The Butler Didn't Do It

UPDATE

#AD50 Update: Richard Bloom leads by 1,246 votes. 91,498 to Betsy Butler's 90,252. 4,906 more ballots added. Next update: Friday, Nov 30.
— Dean Logan, RR/CC (@lacountyrrcc) November 28, 2012

So, what does abandoning constituents after only 14 months on the job, stacking the California Democratic Party's endorsement caucuses with delegates from as far away as Yolo County, months of arm-twisting by the the Speaker of the Assembly, 35,000 Mexican-made plastic baby bottles, and upwards of $2 million to defeat a fellow a Democrat buy you?

Turns out, not much.

With vote counting nearly complete, the new tally appears to spell defeat for Butler, who is finishing her first term in the Assembly and was backed by Assembly Speaker John A. Perez for the newly drawn district.

Parke Skelton, Butler's campaign consultant, said only that "it doesn't look very good, obviously." "The trend is certainly going very strong against Betsy," Skelton said.

Bloom said he is not sure how many votes are left to count. The day began with about 150,000 remaining countywide, but Bloom estimated that only 5,000 to 10,000 of them were from the 50th Assembly District.

Today's updating of the Bloom-Butler race reflected 4,412 ballots counted since Friday.

California does not have a required mandate for automatic recounts. Under CA election law, any registered voter may request a recount. But that privilege comes with a considerable financial burden, namely the full cost of conducting one.

So far no word yet from the Speaker's office or the CDP if they'll be seeking a recount of the AD50 election should Bloom be declared the winner.

"DownFall" Does The 2012 Election!

Ladies and Gentleman, your first "Downfall" 2012 election video.

Luke Russert Is An Idiot

Watch Luke Russert, the under-aged nepotistic NBC reporter-son of the late Tim Russert, ask Nancy Pelosi if she's "too old" to function as House Minority leader - a question he's never asked of Pelosi's male counterpart in the Senate, 70 year-old Mitch McConnell.

Somebody take this kid out and spank him.

So Who Voted To Reelect Barack Obama?

You'd be surprised. The electoral map below shows who, where, and in what concentrations, voters cast their ballots for Barack Obama and Mitt Romney (click on this link to see the high resolution version)
 


What's instructive is to see how blue-purple the electoral map really is. Even in "solid" Red States such as Texas, Idaho, Alabama (even Utah) Obama received high concentrations of votes in many areas of the states he didn't ultimately win, especially in suburban and urban areas.

What this tells us is the pendulum has swung - and hard - from the 2010 mid-term elections.

Remember that the next time Right Wing pundits try to convince you Democrats don't have a mandate coming out of the November 6th election.

Mark Ryavec Quietly Withdraws From CD11 Council Race

Citing lackluster community and fundraising support, Venice resident Mark Ryavec quietly announced on his website yesterday that he would withdraw from CD11 race.

When I decided to enter this race I thought that I would be running against Councilman Bill Rosendahl.  He appeared to be confident that he would recover from the cancer that he was battling and run for a third term.  

In the end, as we have seen, he has continued to improve but also made the prudent decision to focus on his health and not run.  

In very short order, Bill endorsed his deputy Mike Bonin and Bonin immediately announced his candidacy, released the names of a whole passel of campaign co-chairs and endorsements from senior Democratic party elected officials and then reported that he had raised over $50,000 in nine days.  

As a former political consultant myself, I have to say, "Well played, Mike." 

Still, I was inclined to stay in the race if I could secure adequate funds to be competitive.  Working with a talented political consultant who recently piloted a candidate to office in the 15th LA councilmanic seat, we developed an initial budget and worked to meet that budget.  Unfortunately, though I raised about $25,000 in three weeks, it was significantly short of my goal and the amount Bonin has raised.  It appeared to me that it was unlikely that I would be able to catch up.

The deadline to file for the open City Council seat is November 10th.

Boots On The Ground: A Photo Diary From The First Day Of CA2NV GOTV In Las Vegas, Nevada

 

 A thousand of us came from California this weekend, descending on Las Vegas and Reno, putting boots on the ground to get out the vote for Barack Obama.

I'm too tired, sunburned and foot-sore to write much about what happened today except to say I know we're making a difference. Whether it's directing people to the right polling places, convincing reluctant voters to do the right thing or leading by example for all the young kids who watch us as we canvass their apartment complexes, I know we're making a diffence.

You can make a difference too. I don't care if that means you fnd a phone bank, talk to your neighbors, or just bring a friend with you to the polls.

 But just do it. The country you save will be your own.


 

Put Your Boots On The Ground This Weekend For South Bay Assembly Candidate Al Muratsuchi

If you read this blog, you already know that Torrance prosecutor, Al Muratsuchi, the Democratic candidate for state Assembly District 66, is facing a tough race against Tea Party Republican Craig Huey.  The CA Republican Party and the Koch brothers have invested over a million dollars in this race and Democratic leadership in Sacramento didn't respond in kind until after the June primary.

But polling shows the race is very winnable for Al, but only if we can put boots on the ground and fight back with people power. Lace up your shoes, folks, and do some walking this weekend!

Saturday, November 3rd 10am to 7pm 

Sunday, November 4th - 11am to 8pm 

Monday, November 5th - 11am to 8pm 

ELECTION DAY November 6th - 10am to 8pm 

(when the polls close) 

Muratsuchi Campaign Headquarters 

628 Cravens Ave, Torrance, CA 90501 

(click here for directions)

 RSVP to Miguel at Miguel@alforassembly.com, or Kasey at Kasey@alforassembly.com or call Campaign Headquarters at (310) 781-3041