Advertisement

Opinion: Obama Town Hall: California Dems hope a little presidential stardust rubs off on them

Share

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

A cavalcade of California Democrats will be on hand to welcome President Obama to his town hall meeting in Costa Mesa. Nothing like getting your photo taken with a president whose popularity ratings are in the 60s.

Some of those hoping for some Obama magic are California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, who would like to be governor again; Rep. Loretta Sanchez, whose name is suddenly being bandied about as a potential gubernatorial nominee; Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, who has officially declared his interest in replacing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger next year when he is termed out of office. San Francisco Dist. Atty. and rising political star, Kamala Harris, who was an early important Obama supporter, is also expected to attend.

Conspicuously absent from the crowd today are the two big city mayors who want to be governor: L.A.’s Antonio Villaraigosa and San Francisco’s Gavin Newsom. Villaraigosa will get his chance to rub elbows with Obama Thursday, when the president has a town hall meeting at the Miguel Contreras Learning Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, at the Orange County Fairgrounds, our colleague Tony Barboza reports that the atmosphere is festive and very much like what you might see along the campaign trail. Inside a big warehouse-style building, plastic chairs have been set out in rows. There is a stage in the center of the room, flags and a very excited crowd of several hundred fans of the president.

‘It’s really a great part of history to be able to be here tonight,’ said Robyn Riedel, 24, of Costa Mesa, a saleswoman. ‘I’m very blessed to have the opportunity to see the president.’

-- Robin Abcarian

Register here now for automatic alerts via Twitter on each new Ticket item.

Advertisement