Butler slips farther behind Bloom in latest vote update

 

Assemblywoman Betsy Butler has slipped 888 votes behind Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom in their close race for an Assembly seat on the Westside.

The most recent ballot tally by Los Angeles County election officials, released Monday afternoon, showed Bloom with 89,705 votes to Butler's 88,817. This is the widest margin to date in the race as counties continue to process ballots they were unable to count on election night.

Counties have until Dec. 4 to finish counting those ballots, which consist of some mail-in ballots; some so-called "provisionals," which have to be checked against voter registration rosters and verified as valid; and some too damaged to be read by tabulating machines.

Both candidates are Democrats who competed in the Nov. 6 general election because of the state's new "top two" primary system. Incumbent Butler had substantial backing from Assembly Speaker John A. Perez (D-Los Angeles) and the California Democratic Party.

County officials, who have been processing ballots daily and posting updated tallies every few days, could not say how many ballots remain to be counted in this race.

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-- Jean Merl

Photos: Assembly candidates Betsy Butler and Richard Bloom. Credits: Butler campaign and Danny Moloshok / Associated Press

 

 

 

Bloom widens lead over Butler in tight Westside Assembly race

In the latest tally of ballots remaining from election day,  Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom widened his lead over Assemblywoman Betsy Butler to 430 votes.

Bloom has 87,270 votes, or 50.12%, to Butler's 86,840, or 49.88%, according to the update provided Friday afternoon by Los Angeles County elections officials.  The next update is scheduled for Monday.

The candidates for the 50th Assembly District on the Westside, both Democrats, are locked in one of the tightest races in California, with the outcome still uncertain more than two weeks after the Nov. 6 general election.

Counties have until Dec 4 to finish tabulating ballots and report results to the secretary of state.   Legislators are to be sworn in Dec. 3, putting extra pressure of election workers to finish the job. 

It was unknown Friday how many ballots remain to be tabulated in this contest.

 

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Photos: Assembly candidates Betsy Butler and Richard Bloom. Credits: Butler campaign and, for Bloom, Danny Moloshok/Associated Press

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bloom lead over Butler narrows in Assembly race

Santa Monica Mayor Richard's Bloom lead over Assemblywoman Betsy Butler in a tight Westside race has slipped to just 79 votes, the latest tally showed.

An updated ballot count Tuesday by the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder's office put Bloom's vote total to date at 85,508, or 50.02%, while Butler has 85,429, or 49.98%.

The next update will be Friday afternoon, elections officials said.

Countywide, nearly 216,000 ballots remain to be counted, officials said. They could not provide an estimate for the still-to-be-counted number in this contest, for the 50th Assembly District.

Both candidates are Democrats so the outcome will not affect the balance on power in the Assembly but could reflect on Assembly Speaker John A. Perez (D-Los Angeles), who strongly backed the incumbent Butler, as did the California Democratic Party.

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Proposition 30 win gives Brown a major boost

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Proposition 30 win no guarantee of fiscal safety for California

 --Jean Merl

Photos: Assembly candidates Betsy Butler and Richard Bloom. Credits: Butler campaign and, for Bloom, Danny Moloshok/Associated Press

 

 

 

With election, California Legislature remains a family affair

If current election results stand, the California Legislature will continue its tradition of simultaneous service by multiple members of the same family.

Assemblyman Bill Berryhill (R-Stockton) has a slight lead, with votes still being counted, to win the 5th Senate District, which would allow him to join his brother, Sen. Tom Berryhill (R-Modesto) in the state’s upper house. Assemblywoman Beth Gaines (R-Rocklin) has won reelection in the 6th  Assembly District, while her husband, Sen. Ted Gaines (D-Rocklin), has been given another term by voters in the 1st Senate District.

And then there is the Calderon family, which now has had four members serve in the Legislature. Assembly Majority Leader Charles Calderon could not run for reelection because of term limits, but his son, Democrat Ian Calderon of Hacienda Heights, has won election to the 57th Assembly District. The freshman's uncle, Ron Calderon, is a state senator from Montebello.

Other legislators share the same last name but are not related, which does not lessen the confusion. There are two Hernandezes and two Perezes, but those are fairly common names.

