Senator Shriver?

With respect to the Leno-Midgen battle royale, the most interesting State Senate primary in California may end up being in the 23rd District, replacing the termed-out Sheila Kuehl (who is likely to run for LA County Supervisor, as she wants to stay closer to home). Up until now, it was assumed that the race would be between former Assmblywoman Fran Pavley and current Assemblyman Lloyd Levine. Each has their base of support in different parts of the district, and that would be an interesting enough battle in and of itself. But now I hear that Santa Monica City Councilman Bobby Shriver, brother of Maria, is looking to possibly run for that seat. Shriver was elected to the City Council in 2004 (I remember getting robocalls from Ted Kennedy for a City Council race), has been a music and television executive, and co-founded the Debt AIDS Trade in Africa organization and the RED Initiative with Bono and others. His donor list reads like a Who's Who of Hollywood celebrity, and he wouldn't have any problem raising money (he spent more than $350,000 to win a City Council seat in a city of around 90,000).

However, there is a bit of tension between Shriver and the progressive grassroots community. The dynamic in Santa Monica is between the beachfront hotels, who want pro-business policies forwarded, and SMRR (Santa Monicans for Renters Rights), who are more in line with citizen concerns. The beachfront hotels unsuccessfully went after Councilmember Kevin McKeown (easily the most progressive) in 2006 with an aggressive and vindictive campaign that included dishonest TV ads. That same group of business interests backed Shriver with huge dollars in 2004. Now, Shriver and McKeown don't vote all that differently. But that perception, combined with the fact that Shriver really hasn't had much interest in engaging with the local grassroots, has strained relations. And Pavley is certainly their candidate in this race. The high name-ID of a Shriver throughout the district and his ability to bring in big money will be formidable, but the grassroots connections for both of the other candidates will be an obstacle. This is going to be an outstanding race.