Tony Cardenas Is Headed To Congress: Howard Berman Endorsement Clears Last Roadblock

By Gene Maddaus Fri., Sep. 23 2011 at 11:14 AM

Tony Cardenas

Looks like Councilman Tony Cardenas can start looking for apartments in Washington, D.C.

Today, he got the endorsement of Rep. Howard Berman in his race for the new "Latino" Congressional seat in the San Fernando Valley. That appears to eliminate the most serious threat to Cardenas' campaign: the chance that Berman would move into the district and bigfoot him out of the race.

Berman, of course, has been drawn into the adjacent San Fernando Valley district with Rep. Brad Sherman. The Berman and Sherman camps are now playing chicken -- each side is trying to convince the other to move into a different district to avoid a costly showdown.

Howard Berman

To extend the metaphor, Berman's endorsement today of Cardenas is the equivalent of tying his own hands so he can't swerve out of the way.

Your move, Brad Sherman.

Berman's allies, including Henry Waxman, would like to see Sherman move into an open Ventura County district. But that district is much tougher for a Democrat to win, and Sherman has already ruled it out.

If you had to bet at this point, it looks like Berman and Sherman are indeed headed for a very expensive clash. And if Sherman's poll is to be believed, Sherman has the edge.

Brad Sherman

Cardenas, on the other hand, looks like he's going to coast to victory. He's been lining up all the endorsements, and there's been no talk of anybody substantial stepping up to challenge him. Berman looked like the only potential obstacle, and now that's out of the way.

"California's redistricting process creates a historic opportunity for valley Latinos to have a strong and unified voice in Congress for the first time," Cardenas said in a statement. "The opportunity to be the valley's first Latino Congressional representative is humbling and I'm proud that so many diverse leaders have come together to support this campaign."

Tags:

Brad Sherman, Congress, Howard Berman, redistricting, Tony Cardenas

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Assistance_legal

Another corrupt congressman...more depressing news. Do you have any good news?

David Hernandez

OpportunityComes to the North East San Fernando Valley

Politicianspicking their voters have become a way of life in California. The termGerrymandering has become a common and often accepted way of insuring the samepolitical machines maintain the same stronghold on the residents of thedistricts they control.

No other example demonstrates this realitymore than the North East San Fernando Valley. For almost two decades the samepower base has kept a tight rein on some of the poorest communities in LosAngeles.

Those involved in this process, know thiswas not by chance and was a design for gaining power and keeping it at alllevels of government.

The plan was to secure not only apolitical position but to achieve the position of leadership from Los Angelesto Sacramento.

Those in other political positions wereoften content to sit idly by no matter what the consequences to the communitiesas long as it served to keep them in a position of power.

With the ability to muster vast sums ofmoney due to their politically connected projects, those behind the scenes,directing their stable of politicians; combined with a voter base that wasapathetic at best and downright disheartened at worst, they have been able togain a stronghold with a very minimal number of votes.

One only has to research the number ofvotes received by these individuals to see the reality and frailty of theirhold on the districts they control.

The individual credited with drawing thedistrict lines which determined which voters were in which districts and whothey could vote for, was the brother of the congressman who has been in officefor decades.

With the political machines supplying thefunding, the politicians in higher office going along to maintain their powerbase and finally the manner in which the districts and voter base weremanipulated, the voters had no real opportunity for prosperity.

With the creation of a new CongressionalDistrict in the North East San Fernando Valley and coupled with a new electionprocess; a window of opportunity has opened for those in the new 29thDistrict.

At the onset, those in power rushed to usethe same politically race based rhetoric which has served them in the past.After one and a half decades of control, that method of gaining politicaladvantage is lost, as they have been the ones in control. In spite of thatcontrol and hundreds of millions of dollars flowing through their fingers,their community is still suffering.

As a final parting effort to gain somelast ounce of benefit from a position of support, the political machine and itscandidate have been given the nod of approval by the outgoing politician. Not unexpected, but a further case in point.As his brother was no longer in a position to draw the district and pick thevoter base; did he believe he could insure the seamless transfer of politicalpower and thus receive some support for him?

As one newspaper put it, this was the lastobstacle in keeping the candidate from going to congress.

I believe all are mistaken; the nextcongressman for the 29th District will not be chosen by the politicalmachine which has held a strong hold over the North East Valley, or thepolitically connected special interest or even the outgoing congressman.

No, the Congressman for the 29thDistrict will be chosen by the voters from the communities of Sylmar, SunValley, North Hollywood, Valley Village, Valley Glen, Van Nuys, Panorama City,Arleta, Pacoima, Mission Hills, Lake View Terrace and the City of San Fernando.

It will not be determined by politicalparty or the amount reflected on a campaign finance reporting document.

No, this election will be based on theturnout of individuals who are informed and aware of the tract record and levelof interaction between the candidates involved.

The voters of the 29th Districthave been given an opportunity and from all indications on the ground, theywill seize it.

Counting them out of the process will be amistake and will result in an upset on the level we have seen across thecountry…

David Hernandez Candidate for the 29th Congressional Districtwww.davidhernandezforcongress....