Ten candidates, including former South Bay Assemblyman Ted Lieu and Manhattan Beach attorney Bob Valentine, will vie to succeed the late state Sen. Jenny Oropeza in a Feb. 15 free-for-all primary that crosses party lines.
Oropeza, the Democratic incumbent, passed away two weeks before last November’s election, following a long illness. Her name on the ballot outpolled Republican challenger John Stammreich by 22 percentage points, leaving empty the Senate seat for the state’s 28th District, which includes the beach cities, El Segundo, Torrance, Lomita, Marina del Rey and portions of Los Angeles.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger set a primary election for the seat Feb. 15. Under new rules in the state’s recently approved Proposition 14, the single primary includes all candidates regardless of party affiliation. A candidate winning more than 50 percent of the vote would take office; otherwise the top two vote getters will decide the matter in a special-election runoff April 19.
Lieu, of Torrance, a Democrat running in a heavily democratic district, served the South Bay as an assemblyman before he was termed out, and made an unsuccessful run last year for the state attorney general’s post.
The district’s voters are 48 percent Democratic, 25 percent Republican and 2 percent American Independent, with the Green, Libertarian and Peace and Freedom parties represented by less than 1 percent each. The rest of the registered voters declined to state a party affiliation.
In addition to Lieu and local Republican Valentine, the ballot will include Democrats Mervin Evans of Los Angeles, Kevin Thomas McGurk of Venice and Martha Flores-Gibson of Long Beach, Republicans Jeffrey E. Fortini of Long Beach and James P. Thompson of Lomita, Libertarian Peter “Pedro” De Baets of Los Angeles and nonpartisan candidates Michael T. Chamness of Venice and Mark Lipman of Los Angeles.
The Lieu campaign had about $300,000 cash on hand at the New Year.
“In Sen. Oropeza, I lost a friend and California lost a true leader,” he said in a statement announcing his candidacy. “If elected, I will continue to represent the many communities of her Senate district with passion and a dedication to public service.”
Valentine, a longtime Manhattan resident, has served on the Board of Directors of The Beacon House Association of San Pedro for 27 years, 18 of them as Board president. Beacon House is a residential facility for men seeking recovery from alcoholism and other drug addictions.
Valentine is a member of the South Bay Lincoln Club, Beach Cities Republican Club and Log Cabin Republicans of Los Angeles.
“I will go to Sacramento with years of experience not only in the private sector, but also with a solid background in promoting social service where the government has not been successful,” he said.
According to campaign websites:
Evans has produced several business directories.
Flores-Gibson holds advanced degrees in educational leadership and social work, and has been working for nearly 20 years in the Long Beach Unified School District, providing support to teachers, counselor, principals, and administrators.
Fortini went to high school in El Segundo, served in the U.S. Army and served 33 years with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Los Angeles /Long Beach Seaport and LAX, retiring as section chief.
Lipman is a poet, publisher and community organizer. ER
