Liberatore ends recount bid in inland congressional race

After workers had tabulated just six precincts, congressional candidate Phil Liberatore called a halt to his recount request, county elections officials said.

Liberatore had come in third in the June 5 primary, behind anti-illegal immigration activist Gregg Imus and Assemblyman Paul Cook. All are Republicans.

Michael J. Scarpello, San Bernardino County registrar of voters, said Liberatore, who was required to pay for the recount, asked to stop it three hours after it began on Friday.  The results had not changed, showing Liberatore with 63 votes before and after the ballots were retallied, Scarpello said.

Liberatore, a businessman who counsels clients with problems with the IRS, came in 240 votes behind second-place finisher Cook, a retired Marine Corps colonel and Vietnam veteran. Under the state's new elections rules, only the first- and second-place finishers in primary races for seats in Congress and the Legislature, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the fall general election.

The 8th Congressional District stretches through parts of three counties but most of the voters live in San Bernardino County.

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Photo: Michael Daniels accepts ballots in Sacramento on June 5. Credit: Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press

 

 

 

 

 

Liberatore gets recount in congressional district race

 

Phil Liberatore, the  third-place finisher in a 13-candidate congressional race, has asked for a recount of ballots cast in the June 5 primary, San Bernardino County elections officials confirmed Wednesday.

Liberatore,  a Republican accountant and anti-IRS tax crusader,  finished 240 votes behind Assemblyman Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley) in the preliminary race for the 8^th Congressional District.  The top vote-getter was anti-illegal immigration activist Gregg  Imus, also a Republican.

Under the state’s new, voter-approved elections system, all candidates in  a race for  Congress or  the state Legislature  appear on the same ballot and only the top two finishers, regardless of any political party affiliation, can advance to the general election.

The recount will begin Friday and would take more than a week, said county Registrar of Voters Michael Scarpello.  He said Liberatore has chosen the precincts he wants reexamined first and has the option of deciding at the end of each day whether to proceed.

Liberatore must bear the $6,000-per-day cost but would have the money refunded if the recount changes the election’s outcome.

Most observers believe  Liberatore faces long odds in overcoming the deficit and getting onto the Nov. 6  ballot, especially since the margin separating Cook and Liberatore is greater than 2%.

Cook’s campaign consultant, Joe Justin,  said he has been involved in more than a dozen recounts during his 25 years in  politics and has not seen the outcomes changed in any of them.

He said Liberatore is trying “to buy” a new result because he didn’t like the election’s outcome and added that Cook will remain focused on his campaign message of creating jobs and strengthening the economy.

The Liberatore campaign  could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The district stretches into parts of two other counties—Inyo and Mono—but most  of the  voters live in San Bernardino County.

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Photo: Michael Daniels accepts ballots in Sacramento,  June 5, 2012. Credit: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press

Victorville Democrat sues over California's 'top two' primary

A Victorville Democrat has filed a federal lawsuit (PDF) alleging that California’s new “top-two” primary system is unconstitutional.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday by Elise Brown, an African American and Democratic Party leader in San Bernardino County, said the two Republican candidates selected in the primary in her congressional district, which includes the San Bernardino County deserts and Inyo and Mono counties, “present race-hostile policy positions” and do not recognize the “right of women to control their reproductive health decisions.’’

The federal lawsuit alleges that the top-two primary system violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because the only two candidates she can vote for in the November election for the 8th Congressional District are Republicans. The two candidates who emerged from the June 5 primary were Republican Gregg Imus, a Lake Arrowhead home builder and anti-illegal immigration activist, and Republican Assemblyman Paul Cook of Yucca Valley.

The new primary system also violates constitutional rights that protect freedom of association and equal protection, as well as the protections against having a citizen’s voting rights denied on “account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” the lawsuit alleged.

“Democrats have had the right to have a party representative in the general election for Congress since California joined the Union over 160 years ago,’’ the lawsuit stated.

Brown’s attorney in the lawsuit is Robert D. Conaway, the husband of Jackie Conaway -– one of the two Democrats in the race for the 8th Congressional District. Jackie Conaway finished fourth in the field of 13 candidates, which was the largest number of congressional hopefuls in any race in California.

Chad Hanely, the campaign manager for the Imus campaign, said scrapping the state's top-two primary system would benefit Republicans across California, since there are many more contests with two Democrats facing off in the November election.

He also dismissed the lawsuit's allegation of racism, saying that allegation is trotted out all the time because of Imus' association with the Minuteman movement that patrols the Mexican border.

