
the
aforementioned
proposed
legislation
is
much
needed,
most
of
Roybals
other
policy
prescriptions
are
neither
radical
nor
terribly
specific.
Overall,
Roybal
seems
to
be
another
run-of-the-mill
California
Democrat,
who
is
comfortably
situated
in
a
well-insulated
congressional
sinecure.
Ramon
Gonzalez
Independent
Ramon
Gonzalez
is
another
worthless
outsider
candidate
who,
for
some
reason,
believes,
or
at
least
pretends
to
anyway,
that
his
presence
in
Congress,
unlike
that
of
career
politicians
like
Roybal,
will
magically
transform
the
nations
rotten
political
economic
order.
Still,
you
have
to
give
it
to
this
outside
the
box
thinker
for
apparently
finally
discovering
the
solution
to
gun
violence,
which
turns
to
be
more
anger
management
classes
for
youth,
since
The
weapon
is
not
the
root
cause
of
the
issue,
violence
is.
The
rest
of
Gonzalezs
gun
violence
reduction
plan
reads
like
someone
trying
brand
himself
as
a
cross
between
a
NRA
gun
nut
and
a
self-help
shyster,
while
his
other
policy
solutions
prove
to
be
equally
empty
and
incoherent.
Vote
Roybal-Allard
45. Californias 43
rd
Maxine
Waters
Democrat
Maxine
Waters
is
the
incumbent
candidate
representing
Californias
43rd
Congressional
District,
which
is
located
in
South
LA
County,
and
covers
portions
of
Los
Angeles,
Carson,
and
Torrance.
Waters
is
currently
the
most
senior
Black
Congresswoman,
having
served
in
the
US
House
since
1991,
after
a
stint
in
the
California
State
Assembly
from
1976-1991.
In
the
past,
she
has
been
an
outspoken
advocate
for
South
LAs
minority
populations,
and
has
often
expressed
a
more
radical
posture
on
various
domestic
and
foreign
policy
issues.
For
example,
she
was
one
of
the
few
US
Representatives,
who
voiced
some
sympathy
for
participants
in
what
the
mainstream
press
dubbed
the
LA
riots
back
in
1992,
but
which
she
at
the
time
called
a
rebellion,
and
a
spontaneous
reaction
to
a
lot
of
injustice.
Waterss
more
thoughtful
response
was
in
sharp
contrast
to
all
the
moralizing
and
law
and
order
rhetoric
saturating
the
national
airwaves
and
political
discourse
at
the
time.
She
has
also
been
significantly
better
than
the
vast
majority
of
her
fellow
Democrats
when
comes
to
foreign
policy,
and
she
was
one
of
the
most
vocal
opponents
of
the
deplorable
2003
Iraq
War.
On
domestic
affairs,
Waters
has
been
an
important
figure
in
efforts
increase
access
to
affordable
housing,
and
she
introduced
legislation
in
2009
that
would
have
expanded
federal
subsidies
to
tenants
under
the
Section
8
voucher
program,
which
was
regrettably
buried
in
the
House
Financial
Services
Committee.
On
healthcare
policy,
Waters
was
more
critical
of
Obamacare
at
the
time
of
its
passage
than
most
of
her
Democratic
colleagues
in
the
House,
and
she
has
recently
co-sponsored
the
single-payer
bill
HR
676.
Nevertheless,
Waterss
willingness
to
challenge
the
Democratic
Party
establishment
has
its
limits,
and
she
chose
to
endorse
Hillary
Clinton
in
the
2016
primary.
Waters
should
be
viewed
as
one
the
members
of
Congress
most
inclined
to
safeguard
social
spending
at
home,
and
to
oppose
imperialist
adventurism
abroad,
but
as
is
the
case
with
so
many
of
her
fellow
Democrats
in
Congress,
she
tends
to
lose
some
of
her
critical
fire
during
periods
when
a
Democrat
happens
to
be
residing
in
the
White
House.
Omar
Navarro
Republican
Sadly,
Omar
Navarro,
who
is
probably
running
just
in
order
to
network
with
a
bunch
of
other
rightwing
goofballs
for
his
small
business
serving
the
tech
industry,
will
soon
be
forgotten
by
most
of
us.
