Campaign Update: CA-11, AD-80, SD-19, AD-15, AD-30, LA Board of Supes

Here's what's happening on the campaign trail.

• CA-11: Apparently trying to win some kind of award for the worst attack website in history, Jon Fleischman of the Flash Report (a terribly designed website in its own right) has put together One Term Is Enough, in all of its way-too-large masthead, ridiculously-spare with no action items or columns, design out of Quark X-Press glory. Man, that's ugly. And I think the focus on Jerry McNerney's earmarks, given the summer of scandal that Dean Andal has lived through which is entirely about a construction contract with a community college (if he was in Congress, that would be, basically, an earmark), is kind of silly. Meanwhile, McNerney is up with his first ad of the cycle, focusing on his work on behalf of troops and veterans.

• AD-80: As soyinkafan noted, Manuel Perez and Gary Jeandron had a debate where Jeandron stated his support for a tax increase in Imperial County. That's not likely to help him with the conservative base, but clearly Jeandron understands that he has to move to left if he has any chance to win this seat. The Palm Springs Desert Sun has a debate report here.

• SD-19: Tony Strickland's latest endorsement is Erin Brockovich, of all people. However, this could be less of a reach across the aisle as it appears.

Ventura County Star columnist Timm Herdt got Strickland's Democratic opponent Hannah-Beth Jackson on the phone, who said she was "a little surprised" by Brockovich backing her opponent.

While Brockovich says she is a Democrat in the ad, she writes on her blog that she's ready to leave the party and become an independent.

"I am ready to turn because both parties are acting foolish and judgmental and attacking," she writes.

She also has kind words for GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

"I am proud to be a member of the same Strong Woman's Club that Sarah Palin is in." Brockovich writes.

• AD-15: As has been noted, Joan Buchanan released her first campaign ad of the cycle. Her opponent Abram Wilson responded with his own ad, also biographical in nature, and his campaign has questioned the Buchanan spot and her commitment to fiscal responsibility. I suppose signing a "no-tax" pledge is the height of responsibility, then.

• AD-30: We were all expecting it, and now Nicole Parra has officially endorsed Republican Danny Gilmore in the election to replace her. This is a family fight moved into the political sphere - the Parra-Florez feud is well-known.

Parra's support of Danny Gilmore angered Democratic Party leaders, but comes as no surprise because she has been praising Gilmore for months.

"I will endorse Danny Gilmore in the near future and I will campaign for him and do commercials," Parra said in an interview. Gilmore, a retired California Highway Patrol officer from Hanford, is running against Democrat Fran Florez, mother of state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, a longtime Parra rival.

• LA Board of Supes: Turns out that not only is Bernard Parks turning to Republicans to help him get elected over progressive State Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, but for ten years he was a member of the American Independent Party (!).

According to voter registration forms certified by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder:

Bernard Parks left the Democratic Party and registered as an American Independent on February 12, 1992 – just in time to miss the opportunity to vote for President Bill Clinton.

He registered again as an American Independent on August 9, 1996.

President George Bush was elected in November 2000 – but Parks still wouldn’t become a Democrat for nearly a year and a half.

Parks was fired as Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department on April 9, 2002. Shortly thereafter, he began to prepare to run for Los Angeles City Council, and re-registered as a Democrat on May 30, 2002. Less than a year later, he was elected to the City Council.

That is very strange, especially for an African-American to sign up with a party which is the legacy of George Wallace.

Fraudsters in Riverside?

This is a developing story out in Riverside.

Some Coachella Valley voters were duped into registering as Republicans, the Riverside County Democratic Central Committee alleged Wednesday.

The party is launching an investigation into the 2,312 new Republican voters that were registered countywide between July 14 and Aug. 11, many in Coachella Valley cities that typically swing Democrat.

They've also contacted the Secretary of State and District Attorney's office. Riverside County DA spokesman Michael Jeandron said he could neither confirm nor deny any investigations.

Democrat party officials raised the questions after getting numerous reports that people were standing outside of stores saying they were collecting signatures for child abuse-related petitions, only to turn around and use the names for voter registration.

(Question: is Michael Jeandron related to Gary Jeandron, the former Palm Springs police chief who's now running as a Republican for State Assembly in AD-80?)

Now, exactly what the point for this would be is an open question. If they're registering voters without telling them, it could perhaps get problematic later if these voters tried to legitimately register as Democrats. That might throw up a lot of mud about doubled registration forms and voter fraud. The other possibilities are that Riverside County Republicans want to maintain their voter registration lead, or simply that paid signature gatherers wanted a few extra dollars for themselves for turning in additional voter registration forms.

Nonetheless, it's very curious.

While shopping at the local Wal-Mart, (Eric Antuna) was asked to sign a petition protesting the early release of child molesters.

He agreed — until he was told he would have to fill out a registration card to prove his identity so the petitioner could be paid.

“Do you mind if I put you as a Republican?” Antuna said the man asked him.

The Democrat did mind.

This is an ongoing investigation and I'm sure the Riverside County Dems will have more.

UPDATE: This is not the first time questions have been raised about GOP voter registration efforts in Riverside County.

The Drive For 2/3: Perez Up Big In CA-AD-80

As you know, we need 6 seats in the Assembly to reach a 2/3 majority, and the latest news shows that one of those six is looking good.

I just got the results of an internal poll taken in AD-80 which shows Democrat Manuel Perez with an 11-point lead over Gary Jeandron in the seat currently held by Republican Bonnie Garcia.

AD-80: poll conducted June 10-12, 2008.
Sampling error is +/- 4.9%.

Manuel Perez: 47%
Gary Jeandron: 36%,
18% undecided.

The generic ballot tracks with the poll, as 49% desire a Democrat in the Assembly, to 36% for a Republican. The registration advantage is in the double digits as well, and the polling memo notes that almost 40% of DTS/Independents and nearly 20% of Republicans are Latino. Perez is the right fit for this district. And once bio material is presented, Perez' lead jumps to 52-39. Perez' name ID is higher in the district, too.

Best of all, Perez is a better Democrat, a transformational progressive who will be a real asset to the Assembly and not just a cog in the wheel.

This is not only good news for Perez, but Julie Bornstein as well. I fully expect Perez to have a strong grassroots operation throughout the district, and where that overlaps with CA-45, that means more Democrats coming out to vote.

You can read the polling memo here.