Regardless of the outcome of the impending Congressional election, a new face will represent the South Bay next year, thanks to the California Citizens Redistricting Commission’s newly drawn 33rd District, which encompasses Agoura Hills and Malibu, and stretches through the South Bay down to the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
Rep. Henry Waxman, 37-year veteran in Congress, faces a slate of seven underdogs – Democrats Zein Obagi, Tim Pape and Bruce Margolin, Republican Christopher David, Libertarian Steve Collett, Green Party candidate David Steinman and independent Bill Bloomfield – who are hoping to finish second in California’s looming June 5 “jungle” primary. Regardless of party affiliation, the two candidates with the most votes will advance to a one-on-one race in November.
“Congressman Waxman, for first time in 38 years, is facing some competition – and that’s a good thing,” Bloomfield said.
As of April, 44 percent of the district’s 434,677 registered voters are registered Democrats, while 28 percent are registered Republicans, according to the California Secretary of State’s office.
One certainty is that the South Bay, following this election, will be represented by its third different Congress member in less than two years. Rep. Jane Harman, who served eight terms as the District 36 representative, left Congress last February to head a political think-tank in Washington D.C. Congresswoman Janice Hahn, who currently represents the district, has been redistricted to District 44.
Waxman admitted he hasn’t campaigned much yet in the South Bay – the seasoned politician is certain he’ll finish first in June – and is still acquainting himself with issues pertaining to this new group of constituents. “I’m still trying to figure out what needs to be done and where I can help,” Waxman, 72, said over the phone on Monday.
Waxman reportedly has $989,577 cash on hand as of April 15 for his campaign.
While Waxman noted that the district didn’t turn out exactly how he would’ve drawn it – “It’s not a district I’d want to travel in one day” – he said he’s excited for the opportunity to represent the South Bay and has met with individuals from the area’s large aerospace industry. “It’s very important we keep that L.A. Air Force Base in El Segundo,” he said. “It is a magnet for industries around it that depend on it.”
Former Congresswoman Jane Harman was particularly known for her effective advocacy on behalf of the aerospace industry, and was credited with playing a key role in protecting the air force base from closure.
“She is going to give me a tutorial on how to best represent that industry,” Waxman said. “I think it’ll be very hard for me to live up to the high standards that she set as a representative for the South Bay, but I’ll do my best.”
While serving in Congress, Waxman was involved in passing the Clean Air Act and was a lead author in the Affordable Care Act. He’s specialized in health and environment-related issues and noted he’s against oil drilling off California’s coast. “If we’re concerned about high gasoline prices, we can’t just imagine we’re going to drill ourselves out of the problem,” he said, adding that the U.S. has two percent of the world’s oil reserves but consumes 25 percent. “We’ve got to make cars more efficient and rely on alternative energy to oil such as wind and solar power and we’ve got to become more efficient in our use of energy. I’d rather do that than start drilling off our coast and damaging our environment.”
Independent candidate and Manhattan Beach resident Bloomfield, 61, entered the race with the hopes of reforming the political system to represent voters and taxpayers rather than special interest groups and those who fund political parties.
As a businessman, Bloomfield served as president of Web Service Company, a company started by his father that operates commercial laundry equipment, for 15 years. Bloomfield is one of 25 co-founders of No Labels, a transpartisan organization with a 12-point platform to “make Congress work again.”
“Getting our budget under control is front and center,” Bloomfield said, adding that he’s a proponent of No Labels’ solution that if Congress can’t pass a budget on time, members of Congress should not get paid.
Bloomfield also believes over-regulation is hampering economic revival. “I will be a big proponent of putting a moratorium on regulations emanating from the myriad of agencies coming from the federal government that are putting a drag on economic recovery,” he said.
Up until 14 months ago, Bloomfield was registered as a Republican. He spent a year and a half in Washington D.C. as the National Volunteer Director donating and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for John McCain’s presidential campaign.
Bloomfield has contributed about $100,000 personally to his campaign as of April 15, and reported nearly $30,000 cash on hand.