Yet,
for
those
fortunate
enough
to
have
taken
part
in
Navarros
Pro-
Active
Leadership
for
the
21st
Century
campaign,
the
memories
of
his
outsider
run
for
Congress
will
surely
last
a
lifetime.
So
lets
hope
for
an
absolutely
crushing
Waters
landslide
on
November
8th.
Vote
Waters
46. Californias 44
th
Isadore
Hall
III
Democrat
Isadore
Hall
III
is
running
to
replace
departing
US
Representative
Janice
Hahn,
in
Californias
44th
Congressional
District,
which
straddles
Interstate
110,
including
the
inland
portions
of
the
South
Bay,
along
with
the
Port
of
Los
Angeles.
Hall,
who
has
been
endorsed
by
Hahn,
and
the
rest
of
the
Los
Angeles
Democratic
Party
establishment
in
this
contest,
has
spent
the
past
two
years
in
the
State
Senate,
after
having
also
served
in
the
past
as
a
California
assemblymember
and
a
Compton
city
councilmember.
In
his
policy
positions,
Hall
mostly
resorts
to
standard
Democratic
Party
talking
points,
though
he
occasionally
employs
more
troubling
conservative
sounding
rhetoric
about
cutting
red
tape
in
order
to
help
small
businesses
prosper.
When
it
comes
to
the
Los
Angeles
Port,
he
seems
to
be
especially
concerned
about
maintaining
a
business
friendly
environment,
though
he
at
least
throws
a
few
bones
to
workers
by
reminding
voters
that
businesses
also
need
to
respect
the
legitimate
rights
and
wishes
of
their
workers
in
order
for
the
Port
to
continue
to
thrive
as
a
workplace
for
both
workers
and
businesses.
The
rest
of
his
policy
statements
are
equally
generic
and
dubious.
During
his
time
in
the
California
Legislature,
Hall
has
mostly
voted
with
his
Democratic
Party
colleagues
on
various
measures,
though
he
did
vote
against
a
bill
requiring
overtime
for
farmworkers,
which
likely
explains
why
agribusiness
groups
have
decided
to
so
generously
fund
his
campaign.
Overall,
Hall
comes
across
as
a
fairly
nondescript
political
figure,
who
is
likely
to
quickly
fall
in
line
behind
the
congressional
Democratic
Party
establishment
if
he
is
elected
to
the
US
House
in
2016.
Nanette
Barragan
Democrat
Nanette
Barragan,
who
has
been
endorsed
by
the
Bernie
Sanders
outfit
Our
Revolution,
is
the
challenger
to
the
Democratic
Party
establishments
candidate
in
this
contest.
During
her
career,
she
has
worked
as
an
attorney,
and
has
held
a
variety
of
political
posts,
most
recently
serving
in
the
Hermosa
Beach
City
Council
for
two
years.
Despite
the
endorsement
from
Our
Revolution,
Barragans
campaign
literature
essentially
consists
of
customary
Democratic
Party
fare.
For
example,
her
campaign
webpage
mentions
how
Barragan
as
a
Hermosa
Beach
city
councilmember
balanced
fiscal
common
sense
with
the
right
priorities.
She
balanced
budgets,
fixed
streets,
helped
expand
afterschool
programs
and
hired
new
police
officers
without
raising
taxes.
There
is
certainly
no
mention
of
any
proposals
for
wealth
redistribution,
and
very
little
economic
populism
to
be
had
in
any
of
her
policy
prescriptions.
Barragan
makes
a
lot
of
her
commitment
to
standing
up
to
the
oil
industry,
but
most
of
her
environmental
proposals
are
similar
to
other
mainstream
Democratic
Party
politicians,
and
she
calls
for
creative
strategies
to
attract
and
incentivize
clean
green
businesses...
On
education,
she
does
offer
up
the
vague
proposal
that
we
should
provide
free-to-low-cost
education
to
students
who
want
an
education.
For
those
prefer
trade
schools
and
skills,
we
need
to
make
sure
they
have
access
and
affordable
training.
It
may
be
worth
voting
for
Barragan
just
to
see
how
she
responds
to
peoples
potentially
overinflated
expectations
of
her
candidacy
once
in
office,
but
there
is
very
little
here
of
substance
for
working
class
voters
to
get
behind.
Consequently,
it
appears
that
we
have
been
left
with
two
rather
uninspiring
options
in
District
44
despite
all
the
hype.
