Get Out and Vote on Tuesday, March 5

By the Venice Chapter, Peace and Freedom Party

The recommended candidates participating in the Primary Nominating Election on Tuesday, March 5 are boldfaced below, followed by a simple summary. The choices are based upon how candidates answered a questionnaire prepared by the Southern California chapter of the Americans for Democratic Action (SCADA). There will probably be a low (15%) turnout in this primary, so your vote counts even more.

L.A. Mayor

The candidates running for LA Mayor are numerous. There are three candidates with the most contributions. Contributions are usually just a measure of political favors to be doled out later. Eric Garcetti (3.7 million), Wendy Greuel (3.6 million) and Jan Perry (1.5 million) are the candidates with the biggest contributions.

Garcetti appears to be mildly progressive. He is against the death penalty and the privatization of Social Security and Medicare. He is pro-choice, very much pro-union, pro-affirmative action and wants to increase the number of jobs and affordable housing. Garcetti actually authored the nation’s first tenant foreclosure eviction moratorium. This moratorium was recently renewed for 2013. A vote for Garcetti is recommended.

 

L.A. City Attorney

Among the candidates running for L.A. City Attorney, there are three candidates with the most contributions: Michael Feuer (915K), Gregory Smith (718K) and Carmen Trutanich (392K).

Feuer is the best of the three. He is progressive according to his SCADA questionnaire. Like Garcetti, he is against the death penalty and the privatization of Social Security and Medicare. He is also pro-single payer healthcare, pro-choice, pro-union and pro-worker’s rights. Feuer is in favor of affirmative action and wants to increase jobs and affordable housing. Trutanich is out. He has demonstrated his crazy side when he pushed for and got a Venice curfew. A vote for Feuer is recommended.

 

L.A. Controller

Among the candidates running for Controller, Dennis P. Zine, a former member of the L.A. City Council, is a notable right-winger. Ron Galperin is also liberal and received the endorsement of SCADA. Galperin favors the death penalty under extreme circumstances. Ankur Patel looks like he has some good ideas and skills as a labor and student organizer, but seemingly lacks a systematic approach to politics. Cary Brazeman is a liberal and probably the best choice. A vote for Brazeman is recommended.

L.A. Council District 11

There is very little difference between the candidates running for L.A. Council District 11. Mike Bonin generally and publicly takes progressive positions. But when it comes to concrete actions, he is beholden to developers and other powerful downtown influences. The candidates seem to be, as usual, out for themselves. Not one even mentions Venice Cityhood. The two candidates with the most contributions are: Mike Bonin (186K) and Frederick Sutton (34K).

Mike Bonin recently repeated the Fox News slogan that he would be “fair and balanced” on issues like city pension plans. There go the pensions. Bonin is in favor of removing the poor far from Venice. Also be aware of the fact that Tina Hess, a former prosecutor, is endorsed by several anti-homeless groups and the Republican Daily News. On the other hand, Frederick Sutton’s website advances some reasonable ideas. Sutton is recommended.

L.A. Unified School District

The two candidates running for the L.A. Unified School District don’t seem very interesting. Since UTLA (United Teachers of Los Angeles) supports Steve Zimmer, this is probably the better vote. On the other hand, he was not particularly helpful when the Venice Skills Center was in danger of being shut down. Kate Anderson is out. She is a political opportunist who has lots of right-wing support and money behind her. A vote for Zimmer is recommended.

L.A. Community College District

The L.A. Community College District (Seat 2) has two candidates running for the Board of Trustees. Mike Eng, a former teacher, may be the better choice for Seat 2. No comment on Seat 4. In Seat 6, Nancy Pearlman, a long-time environmental activist who helped organize the first Earth Day in 1970, is strong on increasing class availability. Pearlman is probably the better candidate for Seat 6.

Lastly, we recommend No on Measure A (increased sales tax burdens the poor disproportionately) and Yes on Measure B (worker pension plans are welcomed).

Summary

LA Mayor:              Eric Garcetti

City Attorney:         Michael Feuer

Controller:            Cary Brazeman

Council District 11:   Frederick Sutton

LAUSD:                 Steve Zimmer

LACCD:                 Mike Eng/ Nancy Pearlman

No on Measure A

Yes on Measure B

Beachhead Recommendations for the November 6 Election

Prop 30: Temporary School Funding – YES

Income tax on top 2% of income earners and temporary quarter cent sales tax. Raises $6 billion dollars for schools and higher education. No provision that the money will actually be spent on education.

