Torie Osborn wins Assembly race endorsement at Malibu forum

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In a battle among three Democrats for a new, open Assembly seat, activist Torie Osborn was the overwhelming choice of the Malibu Democratic Club after a candidates forum on Sunday. But her victory may prompt a revision of the club’s endorsement rules.

Jean Goodman, the club’s president and the forum’s moderator, estimated that at least three-fourths of the approximately 80 people who attended the event at Malibu City Hall were not Malibu residents and had never before attended a meeting of the club and probably never would again.

Club rules allow anyone in attendance to vote as long as he or she has signed up for membership at least 30 days in advance of a club endorsement vote. The forum was scheduled well before the 30-day deadline, and Osborn’s supporters appeared to have seized the opportunity to join.

Osborn got 41 votes, Assemblywoman Betsy Butler of Marina del Rey received five and Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom received none; there were 13 votes for “no endorsement.”

Goodman said she is considering asking for a review and possible change of the rules.

The Westside-based 50th Assembly District seat is part of new political maps drawn for the first time by a voter-authorized independent citizens commission instead of legislators. The largely affluent, strongly Democratic district also includes Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and some L.A. neighborhoods.

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