A Look at More Stepping Stone Candidates in the California Primary
Today: Attorney General, Insurance Commissioner, State Superintendent of Education
Aaannnnd, I’m done looking around at all the statewide races. In case you missed it here’s my take on US Senate, Governor, Lt Gov. & Down Ballot seats, Part 1. Also, I’ve looked at the City Council District 2 contest, and County Supervisor District 4..
My back of the envelope count puts it at 75 candidates I’ve examined so far. I went to their web & social media sites, and did a ton of internet searches. Then I added a layer of snark where appropriate, told you who I would vote for, and included links to assorted stuff I thought was important..
Attorney General
Gov. Gavin Newsom tapped incumbent Rob Bonta in 2021 to be the first Filipino American to serve as California attorney general, after then-Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra was appointed U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. Bonta’s record in the California Assembly focused on efforts to modify the criminal justice system to favor rehabilitation over long incarceration.
So that brings us to the current theater of political conflict.
The forces of law and order are making hay out of an upward tic in crime statistics (It is relatively minor). They say it proves that reforms in California, many of which were voted on by the public, are the cause of mayhem in the streets. To hear their pitch, gangs are just around the corner from suburban neighborhoods ready to pillage, rape, and murder good law biding (and probably white) citizens.
What’s missing from the messaging about soaring crime rates (it’s mostly homicides) is that the worst locales for this phenomena are red states. Eight of the 10 states with the highest homicide rates in 2020 voted that year for Donald Trump. The per capita homicide rates in Mobile, Ala., Jacksonville, Fla., and Tulsa, Okla. — all cities with Republican mayors — are more than double those in Los Angeles or Seattle.
So this isn’;t about liberal reforms. It’s ultimately about laws and prosecutions that put people of color behind bars at a disproportionate rate. And, yes, there is a connection between the people pushing the garbage fear mongering about crime and those who believe that the Great Replacement” is a danger to white rule.
The right is doing its damndest to tar Bonta with the same brush they’ve used to defile two of the state’s most embattled local prosecutors, namely LA Dist. Atty. George Gascón and SF Dist. Atty. Chesa Boudin. Both men face recall efforts.
While the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn. has endorsed the incumbent, the overwhelming majority of California’s district attorneys and other groups have lined up behind Sacramento District Atty. Anne Schubert.
She’s raised an impressive amount of cash, especially for a non-partisan candidate, although it falls way short of Bonta’s support. Her strategy is that the hard core Republican vote will be split between that party’s two candidates, allowing her to pass through to the general election.
Rob Bonta - Democrat
Appointed Attorney General of the State of California
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
His record shows that it’s possible to chew gum (favor equity) and walk (prosecute bad guys) at the same time. Bonta has my vote.
Eric Early - Republican
Attorney/Business Owner
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Welcome to delusion-land: “Our borders open and lawless. Our election security seriously in doubt. Tens of thousands of homeless are living on the streets.
Perhaps, worst of all, we are in a leaderless state, “led” by a group of failed lifer politicians. Cowards for whom only one thing is paramount: themselves.”
Nathan Hochman - Republican
General Counsel
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
He’s going to stop the overdose rate from fentanyl by requiring dope dealers to label their product as “extremely dangerous to human life,” Those that don’t get the book thrown at them. Really? Will somebody tell him that fear of prosecution does nothing to discourage drug use (demand, which drives sales)? Again, this sort of rhetoric is about dehumanizing humans.
Dan Kapelovitz - Green Party
Criminal Defense Attorney
Website
If this name sounds familiar, it’s because he was a candidate in the recall election. I doubt that his past employment as features editor for Hustler magazine has prepared him for what it takes to run a state agency. His heart’s in the right place.
Anne Marie Schubert - No Party Preference
District Attorney
Website | Facebook
Virtually the entire California law enforcement establishment is behind her. She has prosecuted some high level criminal cases. She’s openly gay. She sounds like a Republican because she was one until the Donald Trump era. All that being said, this is California, where Democrats usually get their way.
Insurance Commissioner
The position involves running the largest state consumer protection agency in America, serving as a watchdog over 1,500 health, home, and auto insurance companies. To make a long story short, too much of the insurance business is akin to casino operations, where the house always wins. It reeks of cash payoffs, double-dealing, and flat-out ripoffs of consumers.
The stink is so bad that I’m not sure anybody could come away from the job of commissioner untainted. If there was ever a position this should be limited to one term, this is it.
Vinson Eugene Allen - Democrat
Medical Doctor/Businessman
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
As a physician, he knows what the short end of the insurance schtick looks like. And he’s rounded up a bunch of physicians to support him. His problems are that he’s not well known outside Los Angeles and there are a lot of other insurance issues beyond what doctors face.
Jasper "Jay" Jackson - Democrat
Paralegal
No Internet Presence
He ran for Compton City Treasurer a while back. And that’s all I could find about him.
Ricardo Lara - Democrat
Insurance Commissioner
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
This guy is an ethical disaster. He returned more than $80,000 from insurers after promising not to do so. There’s slop from transactions with lobbyists.It goes on and on. To his credit, Lara hasn’t been indicted. Yet.