Prop 31:   Cuts Educational Funding – NO

Shifts $200 Million from education and other social safety net programs.  Grants Governor extraordinary powers to cut health and social service programs.

Prop 32: Corporate SuperPAC Exemption – NO

Does away with union political spending while exempting corporation from same restrictions.

Prop 33: Good Driver Rate Hike - NO

Would allow auto insurance companies to raise rate on drivers due to break in coverage, regardless of good driving record.

PROP 34:  Ends The Death Penalty – YES

Eliminates the death penalty and replaces it with life imprisonment without possibility of parole.

PROP 35: Curbs Human Trafficking – YES

Increases penalties on human trafficking and those convicted will have to register as a sex offender.

PROP 36: Changes The Three Strike Law – YES

Limits ‘Three Strikes Law” to violent and/or sexual crimes, lowering prison populations.

PROP 37:  Labeling Genetically Altered Foods – YES

Requires genetically engineered food to be labeled as such and prevents such food from being labeled “natural”.

PROP 38: Competing School Funding Proposition – YES

Regressive income tax hike on individuals making as little as $7,316 a year. No funds for higher education. Guarantees that the money will be spent on education.

PROP 39: Closes Tax Loopholes On Out Of State Corporations – YES

Eliminates tax break that harms California business’ while helping out of state business’.  Funds education, social services and green jobs.

PROP 40: Approves New Senate Districts – YES

Protects newly redrawn Senate districts. Keeps the courts out of the process.

VNC Election Results

A record number of over 1600 voters cast their ballots at the October 28 Venice Neighborhood Council Elections. These are the winners:

President: Linda Lucks

Vice-President: Marc Saltzberg

Treasurer: Hugh Harrison

Secretary: Kristopher Valentine

Chair of Land Use and Planning Committee: Jake Kaufman

Communications Officer: Helen Stotler

Outreach Officer: Matt Kline

Factual Basis Community Officer: J. Lloyd Jacobs

At-large Community Officers:

Thomas Elliott

Ira Kuslow

Marisa Solomon

Sylvia Aroth

Abigail Myers

Max Sloan

Sevan Gerard

Eduardo Manilla

Oren Katzeff

Tommy Walker

Cynthia Rogers

Erin Sullivan-Ward

Scot Kramarich

People’s Reactions While Canvasing for Proposition 37 (YES! to Labeling GMOs) at the Ukiah Safeway 10/28/2012

“I’m a felon

I can’t vote!

And I didn’t murder the guy.”

“I’ve already voted,”

sly, grim smile;

with emphasis:

“by secret ballot.”

“I’ve already voted YES!”

YES! YES! YES!

big, happy smiles!!!

“YES! I’m planning to vote for it!”

thank-you for being out here!”

more smiley faces.

“YES! I’m in a wheelchair and

voting for it with my last leg!”

“YES! I’m obese!

GMOS are forced upon us

with no scientific or health studies whatsoever.”

“WOW! look at that photo of a rat’s

giant tumor from eating GMO corn.”

“It’s people’s own fault they

(SUPERSIZE ME!) drink too much soda.”

“I only shop at Farmer’s Markets so it doesn’t affect me.”

WRONG! Monsanto sues small farms

when Monsanto’s hybridized seeds

contaminate farmer’s heirloom and heritage crops.

“Don’t want no more guv’mint regulations.”

“There will be too many lawsuits.”

“It will cost the consumer.”

Price of a new label : .001 cent.

“It will benefit the Co-op.”

Hooray!

“We’re Jehovah’s Witnesses.

We don’t vote.

We believe God will solve the world’s problems.”

?????????????

“I’m voting YES!

I care about our Earth,

our health, and our children’s future.”

– Erica Snowlake

Don’t Sell Out!

