Valerie McDonald In Race - with Endorsement
I guess Valerie McDonald isn't going to let Merv Dymally's pronouncement that she is a less viable candidate than Laura Richardson get in her way.
Today, she announced her candidacy to replace her mother as representative in the 37th District.
And while Dymally was talking about her non-viability, she had a pretty good endorsement already in hand: Diane Watson - U.S. House Democrat from the nearby 33rd District, one of only 3 black US. Representatives from California.
McDonald quote from her announcement in the KNBC article emphasizes the positive. And Diane Watson's endorsement of her appears to be pure emphasis on the positive for McDonald:
By contrast, practically the first thing that Richardson did when announcing her candidacy was to release an analysis that black voters can determine the winner in this election.
It bears watching to see if Richardson continues on with the focus on black representation in Congress and if McDonald goes in the opposite direction of rejecting a race-based rationale for her candidacy and emphasizing strengths that having nothing to do with race (familiarity with legislative process, passion, honest, dependable).
Does any of this tell us how a candidate will vote? No. As a result, I'm not making any judgments about candidates as far as their positions until I can get this information.
However, the way somebody campaigns does have the ability to harm or help the Democratic Party. A campaign that focuses on racial identity at the expense of Democratic Party identity (what we stand for and advocate) could definitely harm the Party. I hope Richardson is not going to go down that road.
Today, she announced her candidacy to replace her mother as representative in the 37th District.
And while Dymally was talking about her non-viability, she had a pretty good endorsement already in hand: Diane Watson - U.S. House Democrat from the nearby 33rd District, one of only 3 black US. Representatives from California.
McDonald quote from her announcement in the KNBC article emphasizes the positive. And Diane Watson's endorsement of her appears to be pure emphasis on the positive for McDonald:
"The wonderful people of this district deserve nothing but the best and I feel that I can offer them that by representing them in Washington," McDonald said.
Watson, D-Los Angeles, called McDonald "the epitome of her late mother," who died April 22 of cancer at age 68. She was in her seventh term.
"I can think of no other person who is better qualified to go to Congress and `hit the ground running,' than Valerie McDonald," Watson said. "Valerie is honest, dependable, astute and caring. She is more familiar with the congressional legislative process which is quite different than other legislative bodies. Valerie is passionate about bringing people together from diverse backgrounds to accomplish goals that will better their lives and provide a safe environment."
By contrast, practically the first thing that Richardson did when announcing her candidacy was to release an analysis that black voters can determine the winner in this election.
It bears watching to see if Richardson continues on with the focus on black representation in Congress and if McDonald goes in the opposite direction of rejecting a race-based rationale for her candidacy and emphasizing strengths that having nothing to do with race (familiarity with legislative process, passion, honest, dependable).
Does any of this tell us how a candidate will vote? No. As a result, I'm not making any judgments about candidates as far as their positions until I can get this information.
However, the way somebody campaigns does have the ability to harm or help the Democratic Party. A campaign that focuses on racial identity at the expense of Democratic Party identity (what we stand for and advocate) could definitely harm the Party. I hope Richardson is not going to go down that road.
Labels: CA-37
posted by Glancing Header at
1:55 PM
1 Comments:
It's difficult to run in the 37th without accounting for and to race because the District has been thoughtfully and thoroughly gerrymandered on that basis--as have more than a few of the adjoining Districts. Thankfully, the voters of Long Beach--who, I believe, have tended to cast more votes in elections than the rest of the District combined and will therefore likely have the most impact on the outcome--have a history of looking beyond the candidates' race.
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