Betsy Butler Poised to Win California's 53rd AD Democratic Nomination

In a race marked by hundreds of thousands of dollars of "independent expenditures" by anti-consumer attorney forces (big corps, big insurance) aimed at stopping non-profit development director Betsy Butler from gaining the Democratic nomination (and, later, for securing the nomination for James Lau), Butler is poised to burst through that opposition and claim the Democratic nomination in California's 53rd Assembly District.

With nearly 55 percent of the vote counted in this eight-way race, Butler has steadily expanded her lead over Lau and the others as ballots cast on election day are added to the earlier tabulated vote-by-mail ballots. Butler has collected 26.2 percent of the votes cast, while Lau stands at 18.5 percent. Manhattan Beach Mayor Mitch Ward holds 14.8 of the vote, while Deputy City Attorney Nick Karno has moved up to 13.9% of ballots cast. Attorney Kate Anderson, a Mar Vista Community Council member trails the pack of double-digit contenders with 12.1 percent of the vote.

Peter Thottam. Edgar Saenz and Diane Wallace all hover around five percent of the vote.

Harman Defeats Winograd in 36th CD (CA); Butler, Lau Lead Pack in 53rd AD (CA) in Early Returns

Congresswoman Jane Harman (D - Venice) took an early 30% lead over her opponent, Marcy Winograd, in initial returns. With just over 8,500 votes counted, Harman had 65% of the vote to Winograd's 35%.

In the heavily contested 53rd Assembly District Democratic primary, with absentee plus 4.7 percent of precincts reporting, Betsy Butler had 24.3% of the vote (1,522 votes), followed by James Lau, with 21.5% (1,347 votes), and Mitch Ward at 18.2% (1,137 votes). Following behind in early returns were Nick Karno (12.2%), Kate Anderson (10.3%), with three others below 5 percent.

It is unknown which precincts were reporting; early returns are subject to major change.

Who Is the "Asian American Small Business PAC" & Why Are They Supporting James Lau for Assembly?

It sounds like a no-brainer. Why wouldn't the "Asian American Small Business PAC" be supporting James Lau, the sole Asian candidate* to replace Ted Lieu as State Assemblyman in California's 53rd Assembly District?

But I wondered, which Asian small businesses make up the "Asian American Small Business PAC" (AASB PAC)? My research led to some surprises.

The largest contributors to AASB PAC over the last year or so have been AT&T and their affiliates ($25,000), the California Medical Association (CMA) small contributors committee ($15,000) and tobacco giant Phillip Morris USA, Inc. ($15,000). Energy powerhouse PG&E (sponsors of Proposition 16) earlier gave $15,000 to AASB PAC.

The most recent contributors to the "Asian American Small Business PAC" have been the following companies / related PACs: Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lily & Company, Time Warner Cable, Union Pacific Railroad Company, PriceWaterhousCoopers, LLP, State Building & Construction Trades Council, Comcast, Fed Ex, the CMA (again, this time for $5,000), Chicago big-firm attorney Gail Morse, & Verizon. Evidently no Asian American small business among the bunch in the last year or two, or among the larger contributors.

Records show that that group is now spending $14,885 (in three separate payments of about $4962 over the course of less than a week) in support of James Lau's candidacy, in what may be the first independent expenditure in favor of a candidate in the Democratic primary in the 53rd.

While the contributions to AASB PAC may come from some of America's biggest companies, the contributions seem to be directed to the election of Asian Americans to public office. So perhaps the contribution to Lau was a no-brainer after all.


*Note: It has been brought to our attention that Peter Thottam, a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 53rd AD, is also of (East) Asian (Indian) ancestry. We apologize for the oversight.

Why Do Three Major Republican-Oriented Business Groups Want to Defeat Betsy Butler in the 53rd AD Democratic Primary?

Residents of the 53rd Assembly District (covering the South Bay, Marina del Rey, Mar Vista, Venice) have been bombarded by an anti-Betsy Butler campaign being waged primarily by three anti-consumer / pro-business / corporate groups. Those groups have a history of working to defeat progressive Democrats in Democratic primaries and in general elections.

Many of those following the Democratic primary race in the 53rd (currently represented by Ted Lieu (D), who is "termed out" of office, and seeking the Democratic nomination for California Attorney General) are asking why Butler is being targeted, and who the "independent" committees would prefer as the Democratic nominee in the 53rd AD.

(The Democratic nominee is certain to be heavily favored for election in November in a district in which the Democrats hold a 12% registration advantage.)