By Bradley Bobbs

“Yes, I support the principles of Roseanne Barr and the Peace & Freedom Party; but realistically we know that she’s not going to win the election, so I’m going to vote for Obama to make sure that Romney doesn’t win.” Have you said this to yourself? (Or maybe it was about Libertarian Gary Johnson or Green Jill Stein.) If so, just what do you think you’re going to accomplish by selling out your principles like this? You didn’t seriously think that the election was going to be so close that your one vote would decide the result, did you? And you didn’t seriously think that, despite all the evidence to the contrary over the past many decades (including the 2008 election), a Democrat President was really going to do much different from what the Republican candidate would have done if he had won, did you?

So just what ARE you accomplishing by voting for the lesser of two evils instead of voting for good? You’re giving your vote of support to continuing the absolute rule of the Democrats and Republicans (or “Demoblicans” as I call them) and their power to crush any third-party competition. You’re accepting having your principles suppressed indefinitely, as long as the government occasionally throws them a bone to appease them. You’re saying that you don’t want any real change, you just want to stick with the status quo and the establishment that has created every problem that exists in our government today. You’re giving up on your principles and selling out, and sending that message out for all to see. Is that really what you want?

For decade after decade under Demoblican rule, the problems in our government just keep getting worse. The old problems rarely ever get solved, and just keep piling up as the government keeps creating new ones. We see the Presidency keep bouncing back and forth between Democrat and Republican, but rarely bringing about any real positive change. Yet gullible voters keep thinking “If only the Democrats (or Republicans) win this time, everything will get better!” How many times does this foolish expectation have to fail (and fail miserably) to happen until the voters wake up and see that the Demoblicans will only continue to make things worse?

There’s a reason the Demoblicans keep failing to fix the problems in our country:  It’s because that is NOT their goal. They may have an official platform of lofty principles, but they only give it lip service. There is only ONE principle that really means anything to them: Get elected, get power, get money, and get it by whatever means necessary. The Demoblican political machine doesn’t exist to serve YOU, it exists for you to serve IT. It will sweet-talk you, fool you, trick you, or strong-arm you, as needed, to get your vote and your money.  THAT is the goal of the Demoblicans. If you care about principles, you need to look elsewhere, to the candidates who struggle for the opportunity to improve their country only with grassroots support, WITHOUT benefit of a political machine.

If Roseanne is unlikely to win the election, have you thought about why that is? Is it really because her ideas are unpopular, and the Demoblicans have better ideas? Guess again. It’s because the Demoblicans have the power to crush the competition, and no qualms against abusing that power. The Democrats can’t eliminate the Republicans, and vice versa; but the two parties working together can sure as heck keep anyone else from winning. They have almost unlimited power and money at their disposal to do so. The Demoblicans use taxpayer money to fund their conventions and campaigns. They flood the airwaves with their propaganda. They make rules aimed specifically at keeping their competition off the ballots and out of the debates.

The Demoblicans once made a serious error years ago, when Jesse Ventura of the Reform Party was running for governor of Minnesota. They got overconfident and, thinking that Jesse didn’t have a chance of winning anyway, allowed him into the candidate’s debate. Well, once the public got to hear Jesse talk about having real principles, instead of the same old empty promises from the Demoblican candidates, he won the election; and for the first time, a state had a governor that was NOT Demoblican! You can be sure that the Demoblicans learned from their mistake, and that they will do everything in their power to make darn sure that you don’t get to hear third-party candidates debate against Demoblican candidates again!

But the Demoblicans can only crush their competition if the American people allow it. You don’t have to fall for their propaganda that tries to fool you into believing that Democrat and Republican are your only real choices. In fact, the only thing stopping the other candidates from winning is that belief. If the 99%, who supposedly are not happy with our current government and want change, would only do something as simple as voting FOR change instead of continually voting AGAINST change, then the change would come. Instead, most of them just keep voting Demoblican and then gripe about the pitiful consequences that they brought upon themselves.

So now think about what you could accomplish by standing up for your principles and casting your vote for Roseanne (or Gary or Jill or another third-party candidate). You could be sending out the message that you AREN’T happy with the status quo, that you want something better than the unprincipled Demoblican regime that exists only to serve the interests of their politicians by preying upon the American public. You could set an example to all those who don’t have the courage and insight you have to see how a true patriot votes. You could show them that a government run on real moral principles is easily within our grasp, if only they will join you. You could give them hope for a better country. Maybe it won’t happen in this election; but if we keep trying, and don’t sell out to the Demoblicans again, it will happen in time.