Green Party candidate David Steinman, publisher of Healthy Living magazine, former Easy Reader reporter and father of three kids in public schools, is focused on weaning the nation off foreign oil, becoming energy independent, and promoting urban planning that facilitates biking and walking. “My plan calls for increasing solar, increasing wind and tapping our geothermal reserves,” Steinman said, at a recent debate.
Steinman believes he is a good listener, knows how to create jobs and can empower people. “I will be making sure every homeowner in this district is able to modify or refinance their home loan by helping them to navigate through the system so that they can put thousands of dollars back into the local economy,” he said.
In his second bid for public office, Libertarian candidate Steve Collett, a 57-year-old CPA who is currently working towards a master’s degree in public policy at UCLA, hopes to reduce tax dollars spent on the war on drugs and foreign military intervention. He proposes decriminalizing drugs – “We arrest 70,000 people a year in California alone for marijuana offenses, we’ve got some 1,500 people in prison for it” – and instead focusing on harm reduction and reevaluating mandatory minimums and the three strikes law.
The self-described “socially liberal, fiscally conservative and green” candidate said he hosted a Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender gathering at his Hermosa Beach home over the weekend. “A friend of mine came up and said, ‘With all these LGBT functions, you know, people think you are gay.’ And so I said, ‘Well if they think I’m gay, they also should think I’m black, and I’m Latino, and I’m a non-violent drug offender,’” Collett said, at a recent debate.
Collett is against Obama’s healthcare insurance mandate. He recalled a recent hernia operation – he was in and out in the same day – after which his insurance was billed $95,000. “When something doesn’t work we just double down and say we need more insurance,” he said. “One thing I’m really in favor of is Planned Parenthood, it’s an area where we spend money that really makes sense…it helps a lot of women, and when it helps women, it helps all of us.”
Collett reported a $200,000 personal loan to his campaign and last reported $147,229 cash on hand.
Zein Obagi, 28-year-old business attorney, self-described fiscally conservative Democrat and one of nine children, plans to promote clean energy and jobs. “We need jobs, a plan for growth, and an end to regulatory uncertainty that chokes business development,” Obagi said, at a recent debate. Obagi last reported raising about $27,000 for his campaign.
In recent months, he’s attended Redondo Beach City Council meetings and has publicly spoken against a new AES power plant. “The existing power plant there depreciates all the real estate in the area,” Obagi said, adding that the power plant blights views and pollutes the Los Angeles Basin. “The power plant’s got to go.”
Democratic candidate Tim Pape, 30, a television director running a zero-donations campaign – “I can’t buy your vote, and no one can buy mine” – is campaigning to decriminalize and tax marijuana and use revenues toward healthcare and education.
On a federal level, Pape believes marijuana taxation can bring in billions in revenue. Pape is also an advocate for free healthcare for children and more federal funding for public education.
Democratic candidate Bruce Margolin, a West Hollywood attorney and father of six, also proposes legalizing marijuana and promoting education over incarceration. “Using education and treatment over incarceration is the smartest way of curing the destructive plague of street drugs being pushed upon our cities,” Margolin wrote on his website. “Redirecting our tax dollars from jails to public schools and education programs through more sensible drug policies is the only logical way forward.”
Christopher David, 25-year-old entrepreneur based in Westwood, is the lone Republican running for the seat. “The day I came into this world, Henry Waxman had already been on Capitol Hill for 12 years,” David said, at a recent debate. “I believe America needs new generation of leadership.”
Neither David nor Margolin had yet filed their financial reports online.
David’s campaign focus is fixing the nation’s deficit. For example, David is against using federal dollars to fund the remainder of the California-High Speed Rail project. “Should the federal government bail out California or any California policy that’s grossly over budget? Absolutely not,” he said.
The California Republican Party did not endorse David. “The Republican Party doesn’t like me, and I don’t like them,” he said. “I think we need to stop thinking in terms of party, and start thinking in terms of ideas and how we can reach across the aisle and work together.”