The three "independent" corporate / business groups which have already spent more than $450,000 to defeat Betsy Butler are: 1) "Californians for Balance and Fairness in the Civil Justice System, Sponsored by the Civil Justice Association of California" ("CJAC"); 2) "Californians Allied For Patient Protection Independent Expenditure Account" ("CAPP" - also known as "Coalition to Protect MICRA" - MICRA being the $250,000 cap on non-economic damages in cases of medical malpractice), and 3) "Cooperative Of American Physicians Independent Expenditure Committee" ("COAP" - which provides insurance, financial & risk management services to physicians).

Members of the board of directors of and recent major contributors to CJAC include some of the largest oil, insurance, medical, pharmaceutical, computer and real estate development firms in the world. What are the goals of CJAC and its member corporations in so vigorously opposing Butler? CJAC states that they seek to limit the risks to their members posed by litigation (including, presumably, litigation in which their products and services injured, maimed or killed members of the public.) They seek to defeat legislation supported by proponents of consumers rights. As Betsy Butler has worked as development director for the Consumer Attorneys of California, she would seem to be a natural target for CJAC.

How has CJAC used their funds to influence elections in the past? Here are two examples:

CJAC fought to try to keep Martin (Marty) Block from winning the 78th AD seat, (San Diego County) spending nearly $189,000 to support a Dem opponent who appeared not very electable (Maxine Sherard, who ran and lost in 2002, 2004 and 2006.) In addition to supporting his Democratic opponent in the primary, CJAC spent nearly $108,000 to oppose Marty Block. After Block won the Democratic nomination, CJAC spent over $81,000 to support his Republican opponent (John McCann). So, rather than supporting Ms. Sherard, CJAC was clearly focused on stopping Marty Block's political career. Block won.

CJAC also worked to put Joe Nation, a Democrat who is now a consultant for PG&E, into office, providing over $250,000 in spending in support of Nation, evidently in his race against Mark Leno for the State Senate in 2008. (Nation also ran against Lynn Woolsey, co-chair of the Progressive Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives.)

Presumably CJAC's constituent corporations want to keep Betsy Butler out of the Statehouse to prevent her from championing legislation which will go against their corporate interests. But why are the other two committees, "CAPP" and "COAP" spending over $300,000 to defeat Butler?

And, one might wonder, who among the Democrats in the race would these pro-business / anti-consumer committees prefer? Which candidate is likely to have a approach more to their liking?

More on CAPP and COAP and their instructive history of campaign expenditures - including against Hannah-Beth Jackson and in favor of Tony Strickland - in a forthcoming column.

Elena Kagan to Be Nominated to Supreme Court - AP

AP reports that Solicitor General Elena Kagan will be nominated by President Barack Obama to replace Justice John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ms. Kagan, who was the first female dean of Harvard Law School, was also the first woman to serve as Solicitor General -- the lawyer who represents the United States before the Supreme Court.

From Wikipedia:

Kagan earned a A.B. from Princeton University, summa cum laude, in 1981,... an M.Phil degree from Oxford University, ... (and) a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School ... (where she was) Supervisory Editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Kagan was a law clerk for Judge Abner Mikva of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and for Justice Thurgood Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court. She later entered private practice as an associate at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Williams & Connolly.^[1]

Kagan was a professor of law at the University of Chicago, and served as Associate White House Counsel under President Bill Clinton.

Kagan, 50, has never served as a judge on any court. AP points out that she would be "the first justice without judicial experience in almost 40 years."

If confirmed, she would be the fourth woman on the Court in history, with three of them serving together on the current Court. She would be the third Jewish member on the current Court, and the eighth Jewish member in the Court's history.

Tsunami Headed For Hawaii -- Coastal Evacuations Ordered

The State of Hawaii has ordered the evacuation of all coastal areas in advance of the tsunami expected to hit the islands starting at 11:19 a.m. (local time) this morning.

All ships are being ordered out of port, and Waikiki hotels are being evacuated along with all low-lying areas. Tsunami warning sirens are being sounded starting at 6 a.m. this morning.

The island of Hawaii, and particularly the Hilo Bay area, is the "worst-case scenario" area.

The tsunami was formed in the aftermath of the 8.8 magnitude quake which hit the Chilean coast earlier this morning.

For a local perspective, see: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage .

House Passes Health Care Bill

On a vote of 220 to 215, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a sweeping health care bill. Thirty nine Democrats voted against the bill, which includes controversial new restrictions on funding for abortions. Unexpectedly, one Republican, Anh Cao of Louisiana, (the Republican who defeated disgraced Congressman William Jefferson in a heavily Democratic district), voted in favor of the bill.


The debate over national health care reform now shifts to the U.S. Senate; after the Senate cobbles together its final bill, that bill, if passed by the Senate, will be sent to a Conference Committee, where the differences between the bills will be worked out (or not.)