Give REAL change a chance. Just say no to the status quo. Vote against the Democrat-Republican regime this time. Don’t sell out!

Roseanne Barr, None Other

By Ronald K. Mc Kinley

Roseanne Barr, Presidential candidate for the Peace and Freedom party,  spoke on September 22 at the Church in Ocean Park. Sponsored by the Venice chapter of the Peace and Freedom Party, the event drew a full hose of about 400 attendees.

Born Roseanne Cherrie Barr on November 3, 1952 to Jewish parents in Salt Lake City, Utah, she could only have been a comedienne. Barr’s parents kept their Jewish heritage a secret from their neighbors. Barr’s paternal grandfather changed his surname from Borisofsky to Barr upon entering the U.S. from Russia.

In 1970, when Barr was 18, she moved out by telling her parents she was going to visit a friend in Colorado for two weeks; she never returned. She did stand-up while in Colorado, doing gigs in Denver and other Colorado clubs.

She appeared on The Tonight Show in 1985. In 1987 her HBO special, The Roseanne Barr Show, earned her an American Comedy Award. She was offered the role of Peggy Bundy in Married with Children, but she turned it down.

The Cosby Show executive producers Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner hired Cosby writer Matt Williams to write a script about factory workers, and Roseanne Carter was born. The show premiered October 18, 1988. Barr won an Emmy, a Golden Globe, a Kids Choice Award, and three American Comedy Awards.

During the final two seasons in ’96 and ’97, Barr earned $40 million; the only woman in show business earning more money was Oprah Winfrey.

Barr is the 2012 presidential nominee for the California-based Peace and Freedom Party.

She won the nomination the same day she was roasted by Comedy Central August 4. Her running mate is Cindy Lee Miller Sheehan, born July 10, 1957 in Inglewood, CA.

Barr announced her candidacy for presidential nomination of the Green Party earlier this year, but she lost to Jill Stein, a physician. Stein was a candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and 2010 gubernatorial elections. Mitt Romney was elected Governor in 2002.

When I walked up the carpeted stairs to enter the church proper, a black woman greeted me. She was the only woman of color there. She placed a Barr for President sticker on my chest. She wore corn rolls and one afro puff, centered on the back of her head, and a tie-dyed caftan. I found out later that this was Cynthia Mc Kinney, former Georgia Congresswoman and first African-American woman to represent Georgia in the House, former Green Party presidential candidate.

The event began with the Venice songbird Suzy Williams. What a way to begin!

Williams wowed the audience. The third song she sang, Roseanne Barr None, was             written by Williams, Brian Woodbury, and Brad Kay and is Barr’s official 2012 campaign song.

The lyrics were printed and passed out to the audience before-hand for a sing-a-long. Williams’s performance drew praise from Barr herself. Too bad if you missed this one. She is our treasure. She rocked.

Barr spoke about the need to remove the clowns from politics; she said she was the only true comedienne. She voiced what the people wanted to hear, but with humor.

Barr spoke of the fixed vote, the pentagon, and health care vs. health insurance, prison, and media military industrial complex. She spoke of how socialism is a bad word except when it’s for Wall Street.

She rallied against war, saying how the less privileged have to choose between war and prison. She also said that politics is the entertainment arm of the pentagon. She vowed to end the war on drugs, citing prohibition, the Volstead Act, and the lives and money wasted on enforcement.

She wants a vote not owned by the bankers, but change from the bottom up.

Barr sounds a lot like most third party candidates, and that is what America really needs.  That is why she will not win. America badly needs a woman’s touch and a Ms. President. And I don’t mean for housework, unless you mean the House of Representatives.

It was a fun evening thanks to Barr and Williams. But the joke is on us. The state America is in, is not funny. November will tell if we are still the land of the free and the home of the brave.

The Golden Age of Politics

By Chuck Bloomquist

Since Harry Truman stunned Thomas Dewey in the 1948 presidential election I have been a hard-core Democrat. For the same length of time I have been a practicing Contrarian.

In high school I wrote a paper arguing for the merits of “socialized medicine,” one of Harry Truman’s many enlightened initiatives. In my small Iowa town of rock-ribbed Republicans the paper was not well received, even though I had quoted the town’s only socialist in favor of the proposal and the local pharmacist who was vehemently opposed.