Marc Levine - Democrat
Member, California State Assembly
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
It takes guts to challenge a party-backed incumbent. But when the stench gets too strong, it’s the right thing to do. I know that Levine has been challenged in the past for accepting corporate donations, but -at least on paper–he’s looking a lot better than he incumbent. I’m voting for Levine.
Greg Conlon - Republican
Businessman/CPA
Website | Facebook | Twitter
He does have experience. He was President of the California Public Utilities Commission and a Commissioner of the California Transportation Commission. But, he’s also ran for a bunch of political offices where his experience didn’t translate into victory.
Robert Howell - Republican
Cybersecurity Equipment Manufacturer
Website |
He’s run for a couple of other elected posts and been unimpressive. His campaign site starts off with the usual drivel about how California is broken.
Veronika Fimbres - Green Party
Nurse
Website
She is a Black trans pioneer activist; was first trans Commissioner of Veterans Affairs in San Francisco. I’m not sure how that qualifies her to oversee insurance, but, whatever.
Nathalie Hrizi - Peace and Freedom
Teacher/Union Officer
Website | Instagram
She is currently the vice-president for substitutes in the United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) union, editor-in-chief of the women’s magazine Breaking the Chains, and pulled 5.2% of the statewide vote for this office in 2018..
Robert J. Molnar - No Party Preference
Healthcare Advocate/Businessman
Website | Twitter |
Actually works in the field with a non profit helping healthcare consumers navigate the complex healthcare system. He worked with former Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who held the office from 2007 to 2011.
Superintendent of Education
I wish the race for superintendent of public instruction was simple. I believe public education is a cornerstone of our democracy, and it’s been under continuous attack from the right for the past four decades, as conservatives declared their allegiance to the market economy as the solution to all the nation’s problems.
The position, which is technically non-partisan (party affiliations aren’t listed on the ballot) is responsible for overseeing curriculum and ensuring that California’s 10,000 schools comply with laws and the state’s need-based funding formula. In other words, it’s mostly about steering a bureaucracy, because the real power in schools in California belongs to local school boards.. Its public facing involves being a bully pulpit for the kids.
In recent years the position has been a lightning rod for the differences between public school vs charter school advocates. In 2018, incumbent Tony Thurmond raised $8+ million from public school supporters.
I gotta say the guy has been a disappointment. When it came to the biggest issue of his term –public health measures for the pandemic–, he could hardly be bothered to show up at events where the Governor was speaking about the topic. Given the controversies, his bully pulpit could have been a source for refuting misinformation and marshaling public support.
Finally, there’s the matter of his skills as an administrator. Staff churn noticeable enough to be picked up in the national media is a testament to charges Thurmond has created a toxic work environment.
Looking through the list of other people wanting the job, it’s obvious that people who represented a threat to his incumbency didn’t find enough institutional support to consider a candidacy.
I wanted to be able to urge readers to support local activist Marco Amaral on the basis of his platform. But a little digging revealed an unresolved complaint alleging rape/sexual assault form 2016. The allegation strikes me as being flaky (single source, unable to find more on the internet, and possibly promoted via a lefty factional squabble), but I just can’t support somebody with this kind of cloud over his head.
So hold your nose and vote for the incumbent. Or just skip voting on this one. There is no rule that says you have to vote on every contest.
Marco Amaral - Non-Partisan
Teacher/Trustee
Website | Facebook | Instagram
He’s over the top when it comes to vision –“This campaign believes that it can challenge the California political machine, led by our two corporate parties, in a meaningful, politically principled, and community orientated fashion to create history.” and under a cloud when it comes to personal conduct (see above).
Joseph Guy Campbell - Non-Partisan
Montessori Education Publisher
Website | Facebook | Twitter
A generally good guy with progressive cred. I love Montessori; my now-grown daughter benefited tremendously from it. But… ya gotta have a vision that goes beyond that teaching system and recognize that there are issues with some charter schools claiming to be of that persuasion. And I just don’t see it with him.
Lance Ray Christensen - Non-Partisan
Education Policy Executive
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
State GOP endorsed. Most influential book, according to his Ballotpedia survey, is a right wing critique of liberal social policies as the source for many of the nation’s problems.
Jim Gibson - Non-Partisan
Cyber Security Professional
Facebook
Gibson was a member of the Vista Unified Board of Education. Hangs with the Tri-City Tea Party. ….”No Critical Race Theory. No sex education for K through 3rd grade.”
Ainye E. Long Non-Partisan
Public School Teacher
Facebook
San Francisco mathematics teacher, a decade ago was Director, Parent & Community Engagement for the California Charter Schools Association. She has zero campaign.
Tony K. Thurmond - Non-Partisan
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Website | Facebook | Twitter
See above. Endorsed by the Democratic Party.
George Yang - Non-Partisan
Software Architect/Father
Website | Facebook
Endorsed by extra-right wing Republican Assembly. “The smaller the footprints of government, the more space for religion.”