March 28, 2024 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Two Santa Monica Women Compete In Assembly Race:

seat now held by Pavley is the prizeThe 41st State Assembly District spans the coast from Oxnard to Santa Monica, and includes portions of the West Valley, Pacific Palisades and Brentwood, north of Montana.Fran Pavley currently represents the District, but term limits prohibit her from seeking re-election. Among the candidates running to replace her are two women from Santa Monica – Julia Brownley, President of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education, and Kelly Hayes-Raitt, a political consultant, longtime political activist and member of the City of Santa Monica’s Commission on the Status of Women. Preparing for a primary election on June 6, both women are now collecting endorsements. Brownley Has Pavley BackingBrownley has been endorsed by Pavley, L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, State Senator Sheila Kuehl, several current Assembly members and a former Assemblywoman. Pavley said, “Julia Brownley has impressed me with her deep commitments to our communities, their environmental concerns and the needs of our schools. These are the two issues voters in the 41st Assembly District care about most and the issues I have made my own special concern during my tenure in the Assembly. “Julia…has my full support in her run for the 41st Assembly District seat. I endorse her enthusiastically.”Rosendahl said, “Julia Brownley stands out among the candidates for this seat in the State Assembly as a champion for children and their education. She shares my commitment to environmental leadership, a modern transportation system for the Los Angeles region and health care reform…She possesses an outstanding combination of vision, experience, and maturity, qualities essential to success in Sacramento” Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, author of AB 583 “Clean Money and Fair Elections Act,” has also endorsed Brownley, saying, “Like me, Julia Brownley is determined to eliminate the corrupting influence of big money on the California political process. We will work together to win the ‘California Clean Money Campaign’ and to make public financing of state political campaigns a reality in California. “Julia is a true progressive leader from a leading progressive community, an ideal replacement for Fran Pavley. She will be an excellent legislative partner with Senator Sheila Kuehl.,,” Hancock is in her second term in the California State Assembly, representing the 14th Assembly District which includes Berkeley, Richmond, San Pablo and parts of Oakland and Walnut Creek. She chairs both the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources and the Select Committee on Bridging the Achievement Gap. Also backing Brownley are three Assembly members from the Los Angeles area – Jackie Goldberg, who represents Hollywood and is Chair of the Assembly Committee on Education, Karen Bass, the Democratic Whip whose district includes L.A. and Culver City precincts, and Judy Chu from Monterey Park, who chairs the Appropriations Committee. Another Brownley backer is former Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson. She said, “Julia Brownley is a true progressive leader in the mold of Fran Pavley and Sheila Kuehl. Julia will be a vigorous champion for open space protection and quality schools, issues so important to Ventura County residents.”Jackson served six years in the California State Assembly, representing the 35th District encompassing Ventura, Oxnard and much of Santa Barbara County. Brownley has also been endorsed by the California League of Conservation Voters, and two labor unions – California State Council of SEIU, and UNITE- HERE. Hayes-Raitt Wins Support from ActivistsKelly Hayes-Raitt helped found Heal the Bay, was executive director of the Coalition for Clean Air and, as former Lieutenant Governor Leo McCarthy’s environmental representative, she took part in the battle to stop offshore oil drilling. The Los Angeles County Women’s Commission named her a “2004 Woman of the Year.”She has been endorsed by environmental and political activists Martin Sheen, Jackson Browne, Ed Begley, Jr., Mimi Kennedy, AFTRA President John Connolly, Ed Asner, James Cromwell, John Densmore, James Garner, Casey Kasem, Alexandra Paul and Bradley Whitford, as well as , Rev. George Regas and Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante. In support of Hayes-Raitt’s candidacy, Sheen, who was active in local, state and national political, environmental and human rights struggles long bootee he began playing a President on television, wrote, “I am writing to ask you to support a very different kind of leader. Kelly Hayes-Raitt is a candidate for State Assembly. She traveled to Iraq twice. Once right before the war. And once right after it began. She has been a strong voice on behalf of the women and children of Iraq. She has been a tireless spokeswoman on their behalf and against the Bush policies. It is my pleasure to support a candidate who truly reflects our values and highest ideals.“You may already know about Kelly’s long history of leadership for environmental protection… Recently, Kelly won legislation to set health standards on toxic mold and helped the National Resources Defense Council’s efforts to phase out dirty diesel school buses.“Kelly has been a national spokesperson to protect civil rights. She started the Women’s Health Campaign to hold pharmaceutical corporations accountable for the deadly products they market to women.“You don’t take the positions that Kelly has taken and win the support of the big-money interests. …Kelly is raising thousands of dollars in small contributions. College professors, nurses, truck drivers, construction workers, activists, and advocates. Those are Kelly’s special interests.“California needs leaders. Kelly Hayes-Raitt is a leader we can all follow.”Hayes-Raitt has also been endorsed by a number of organizations, including Vote the Coast, whose executive director Sara Wan said, “Kelly is one of those rare candidates with both the experience in fighting for our coast and the tenacity to win.” Clean Water Action and the animal and protection habitat group PAWPAC, Action for Animals, and he Westside, San Fernando Valley and Ventura chapters of the National Women’s Political Caucus are also backing her. “Kelly is the first candidate in the state we’ve endorsed this year,” said Paw PAC’s Virginia Handley. “We are impressed with her two decades of leadership in protecting open space and habitat areas, as well as with her compassion in opposing inhumane traps such as gill nets that trap dolphins and jaws of death traps that kill wildlife….We need more leaders like her.”“Our Vote Environment Committee understands just how important it is to elect a leader when we see one. We are proud to lead the way in endorsing Kelly for Assembly,” said Erich Pfuehler, California Director for Clean Water Action. “Kelly won’t just be a good vote on our issues, she will lead the fight to protect our environment, preserve our coastline and fight for safe drinking water.“Back in the early 1980s, Kelly spearheaded the citizen outreach campaigns in San Francisco and Los Angeles for the California League of Conservation Voters. She helped found Heal the Bay and galvanized the community to preserve the Ballona Wetlands.”“It’s always a pleasure when National Women’s Political Caucus endorses a leading advocate for women – and one who can win,” said Ventura County Caucus president Catherine Smith. “Kelly Hayes-Raitt is such a leader….[and] clearly the most viable candidate and the strongest advocate for women.”

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