While in the Marine Corps I strongly supported Truman’s decision to sack MacArthur. This decision was wildly unpopular especially among the military and my fellow Marines. MacArthur very much wanted a clear-cut victory no matter what it took. Truman’s policy was to drive the North Koreans back across the 38^th parallel and call it quits. I discovered only recently, in Max Hastings book The Korean War, that MacArthur had a list of 26 sites in North Korea, along the Yalu River, and in China proper, that he wanted to attack with atomic bombs to “win”the war against the Chinese Communists. Thank goodness the contrarian view prevailed.

In 1948 I was too young to vote. In 1952 I was still too young to vote, although I had been in Korea for ten months. In the 14 presidential elections since I have voted in 13 of them and always for the Democratic candidate. In retrospect those were all good votes. The only election in which I failed to vote was the 1968 contest in which the Democratic convention forced the nomination of Hubert Humphrey in spite of the delegates won by Eugene McCarthy, who was the primo antiwar contender. This was a grievous mistake on my part. The criminality of Nixon’s reign has led inexorably to 40 years of Ayn (according to her, pronounced ‘swine’) Randian politics.

But we may be on the verge of, to quote one of my least favorite presidents, “a new morning in America.” Right now we have the best Democratic president since FDR. Unfortunately, he has been thrown into the worst political and economic situation in my lifetime. He inherited two unwinnable and unjustifiable wars at a time when our nominal allies could barely stand us, when our infrastructure resembled that of postwar Korea, when our health system was one of the worst in the industrialized world, government regulators were in the pockets of the regulated, nurses and teachers were excoriated as being greedy puppets dangling from the strings of their unions, and the global environment headed for almost certain disaster.

And then, to top it off, the entire world economy was on the brink of collapse thanks to the greed and arrogance of the worlds’ financiers.

Now, in this situation, one might think that everyone would do their best to support the president as he tried to deal with this myriad of problems. But no. The Republicans through the minority leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, among others, announced that their primary goal was to make sure that he was a one-term president. To this end he was to be denied any success, however small. They fought him at every turn and by using the filibuster in the Senate were able to deny him most everything he attempted to do. And his fair-weather friends castigated him for doing too little to solve the problems left after 30 years of Reaganism and eight years of Reaganism on steroids.

In spite of it all Obama keeps trying He may be the smartest president since Jefferson and the best politician since Lincoln or FDR. He did manage to pass the Affordable Care Act, a down payment on “socialized medicine,” which extended medical coverage to millions. In spite of Republican ambushes he ended the war in Iraq, is drawing down the war in Afghanistan, and has whacked Osama bin Laden. He has ended Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, passed Equal Pay for Equal Work legislation, and pushed through financial regulations to deal with the most egregious violations of the banksters. He rescued the auto industry, which put millions back to work and raised fuel efficiency standards in the bargain. Imagine what he might have done with a bit of help from the other side of the aisle.

To top it off in California we have in Jerry Brown arguably the best governor in the United States. After Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey referred to him as “an old retread” Brown responded by challenging Christie to a three-mile run. Brown has cut the state’ budget deficit, overseen two on-time budgets, reformed the state’s worker compensation system and implemented pension reform. With Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein we have two of the best United States Senators in that body, and a House delegation including Henry Waxman and Janice Hahn. Locally, we have a hardworking and intelligent mayor in Antonio Villaraigosa, a reasonable City Council president in Eric Garcetti, and our own energetic City Councilman, Bill Rosendahl and our beautiful and competent Venice Neighborhood Council president, Linda Lucks.

I suspect that most people think that they could do a better job than those named, or at the very least, could tell them how to do their jobs better.

As a life-long contrarian, I disagree. In spite of their peccadilloes and political maneuvering, we are lucky to have each of them. And as a life-long Democrat I urge you all to vote for Democrats every chance you get and to support them to the extent that your purse, energy and conscience allow. It is in the final analysis votes that win elections, not money.

Voting Like It Mattered

By Jim Smith

While some countries, including Egypt, Greece and recently France, are making a change from their old regimes to, well, something else, here in Venice we are stuck with the old “same old, same old.”

The ho-hum on your June 5 ballot will include candidates for U.S. President, Senator and Representative, as well as a California Assemblymember, assorted local officials and some questions (ballot measures) for you to answer.