But what are the odds of two people named Quirk being elected as freshmen legislators this year and not being related? Bill Quirk is a Hayward City Councilman and astrophysicist who is leading in the vote count for the 20th Assembly District. Hundreds of miles away, Fullerton teacher Sharon Quirk-Silva is leading in the vote count for the 65th Assembly District.

The two Democrats are used to being asked if they are related. "I wish we were related. It would make a great story,’’ Bill Quirk said in an email. "However, we are not related."

Sharon Quirk-Silva is divorced from her husband, who is named Quirk. "I am probably not related to her husband," Bill Quirk said. "My family came from Ireland to Geneseo, New York. Her former husband’s family was from Wisconsin. Quirk is a common name in Ireland and the British Isles."

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-- Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento

Photo:  Republican Assemblyman Bill Berryhill, pictured, is leading in the vote count to join his brother Tom in the Senate. Credit: AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli.

 

New California lawmakers to get less pay than predecessors

The 39 new state legislators taking office next month in California will be paid 5% less than their predecessors, thanks to a citizens panel that has been dominated by frugal appointees of former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But the panel may be more generous in the future. Two Schwarzenegger appointees' terms expire at the end of this year, and Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown has a chance to put in new people that would give him a majority on the seven-person Citizens Compensation Commission. In addition, the state is going to end this year better off financially than it has in years, thanks to tax increases approved by voters.

While dominated by Schwarzenegger appointees, the panel cut all legislators' and the governor’s pay by 18% in 2009, and this year approved a further 5% reduction, which affects all lawmakers including new ones and veterans, The group cited the state’s ongoing budget problems. The latest cut, which takes effect with the swearing in of new lawmakers Dec. 3, means California legislators will be paid $90,526 annually, down $4,765 from this year’s salary.

Commissioner Chuck Murray, a Schwarzenegger appointee whose term does not expire this year, said he does not feel sorry for the lawmakers. "They are still the highest paid in the United States," he said. Noting that the economy is still distressed and unemployment high, he added, "And I’m going to feel sorry for them? No. They are working."

New lawmakers, including some taking pay cuts from their current non-legislative jobs, are not complaining publicly. "I haven’t thought about it at all," said Reggie Jones-Sawyer, who is leaving a job as director of Asset Management for the city of Los Angeles to represent the 59th Assembly District. "I’ll be adjusting my budget accordingly."

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-- Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento

Photo: Voters cast their ballots at a polling site in South Pasadena on Nov. 6. Credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

 

Richard Bloom's small lead grows over Betsy Butler for Assembly

Nearly two weeks after the election, Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom’s lead over Assemblywoman Betsy Butler (D-Marina del Rey) has grown to 291 votes.

With more than 160,000 votes counted and thousands of provisional ballots still being tallied, the race remains one of the closest in the state.

Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan estimated Friday that there are more than 340,000 ballots that remain to be counted countywide.

Two other Assembly races were deemed close by the secretary of state.

In the 18^th Assembly District race between two Democrats, Rob Bonta has a 1,443-vote lead over Abel Guillen with more than 150,000 votes counted.

In the 20^th Assembly District race, also between two Democrats, Bill Quirk has a 917-vote lead over Jennifer Ong.

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-- Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento

Photo: Voters cast their ballot at a polling site in South Pasadena on Nov. 6. Credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

Lungren unseated by Democrat for Sacramento-area House seat

Democrat Ami Bera has defeated veteran Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Lungren in a nationally watched  Sacramento-area race, the Associated Press declared Thursday.

A Lungren spokesman, however, said the congressman was not conceding.

"It will be an honor to serve Sacramento County in Congress," Bera said in a written statement.

"Now is the time to find common ground and move forward to rebuild an economy that works for the middle class," he said. "Congressman Lungren deserves our appreciation for his long record of public service."

While thousands of ballots remained uncounted, Bera campaign manager Josh Wolf said that Bera has been widening his lead over Lungren since election day. On Thursday, Bera led Lungren by more than 5,000 votes.

The tight race has created an awkward situation on Capitol Hill where Bera, a physician, is attending an orientation for new House members organized by the Committee on House Administration, chaired by Lungren.

The race was among the House contests that drew the most outside money -- more than $9 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. 

Lungren has been a political fixture in California: a former state attorney general, Republican nominee for governor and one of the few members of Congress to have represented two different districts hundreds of miles apart.

