Tomorrow is the municipal election in California's seventh largest city--Long Beach. The mayoral race is hotly contested and will go to a top two run off if no candidate gets 50%.
The candidates include Democratic Assembly member Bonnie Lowenthal, Democratic council members Robert Garcia and Gerrie Schipske, Democratic community college trustee Doug Otto, and former NFL player and businessman Damon Dunn. Dunn was a Republican when he ran for Secretary of State in 2010. He's now an NPP, likely because a Republican couldn't get elected here. Also running are nonprofit executive Jana Shields, businessman Steve Mozena, state auditor Mineo Gonzalez and residents Richard Anthony Camp and Eric Rock.
Dianne Feinstein beat Elizabeth Emken here 71%-29%. Party registration is 51% Democratic/20% Republican. None of the major candidates are registered Republicans. The race is non-partisan, so there won't be an indication of who is what party on the ballot.
Dunn is the most conservative candidate in the field and he does have the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce's Political Action Committee's endorsement. Otto, however, has been around a long time. Though he's a Democrat, he's seen as a moderate. He has endorsements from Former California Governor George Deukmejian, who is a Long Beach resident, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, who represents the area. Both are Republicans.
I haven't seen any polling. Lowenthal is regarded as the strongest candidate, so I'd have to think she'd finish top two. After that, it's anyone's guess. With so many Democrats on the ballot, I'd think that Dunn could generate a lot of votes, but Otto is likely going after Republicans. The run-off is June 3, coinciding with the state's primary.
No comments:
Post a Comment