If anything on the ballot is remotely important, it is denying Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich the opportunity to do even more damage as County District Attorney. Wrong-way Nuch is currently our L.A. City Attorney, where he spends his time fighting medical marijuana, homeless people and other issues of concern in Venice. Just vote for anyone else on the ballot for District Attorney. There will be a runoff.

This election will be conducted under the “Top Two” process which denies third parties their right to contend in the November election. That means this is your only chance to vote for Peace and Freedom, Greens and Libertarians, since the rules are rigged against any of them ever becoming one of the top two vote-getters. But in this election, you are permitted to vote for any candidate of any ballot-qualified party regardless of which party it is to which you belong. That is, a Republican can vote for a Democrat or vice versa, or for any third-party candidate.

Depending on your point of view, you might want to vote for Marsha Feinland (Peace & Freedom) or Gail Lightfoot (Libertarian) for Senator instead of multi-millionaire Dianne Feinstein. For Congress, you can vote for veteran politician Henry Waxman, whose district now includes Venice. Despite never having represented us, he will be listed as the incumbent on the ballot. Alternatives to Waxman include Bruce Margolin, a Democrat and lawyer, who represents those of us who have been busted for pot. Or you could vote for a Topanga Green, David Steinman, or for a Venice Libertarian, Steve Collett.

Waxman was one of the sponsors of a 2006 Postal Reorganization Act that plunged the Postal Service into billions of dollars of deficit by requiring that 75 years of future retiree medical care be paid in ten years. He has also turned a deaf ear to pleas from the community to use his Congressional clout to save our historic post office. A lower vote for Waxman than expected in Venice might get his attention.

What about the judges? There are several schools of thought on voting for judges. Some people won’t vote for anyone who might later put the voter in jail or prison. If you believe in affirmative action to help overcome white male privilege, then you should vote for the women and people of color who are running. If you want a reasoned analysis of why you should vote for a judge, you can consult political activist Jackie Goldberg, as the Beachhead has in past years. Her picks for the June Primary can be found at: http://bit.ly/N9HiyB.

Most of the candidates have web sites where they tell (in theory) what they stand for. They can all be found at: http://bit.ly/KYxR2A. You can find your polling place location at: www.lavote.net/LOCATOR. Polls are open Tuesday, June 5 from 7am to 8pm.

Whether you vote or not, remember that these people have exceptional power over us, and at the federal level, over the entire world. On June 6, the day after the election, let’s dedicate ourselves to a complete overhaul of a system that serves to protect the power of the 1 percent.

How Venice Voted – And Didn’t Vote

By Jim Smith

Since February, when Jane Harman abruptly resigned her seat in Congress, 16 candidates have been working hard to discuss important national and international issues with the voters of the 36th District, including Venice. Unfortunately, Venetians and other voters failed miserably to hold up their end of citizenship. In fact, a lesser percentage of people in Venice – around 15 percent – voted than in the district as a whole (18 percent).

If Venice were its own Congressional District (not a bad idea), there would be a runoff between Debra Bowen with 35 percent and Marcy Winograd with nearly 23 percent of the vote. Janice Hahn and Craig Huey who finished first and secord district-wide (and coincidentally spent the most money) were third and forth choices in Venice. However, Huey, an evangelical Christian Republican right-winger who exclaimed that he feared for his life when he came to Venice for a candidates’ forum, attracted 303 votes in our community. When is the next Tea Party meeting?

Janice Hahn won the election early-on when she suckered Bowen into signing a pledge to defend Israel, right or wrong, thereby causing the entry of Marcy Winograd into the race. What possessed Bowen to sign a pledge that even casual campaign observers spotted as a devious ploy by Hahn? Without Winograd in the race, Bowen would probably have come out on top in the primary, and Hahn knew it. Bowen, who most of us regarded as a savvy politician, further compounded her woes, as reported in last month’s Beachhead, by refusing to sign the Veterans for Peace pledge to vote against funding the wars, thereby losing even more votes from her progressive base.

