Assembly District 50: Club Endorsements Up in the Air for Richard Bloom and Betsy Butler

Betsy Butler and Richard Bloom

In the always interesting California Assembly District 50 race, new developments are once again unfolding that make us wonder what's happening behind the scenes among local Democratic leaders.

Last week, as WeHo News reported, both Democratic candidates Richard Bloom and Betsy Butler, who are battling each other in the AD 50 race, failed to win an endorsement from the West Hollywood/Beverly Hills Democratic Club. The political group is going to consider that again in September.

Now, the West Hollywood-based Stonewall Democratic Club has pushed back its endorsement vote for AD 50. What's going on here?

As we pointed out in a recent LA Weekly feature story about the hotly contested AD 50 race, these endorsements have little to do with the actual substance of a candidate.

Instead, it's a numbers game.

Whoever "stacks" an endorsement meeting with the most supporters wins. That's it. A careful examination of a candidate's stance on the issues doesn't matter one whit.

We suspect West Hollywood/Beverly Hills and Stonewall Democrats are now figuring out the numbers, not if Bloom or Butler is the best candidate based on the issues -- and how in the coming weeks they can make things work best for their preferred candidate.

We're keeping our eye on how things play out. Voters in AD 50, which is one of the most liberal and wealthiest political districts in the country, will have their say in November.

Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.

Tags:

Assembly District 50, Betsy Butler, Democrats, endorsements, Patrick Range McDonald, Richard Bloom

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david

Let me correct myself and my previous post (too early in the morning): the Coastal Assembly District should be similar to the Valley Berman vs. Sherman event. The 50th Assembly District race should be between two long term legitimate residents, i.e.: Bloom vs. Osborn.

I apologize.

david

Paul Koretz the current City of Los Angeles Councilman and former West Hollywood Official and State Assemblyman has a big "Re-elect Betsy" sign in front of his resident. He supports carpetbagging. Also isn't he a member of a variety of Pro-Democratic commissions and groups? Oh that's right, he carpetbagged himself, from West Hollywood.

Betsy Butler shouldn't even be in this race/run-off. The contest should be Bloom vs. Osborn. Butler should be running against the other current Coastal District Assemblyman that covers an area where she actually lives. Instead we had a situation where a controlling John Perez calls the shots. And decides who carpetbags where.

The 50th Assembly District "should" be a contest similar to the Berman vs. Sherman event in the valley.

ConsultantFeesAreToo

Carpetbagging? I guess Hillary Clinton, Bobby Kennedy and a host of other great Democrats can be accused of the same thing. Last time I checked she got the most votes in a crowded primary the same way she did two years ago in another tough battle.

Democrats who want to become legislators shouldn't attack the sitting speaker. Richard Bloom understands that reality and is running a good campaign unlike those who crashed an burned in the first round of voting with trivial personal attacks that simply backfired.

Democrats will be well served no matter who wins and let this race be a lesson to party officials who continue to resist contesting these open primaries in the courts as obviously unconstitutional. Political parties have a right to nominate candidates in a closed party process.

helpfulheroine

These endorsements may be a joke, but the saddest joke is that people keep voting in the same old narcissistic hacks who have run our beautiful and once vibrant state into the ground, all while making more money for themselves. Disgusting.

BHResd

This is thanks to Torie Osborn who packed the room with paid members. And now these clubs and groups are left with little reputation and no credibility.... All these endorsements are a joke, thank god I am not involved.

martaevry

@BHResd It's actually not possible for anyone to stack the SMRR group, since all voting members must reside in Santa Monica, and there are other registry requirements involved. As for the WeHo/Beverly Hills club, Butler's own supporters admitted none of Torie's supporters were in attendance. So ease up there, hater.

ConsultantFeesAreToo

These endorsements carry little weight with voters as confirmed by Richard Bloom's well run effort. If I recall he received the least amount of endorsements. Ironically Bloom did not receive the SMRR endorsement again, but does anyone believe he won't win Santa Monica outright? This is all inside baseball for a few perceived insiders when the hard reality is that most voters could care less. Both Bloom & Butler are well qualified Democrats who will vote the same probably 90 percent of the time. The reason why the race continues to be so tight is that there's so little difference between them that can be considered substanial or relevant. Speaker Perez has his preference, but I'm sure can live with whomever the voters ultimately choose.

martaevry

Nether candidate won another important endorsement on Sunday, this time from the Santa Monicans For Renters Rights. You can read an extensive report about that here: http://veniceforchange.blogspot.com/2012/07/betsy-bulter-loses-2nd-ad50-endorsement.html