Neutral
47. Californias 47
th
Alan
Lowenthal
Democrat
Alan
Lowenthal
is
an
incumbent
Democrat,
who
was
first
elected
to
Congress
in
2012.
He
represents
Californias
47th
Congressional
District,
which
includes
Long
Beach,
along
with
nearby
portions
of
northwestern
Orange
County.
Previously,
Lowenthal
had
been
a
member
of
both
the
California
State
Senate
and
the
State
Assembly,
and
he
began
political
his
career
as
a
member
of
the
Long
Beach
City
Council
starting
in
1992.
During
his
time
in
government,
Lowenthal
has
tended
to
emphasize
environmental
issues,
and
he
has
helped
lead
efforts
to
reduce
pollution
in
the
Long
Beach
Port
area.
In
2000,
he
authored
legislation
requiring
that
petroleum
coke
piles
at
the
Port
be
covered,
in
order
to
protect
residents
from
harmful
airborne
particulate
matter.
As
a
Congressman,
Lowenthal
has
also
spoken
in
favor
of
a
more
peaceful
approach
to
foreign
policy,
while
also
voting
against
government
spying
at
home.
Sadly,
despite
his
relatively
dovish
foreign
policy
statements,
Lowenthal
appears
to
be
a
PEP
(Progressive
Except
on
Palestine),
and
he
has
backed
the
disgusting
campaign
to
censure
BDS
activists
at
UCLA.
While
Lowenthal
has
a
solid
record
on
the
environment,
his
economic
positions
are
less
clearly
defined.
In
his
past
opposition
to
Congressional
Republican
efforts
to
slash
spending,
he
argued
that,
as
an
alternative
to
the
Republican
sequestration
initiative,
Congress
should
agree
to
a
set
of
responsible
spending
cuts
and
increased
revenues
generated
by
closing
tax
loopholes
that
solely
benefit
the
very
wealthy.
In
terms
of
campaign
fundraising,
Lowenthals
largest
donors
are
labor
unions,
though
he
has
also
received
some
money
from
corporate
entities,
such
as
the
AES
Corporation,
Edison
International,
and
AT&T.
While
he
may
lack
the
personality
and
rhetorical
bite
of
some
of
his
Progressive
Caucus
colleagues,
Lowenthal
deserves
credit
for
not
completely
buckling
to
careerist
pressures
in
the
run-up
to
the
2016
presidential
primary,
since,
even
though
he
never
went
so
far
as
to
endorse
Senator
Sanders,
Lowenthal
was
one
of
only
three
Democratic
House
members
from
California
who
remained
neutral
until
the
voting
was
finally
concluded.
Lowenthal
has
not
done
anything
to
suggest
that
he
can
be
counted
on
to
stray
too
far
beyond
the
neoliberal
consensus,
but
he
nonetheless
seems
to
have
a
bit
more
self-
respect
than
his
sycophantic
fellow
progressive
Democrats,
who
have
been
falling
over
themselves
in
praise
of
a
warmonger
and
Wall
Street
chum
this
whole
campaign
season.
Andy
Whallon
Republican
Andy
Whallon
has
worked
in
the
real
estate
industry
since
1991,
and
he
is
advocating
an
extreme
rightwing
program
aimed
at
slashing
government
spending.
Like
Trump,
Whallon
would
like
America
to
be
great
again,
since
our
founding
fathers
gave
us
the
freest
country
on
earth,
and
as
a
result,
America
became
the
richest
nation
on
earth.
In
addition
to
gutting
spending,
Whallon
wants
to
get
rid
of
our
governments
supposedly
freedom
crushing
regulations.
He
is
proposing
that
every
federal
agency
should
be
required
to
cut
its
regulatory
burden
in
half
before
it
can
issue
a
single
new
regulation,
and
that
for
every
new
regulation,
another
regulation,
whose
burden
is
twice
as
great,
should
be
repealed.
Since
people
can
never
have
too
much
freedom,
Whallon
also
wants
to
end
the
federal
governments
commitment
to
providing
Social
Security
and
Medicare.
It
really
makes
one
wonder
how
it
is
that
these
libertarian
types
never
seem
to
be
able
to
find
a
constituency
for
their
agenda
considering
all
the
freedom
on
offer
here?