Last week's election -- following the redrawing of district boundaries by a citizens' commission instead of politicians and a spate of retirements by incumbents -- has led to the biggest shake-up of the California congressional delegation in 20 years.

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Photo: New U.S. Rep. Ami Bera. Credit: AP Photo / The Sacramento Bee, Lezlie Sterling

Bakersfield area Assembly race called, 2 others still being counted

Democrat Rudy Salas Jr., a Bakersfield city councilman, has won election over Republican Pedro Rios in one of two close state Assembly races needed to cement a two-thirds majority for Democrats in the lower house, according to the Associated Press.

Salas extended his lead to 2,503 votes on Tuesday morning. Rios, a former Delano city councilman who owns Rios Portable Toilets, had not conceded, but Salas supporters said his lead would be difficult to overcome given the ballots that remain to be counted in the 32^nd Assembly District.

To get a supermajority, Democrats also have to win the 65^th Assembly District race in Orange County.

There, Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva, a Fullerton city council member, has a 2,222-vote lead over Republican Assemblyman Chris Norby of Fullerton. Norby has not conceded the contest. There were more than 14,800 ballots still to be counted.

In another close race, this one between two Democrats, Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom held a 103-vote lead over Assemblywoman Betsy Butler after 142,000 votes were counted in the 50^th Assembly District. An unkown number of other ballots remain to be counted.

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Rep. Bono Mack concedes defeat in Coachella Valley race

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Palm Springs) on Friday conceded defeat in her Coachella Valley congressional race against Democratic emergency room doctor Raul Ruiz.

"Today, I called Dr. Ruiz and congratulated him on his impressive victory. Dr. Ruiz will
do a fine job if he is guided as well by the people of the congressional district as I was. Please give him the opportunity to succeed,'' Bono Mack said in a statement. 

Ruiz said he thanked Bono Mack for her dedicated public service when the two spoke Friday, and he assured voters that he would strive to represent all voters in the district, whether they are Democrats, Republicans or independents.

"I believe that this election sends a message that it's time to put an end to partisan gridlock,'' Ruiz said. "I'm excited to go to Washington and represent the entire district -- including supporters of Congresswoman Bono Mack. The issues that we have to work on are clear: the high cost of healthcare, bringing jobs to the Coachella Valley, and investing in education and renewable energy.

Bono Mack fought the toughest battle of her 14-year political career, which began when she was elected to replace her husband, singer Sonny Bono, in Congress after his death in a skiing accident.

California’s rejiggered political maps, combined with a decline in GOP voter registration, turned the contest into a high-stakes tossup. The split between Republicans and Democrats in the district, which includes Palm Springs, Indio and Blythe, is less than 1 percentage point. 

During the campaign, Bono Mack accused Ruiz of being a “radical” for taking part in a Native American protest of Thanksgiving when he was a Harvard medical student in the late 1990s.

Ruiz assailed Bono Mack for supporting the budget plan of GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin member of Congress; Ruiz said the plan would decimate Medicare.

The political parties and outside groups spent more than $3.3 million in the race.

-- Phil Willon

twitter.com/philwillon

Photo: Raul Ruiz. Source: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

 

Gap shrinks in close Assembly race

A close Westside Assembly race got even tighter when Los Angeles County elections officials released an updated vote tally Friday afternoon.

Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom's 212-vote election night lead over Assemblywoman Betsy Butler dropped to 103 votes. 

Both candidates for the 50th Assembly District are Democrats and their Nov. 6 competition was made possible by the state's new primary system, which sends the top two vote-getters to the general election, regardless of party.

The Registrar-Recorder's office announced it had counted an additional 98,896 ballots countywide, mostly mail votes, since election night. More than 693,000 remain. 

Officials could not say how many ballots are yet to be tallied in specific contests. The next update is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

Statewide, some 3 million have yet to be processed. The uncounted are mostly vote-by-mail ballots submitted on election day and provisional ballots that include those turned in by people whose names were not on the lists at polling places but who believe they are registered to vote.

Counties have until Dec. 4 to finish tabulating the eligible ballots.

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Photo: Voting at an Alhambra fire station during the Nov. 6 general election. Credit: AFP / Getty Images