Advertisement
Politi-Cal

Obama, not issues, is the draw for some L.A. voters

By Angel JenningsStaff Writer 
Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

When Patricia Jordan, 57, was asked what brought her to the polls on Tuesday to vote in the California primary, her answer was swift and decisive.

‘Obama! Who else?’ said the Baldwin Village resident. ‘He’s my No.1 concern.’

President Obama has secured the Democratic Party’s nomination as the incumbent, but here in Baldwin Village and throughout the city of Los Angeles, he is still the big draw. Some voters knew very little about issues on the ballot, such the cigarette tax and the candidates running for Los Angeles County district attorney. Instead, they showed up to throw their support behind the president.

Advertisement

LIVE RESULTS: California primary

‘I don’t know much about Propositions 28 and 29,’ said Diane Racine, 68, referring to the term limit initiative and the controversial cigarette increase. ‘I came out to make sure I supported President Obama.’

Racine, an adult education teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District, admitted it was harder this primary to vote for him. The Westwood resident will be laid off in two weeks because of budget cuts that will end adult education in the state. Still, Racine believes Obama has a better strategy to fix the economy than his opponent, Mitt Rommey. All Obama needs, she said, is another term.

Anthony Kent agreed. The 58-year-old Baldwin Village resident blames Congress’ inability to compromise as the reason the economy has stalled and not made a full recovery.

‘He’s doing the best he can with the opposition he has against him,’ Kent said. ‘He can’t change everything overnight. He might need a few more terms to fix it all.’

Though Kent disagrees with Obama on gay marriage, he still made the trek from his job over to the Jim Gilliam Recreational Center in Baldwin Village to cast his vote for Obama.

Advertisement

‘I’m behind him every day,’ he said.

ALSO:

Who’s likely to vote in today’s elections?

Follow California primary results with The Times

Election day: Southern California voters trickle in to polls

-- Angel Jennings in Baldwin Village

Politi-Cal
Angel Jennings

As assistant managing editor for culture and talent, Angel Jennings oversees the Los Angeles Times’ Metpro and internship programs as well as works closely with HR and department heads to help manage a broad range of responsibilities, including tracking, recruiting, interviewing and selecting diverse candidates for job opportunities and advancing the company’s efforts to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and access. She also works across the newsroom on retention, training and career development efforts. Jennings previously worked as a reporter in Metro. She got her start in the Metpro program in 2011 and has since worked on assignments with many departments in the newsroom, including Metro, National, Calendar, Business and podcasts. She is a graduate of the University of Nebraska.

Advertisement