"When people want to go against us, all they want to do is play the race card,'' he said.

The lawsuit asks the federal court to issue a temporary restraining order that prohibits California Secretary of State Debra Bowen from certifying the election, and to restore the traditional primary system that allows the top vote-getter from each party to be on the November ballot.

The secretary of state's spokeswoman, Shannan Velayas, on Wednesday night said she had not seen the lawsuit and was not aware of its allegations.

"The secretary of state's office follows the law until a court orders otherwise,'' she said.

California voters in 2010 approved the new top-two primary system which, in races for the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives and state Legislature, sends the two candidates who collect the most votes to the November election, regardless of party affiliation.

The Cook campaign could not be reached for comment.

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Imus, Cook in House race; counting in other squeakers goes on

This post has been corrected. See the note below for details.

Officials have finished counting  ballots in a close inland congressional district race that will pit two Republicans against one another in the Nov. 6 general election.

With election results certified Friday by San Bernardino County, the candidates will be Assemblyman Paul Cook of Yucaipa and home builder and anti-illegal immigration activist Gregg Imus of Lake Arrowhead.

Two other counties that reach into the sprawling 8th Congressional District finished counting their smaller chunks of the ballots earlier.

Thirteen candidates, including two Democrats and one independent, were on the June 5 primary in the solidly Republican district, making this the largest field of any of the House of Representative races this year in California.

Under the state’s new elections system, only the top two vote-getters in the primary, regardless of any party affiliation, advance to the general election.

In some other close races, Los Angeles County elections officials continued to tally votes Friday in three squeakers.  While the contests remained close, the finishing order of the candidates has not changed with recent updates.

Assemblywoman Betsy Butler of Marina del Rey and Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom, both Democrats, continued to hold first and second place, respectively, in the 50th Assembly District race.

[For the record, 8:11 a.m., June 23: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said the Butler-Bloom race was in the 66th Assembly District.]

Ian Calderon, son of Assemblyman Charles Calderon (D-Whittier), was keeping his lead over fellow Democrat and former Assemblyman Rudy Bermudez for the second slot in the general election for the 57th Assembly District; the winner will face Republican Noel A. Jaimes in the strongly Democratic district.

And in the heavily Democratic 46th Assembly District in the San Fernando Valley, charter schools executive Brian C. Johnson, a Democrat, was trailing Republican Jay L. Stern for second place by just 35 votes, according to Friday’s update. Democrat Adrin Nazarian handily captured first place on the ballot. The five Democrats on the ballot split their party’s vote, allowing Stern, the only Republican, to slide into second place.

County officials hope to finish counting all the remaining ballots by Monday afternoon.

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Outcomes remain uncertain in some California primary contests

The races aren’t quite over yet in a handful of California primary contests that were so close their outcomes may hinge on the ballots left uncounted on election night Tuesday.

As county elections officials work through the thousands of remaining ballots, candidates in three congressional races and more than  a dozen Assembly contests are waiting to see whether they will be on the ballot for the Nov. 6  general election.

Under the state’s new “top two” primary system, only the first- and second-place finishers in the primary can advance to the fall election.

Officials have less than a month to finish their tallies. Yet to be counted are mailed ballots that arrived by Election Day but were too late to be included in the tallies posted after the polls closed that night and so-called provisional ballots, which require checking for voter eligibility or duplication.

Among the contests too close to call  is the 13-candidate race in the inland 8th Congressional District, which includes the San Bernardino County mountains and deserts and Inyo and Mono counties. There, four candidates were bunched near the top: Republican Assemblyman Paul Cook of Yucca Valley, who was in first place; Lake Arrowhead home-builder and anti-illegal-immigration activist Gregg Imus, also a Republican; Barstow Democrat Jackie Conaway; and Phil Liberatore, a Republican tax consultant based in Whittier.

In San Diego County’s 52nd Congressional District, Democrats Lori Saldana, a former assemblywoman, and former San Diego City Councilman Scott Peters are battling for the second spot on the ballot. Peters finished 645 votes ahead of Saldana on election night. The eventual winner will face Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Carlsbad) in November.

The outcomes also are uncertain in several Los Angeles-area Assembly contests.

Among the most hotly contested was the six-way dustup for the San Fernando Valley’s newly drawn, strongly Democratic 46th Assembly District. There L.A. City Council aide Adrin Nazarian finished first with 27.5% of the election night tally, with charter schools executive Brian Johnson second with 20.3%. Just 83 votes behind Johnson was teacher Jay Stern, followed by attorney Andrew Lachman, who trailed Johnson by 332  votes on election night. All are Democrats but Stern, who is a Republican.