So now, Hahn has by default become the progressive candidate fighting off a tea party-birther-make medicare a voucher-cut social services to the bone-right winger-multi-millionaire, Craig Huey, who doesn’t even live in the district. Venetians will now have to forget Bowen and Winograd and fall in line with the mainstream Democrat come what may. Even so, Hahn is not likely to take the lead in Congress in ending the wars and bombings, cutting the military budget, creating a public jobs program to reduce California’s 23 percent real unemployment rate (shadowstats.com) or backing the country off of Harman’s vision of spying on everyone. She might not even save our post office. Our best hope now is that years of JH (Jane Harman) will be followed by the election of JH (Janice Hahn). If only the other 85 percent of you had voted.

The chart below shows how the candidates did in the various Venice hoods. It includes the top three Democrats, the top three Republicans and the top Libertarian, Peace and Freedom and Coffee Party candidates. Read it and weep.

The final results won’t be issued until June 17 and will include a few more votes across the board. Check lavote.net for updates.

The Race Is On – For Congress

Eighteen candidates are running to replace Jane Harman as our Congressional Representative. Their political positions range from the Left to the Right, and far Right. Many of them will be sending you slick mailers every day between now and election day on May 17.

If no one gets more than 50 percent of the vote, which looks likely, the top two vote getters will go for another round to determine the final winner.

A candidates’ forum is planned by the Venice Neighborhood Council April 27th. 6:30 at Westminster Elementary.

 

Three of the candidates list a Venice mailing address. They are:

MICHAEL T. CHAMNESS, a Non-Profit Consultant who works at UCLA. Chamness is suing the Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, who is also running for this seat. Chamness objects to being identified as “No Party” when he is a member of the Coffee Party.

STEVE COLLETT is a Certified Public Accountant on Abbot Kinney Blvd. He is a Libertarian and is campaigning to legalize marijuana.

MARIA E. MONTANO is a Public School Teacher who teaches at Westchester High School. She immigrated from Mexico with her family and grew up in Venice. She is a Doctor of Education and the only Latina among the 18 candidates. She is also the only Peace and Freedom candidate.

 

Other candidates who have a relationship with Venice included:

DANIEL H. ADLER, a Parent/Entrepreneur/Producer who lists his address as Marina del Rey (but it’s really Venice). He is a Democrat.

DEBRA BOWEN is the current California Secretary of State who lives in the Oxford Triangle but is using a Torrance address in the campaign. She is a Democrat.

STEPHEN EISELE, a Businessman/Aerospace Entrepreneur, from the Marina is a Republican.

MATTHEW ROOZEE is listed as a Business Executive/Mathematician from the Marina. He has “No Party.”

JAMES L. THOMPSON calls himself Retired and is another “No Party” candidate from Mar Vista.

MARCY WINOGRAD is a High School Teacher whose office is in the Marina. She is a Democrat who ran against Jane Harman in 2006 and 2010,

 

Candidates from the South Bay, which is the other part of the district include:

PATRICK “KIT” BOBKO, an Independent Businessman/Councilmember in Hermosa Beach. He is a Republican.

MIKE GIN is the Mayor, City of Redondo Beach and a Republican.

JANICE HAHN is a Los Angeles City Councilwoman who has her office in Torrance. She is a Democrat.

CRAIG HUEY, a Small Business Owner, from Rolling Hills Estates is a Republican. He is rumored to be prepared to spend $1 million in the campaign.

GEORGE NEWBERRY is a Businessman from San Pedro, and a Republican.

KATHERINE PILOT is a Longshore Office Clerk from Hermosa Beach. She is a “No Party” candidate.

AL SALEHI lists himself as a Governing Boardmember/Entrepreneur from San Pedro. He is also “No Party.”

MIKE WEBB is the City Attorney/Prosecutor in Redondo Beach and also a Republican.

Congressional races have no residency requirement. That’s why LORAINE GOODWIN a Physician/Arbitrator/Teacher from Madera in the San Joachin Valley can run. She is a Democrat.

The front runners in the race will probably be Democrats Debra Bowen, Janice Hahn and Marcy Winograd, all of who have name recognition. Peace and Freedom candidate Maria Montaño may be a surprise vote getter as the only Latina and Spanish Surnamed candidate and by virtue of her professional credentials. Republicans Mike Gin, Craig Huey, and Mike Webb will be vying with each other to be the leading Republican vote getter in anticipation of redistricting which may split the district north and south, making the South Bay district more friendly to Republicans.

If you have internet access, go to http://bit.ly/dRr10C to see the list of candidates and their websites where they will tell you why you should vote for them.