Cedillo vs. Chu - It's a Race in the 32nd CD

After the huge voter turnout last November, it is almost embarrassing to note how few of us turned out for the various elections held this month in Los Angeles, Burbank, Pasadena and other cities. The aftermath of Prop. H8TE continues to play itself out but there are very few races to really get the blood flowing. The Open Primary legislation that state Senator Abel Maldonado was able to get on the statewide ballot for May 19th (as part of his budget deal concessions) is interesting—especially when coupled with the recent Redistricting measure passed by voters—but even then, the body politic will not have any heart palpitations over it.

The one race that has the promise of a real contest and political combat is the 32nd Congressional Special Election—also scheduled for May 19th. There are other candidates but the two frontrunners for the seat to replace former Representative and current Labor Secretary, Hilda Solis, are State Board of Equalization Member, Judy Chu, and State Senator Gilbert Cedillo. Many are friends with both progressive candidates and as one source who wished to remain anonymous noted, "It's like a fight within a family. I can't choose. I'm going to have to sit this one out."

The conventional wisdom is that Chu, known by many as a workhorse in political circles, has the edge given her endorsement by the L.A. County Federation of Labor, goodwill in the API community and Name ID in portions of the congressional district she represented while in the state legislature. She also has her husband and political powerhouse in his own right, Assemblymember Mike Eng, in her corner. Her campaign kick-off is tomorrow in Baldwin Park.

In terms of the 32nd Congressional District, it is located in Los Angeles County and includes portions of East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley—the cities of Azusa, Baldwin Park, Covina, Duarte, El Monte, Irwindale, South El Monte, West Covina and portions of Monterey Park. It is a heavily Latino district—63%—and is thus considered to be a “Latino” seat. Voter turnout last November was 53.65% and Rep. Solis received 130,142 votes.

But if energy, shoe leather and the will to win has anything to do with it, we will be saying “Mr. Cedillo Goes to Washington” in a couple of months. He brings his own Name ID with his work on the DREAM Act and and Driver's License Bill--two issues of importance to working class communities in the 32nd CD. [I worked on Cedillo’s first special election back in ’97 as well as served on his staff in '04/'05 so I am not the most objective of political observers.]

Many were surprised at both the number of people and level of excitement at his campaign kick-off last Saturday in El Monte. Both Rep. Xavier Becerra and Supervisor Gloria Molina gave rousing speeches and encouraged the crowd to work hard on his behalf. Local Councilmembers Hahn, Alarcon and Reyes were there and an assortment of former and current state officeholders. The two things I know about Cedillo is also brings his own version of being a political powerhouse—going back to his days growing up on the Eastside, his leadership at SEIU and his tenure in the legislature--and has a knack for beating the odds.