For the Westside’s 50th Assembly District, the second-place finisher, Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom, led another Democrat, community activist Torie Osborn, who was 673 votes behind him, and environmental attorney Brad Torgan, the only Republican on the ballot, who trailed Bloom by 687 votes. Assemblywoman Betsy Butler (D-Marina del Rey) finished first -- 102 votes ahead of Bloom.

And in the eastern Los Angeles County 57th Assembly District, Ian Calderon, son of state Assemblyman Charles Calderon (D-Whittier), finished 231 votes ahead of former Democratic Assemblyman Rudy Bermudez for the second spot on the ballot. Republican Noel James finished first with 43.4% of the vote in the solidly Democratic district.

Los Angeles County elections officials said they plan to start releasing updated tallies on Friday. The next update after that will be on Tuesday. Results can be found on the county registrar’s website, www.lavote.net.  Election night results can be found on the Secretary of State’s website, www.sos.ca.gov.

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Photo: Voters cast ballots at an L.A. restaurant during the Tuesday's primary election. Credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

Sheriff, TV stars, grassroots group endorse in races

It’s been a big week for endorsements in some of the area’s hot congressional races.

First came word that “taxpayer advocate/businessman Phil  Liberatore, as he’s described on the ballot, has scored the backing of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, an Arizona lawman who gained national notice for his tough immigration stance.  Liberatore is one of 13 candidates on the ballot for the open seat in the High Desert’s  8^th District, the most crowded field of any California congressional race this spring.   Arpaio’s endorsement could help set Liberatore apart from the pack of nine other Republicans, two Democrats and one independent (former GOP Assemblyman Anthony Adams).  The sheriff will appear Friday at a news conference with Liberatore—in Beverly Hills.

Next,  Democratic state Sen. Julia Brownley   announced an endorsement from the progressive group MoveOn.org in her race for another open seat, the 26^th Congressional District in Ventura County.   The national grassroots organizing group said it has some 14,800 members in the district, where five other candidates also are on the ballot.  Both major parties have targeted the race.

But it would be hard to top the popular appeal of one of the backers Rep. Howard Berman added to his list earlier this week—television star  and animal rights activist Betty White.  Berman is locked in an intense, expensive battle with fellow Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman for the same San Fernando Valley seat.  Five others also are on the ballot in the strongly Democratic 30^th District but most of the attention in the nationally watched race is  on Berman and Sherman.

Camp Berman wasted no time in making a TV commercial  featuring  White and one of her “Hot in Cleveland” co-stars,  Wendie Malick.  In the ad,  Malick says the congressman is “unbelievably effective” while White comments on his  “very nice blue eyes.”

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Photo: Actress Betty White at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books last month. Credit: Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times

Republicans drop party in congressional races

Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks, who is running in a crowded race for an open congressional seat, on Wednesday switched her registration from Republican to "decline to state."

The move will allow Parks, a political moderate, to be described as having no party preference on the June 5 primary ballot.

Democrats have a slight registration edge in new 26th Congressional District but both parties are expected to fight hard for the seat.  Rep. Elton Gallegly  has represented much of the area in the past but has decided to retire after last year's redrawing of political maps put him in a different district.

State Sen. Tony Strickland of Moorpark has much of the Republican Party leadership behind his candidacy and several Democrats also have entered the race.

Parks said she identifies more with middle-of-the-road voters than with the ideological extremes that are elements in both major political parties.

"I believe Republicans and Democrats need to work together and, if elected, I will work with fellow congressional members regardless of party," Parks said in a statement announcing her registration change.

Earlier this week former GOP Assemblyman  Anthony Adams got into the race for a new Inland Empire congressional seat--also as a candidate unaffiliated with any political party.

Adams decided not to seek reelection  to the  Legislature two years ago after facing an unsuccessful attempt to recall him from office because he  voted for temporary tax increases in 2009 to help ease the state's budget crisis.

The 8th Congressional District, which includes parts of San Bernardino and Mono counties, is strongly Republican and several GOP candidates have entered the race, along  with one Democrat.

California elections will be conducted this year under a new system in which all candidates appear on a single primary ballot given to all voters.  The top two vote getters, regardless of party, will advance to the November general election.

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Photo: Rep. Elton Gallegly is retiring, leaving open the new 26th Congressional District seat. Credit: Associated Press