Betsy Butler Loses WeHo/Beverly Hills AD-50 Dem Club Endorsement Vote, Demands Do-Over

Betsy Butler at a WeHo/Beverly Hills meeting last January

In a surprise upset, Betsy Butler lost her bid tonight for the West Hollywood/Beverly Hills Democratic Club endorsement for the 50th Assembly District race. Despite the fact Butler faced virtually no organized opposition and had packed the lightly attended meeting with friends, campaign workers and supporters (including WeHo Mayor Jeffrey Prang and Councilman John Duran), Butler was unable to garner the votes needed.

The club membership voted instead not to endorse either Butler or opponent Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom.

In January, Butler lost the WeHo/Beverly Hills primary endorsement to Torie Osborn 43-28. The endorsement meeting made national news when a video of Butler supporter and former WeHo Mayor John Duran screaming obscenities at Osborn supporters went viral.

Remarkably, Butler received only 25 votes at tonight's meeting, 3 less than she did when she lost to Osborn.

Tonight's WeHo/Beverly Hills endorsement meeting. photo by Brian Adams.

After the results were tabulated, Butler and her supporters demanded a do-over of sorts, with Jeffrey Prang putting forward a motion to table the vote and hold a new one at a later date. After much debate, and some attrition of the largely elderly membership, Butler was able to get a new vote scheduled for some time in September.

For his part, Bloom seemed pleased with the results, "Tonight's vote is a big victory for my campaign," said Bloom in a written statement.  "It underscores the growing support for my candidacy in the 50th Assembly District where I have spent most of my life, and for our vision of progress and prosperity for the State of California."