At a candidates’ forum last week in Hermosa Beach, Democratic Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi probably got the loudest boos and the loudest applause of the evening.
The boos came when his challenger, Republican David Hadley, suggested that the assemblyman “raised over 90 percent of his money from Sacramento.”
“I’ve collected the majority of my money in the district,” Hadley continued. “The notion that an assemblyman who collects all his money from Sacramento is representing you in the South Bay is laughable.”
While the audience clapped for Hadley, Muratsuchi smiled and looked on.
In fact, less than half the money that Muratsuchi has raised comes from donors in Sacramento, according to an Easy Reader analysis of campaign filings.
When asked where Hadley got his estimate, his campaign manager said that he included organizations that may not be based in Sacramento but that employ lobbyists there on their behalf.
Later, Muratsuchi got what was probably the loudest applause of the evening when he made what was both his and the event’s final statement.
“I am standing up for the community against oil drilling,” he told the crowd of about 100 at the Kiwanis Club. As the audience cheered, a handful of audience members gave him a standing ovation.
The two men are running for the state’s 66th district assembly seat, which includes Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance, the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Alondra Park, Gardena, Lomita, Harbor Gateway, Harbor City and West Carson. There are 80 seats in the assembly, 55 of which are currently held by Democrats.
Muratsuchi, from Torrance, has represented the district since he was first elected in 2012. Before, he served on the Torrance Unified School Board and was a deputy attorney general for the California Department of Justice.
Hadley, from Manhattan Beach, is the president of Hadley Partners, Inc., an investment banking firm that he founded. He has held leadership roles in local Republican organizations, but this is his first time running for office.
Muratsuchi won the 2012 election by a comfortable margin. But this race appears to be much closer. In the June primary, Hadley beat Muratsuchi with 30,996 votes to 30,439, in spite of the majority of the district being registered Democrat. (In California, the two candidates with the most votes in the primary go on to compete against each other in the election, regardless of their party affiliation.) About a third of registered voters participated in the primary.
At the candidates forum, Hadley’s biggest boos of the evening came when he answered the question, “What are you willing to do to stop the threat of oil drilling in Hermosa Beach?”
“I have a very simple answer,” he said. “I’m going to defer to the judgment and common sense of the voters.” Hadley was booed as a heckler shouted, “But what do you think?”
His biggest applause came at the end of his response to a question about Proposition 13, which limits property tax, and which he said he supported.
“The state assembly can raise taxes without voters,” he said. “I want to change that here in this district. I want to make sure voters can retain their right to vote on taxes.”
His declaration brought cheers and hearty applause.
There are a few issues on which the two candidates agree. Both spoke out against Proposition 46, the bill to raise the cap on awards from medical malpractice lawsuits, on the grounds that they believe that it would raise the cost of health care and insurance. They both said that they oppose school vouchers and support Proposition 13.
When asked what would be the first law that he would implement if elected, Hadley seized on one of his core issues that he spoke about earlier in the night.
“I would bring local control to schools in districts like Gardena and Lomita,” he said.
Other banner causes of the Republican are making it easier to do business in California and stopping the high speed rail plan.
“California is the hardest place in the country to do business,” he said in his opening remarks, citing Toyota’s transfer of 3,000 jobs from Torrance to Texas.
Later, he criticized the high speed rail project as being too expensive.
“The latest estimate is $70 billion,” he said, pausing for dramatic effect, “And that ain’t close to reality. If it is truly unsubsidized, a ticket will cost hundreds of dollars, and no one will take this train.”
When asked about the first law that he would pass, Muratsuchi said that he had just announced a bill that would establish a California aerospace committee.
“I am fully aware that the South Bay was built on the back of the aerospace industry,” he said. “We have to continue to attract well paid jobs in aerospace.”
Another idea that Muratsuchi stressed was bipartisanship, saying that the “theme” of his campaign was “working across party lines.”
“I’m proud to be endorsed by the local Republican Hermosa Beach mayor,” he said as he mentioned other endorsements from both Democrats and Republicans.
He also began both his opening and closing remarks by mentioning balancing California’s budget deficit.
“California had over a $40 billion budget deficit that has been balanced,” he said. “I’m proud to have been able to accomplish that.”
