Five candidates are vying for their party’s nomination. The legacy of 41st District Assemblymember Fran Pavley, a Democrat, is expected to loom large in the race.
By Max Taves / Special to the Times
The five Democratic candidates vying for their party’s nomination to become the district’s state assemblymember fought to differentiate themselves while sparring over local, state and, sometimes, foreign policy this weekend at a debate in Topanga.
With little historical competition from Republican challengers in the 41st District, the campaign to win the June Democratic primary will likely decide the November general election.
According to state voter registration data, Democrats outnumber Republicans by 19 percent in the district, which runs north from Santa Monica to Oxnard and east from Malibu to Tarzana encompassing Calabasas, Woodland Hills and Encino.
During the debate’s one-minute response time, few details distinguished the candidates on traditionally Democratic priorities such as protecting the environment and expanding healthcare.
“When you have five Democrats together, you kind of have to split hairs to find differences between candidates,” said Rebecca Catterall, a member of the Topanga Democratic Club who helped organize the debate.
Responses to the question, “What would you do to improve education beyond increasing funding?” allowed the candidates the most room to individualize their campaigns.
Julia Brownley, president of Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and long-time board member, emphasized the need for small classrooms and high quality teachers.
Barry Groveman, the mayor of Calabasas, said he would like to see the base salary of public school teachers rise to $100,000, and free community college.
Kelly Hayes-Raitt, an environmental and healthcare activist, favored reversing Proposition 13 and opposed standardized testing.
Jonathan Levey, a Cal State Channel Islands professor, supported giving more local control to school districts.
Shawn Casey O’Brien, a radio talk-show host and activist, prioritized rebuilding California’s aging educational infrastructure and rejecting the No Child Left Behind Act.
In anticipation of an intense inter-party battle, four of the five candidates have amassed large campaign war chests.
According to the most recent publicly available campaign records, Groveman leads his competitors with the most money. Groveman has self-financed more than 30 percent of his campaign with a $150,000 donation.
Jonathan Levey, Julia Brownley and Kelly Hayes-Raitt trail Groveman in campaign contributions, respectively. No campaign data are available for Shawn Casey O’Brien.
Groveman’s large financial lead has given him frontrunner status in the race but has also made him the focus of more scrutiny. The preponderance of traditionally Republican donors among his largest campaign contributors has raised concern among local Democratic leaders, who favor more liberal candidates.
The Topanga Democratic Club has not yet endorsed a candidate, but Groveman’s appeal to conservative donors was a source of apprehension to members entering last weekend’s debate.
In a conversation with The Malibu Times, Groveman eschewed a conservative label and said that his “problem-solver” reputation appealed to donors across party lines.
The Malibu Democratic Club has not ruled out supporting any candidate, but Club President Ralph Erickson suspects that Republican donors might be trying to sway the Democratic primary.
“I suppose they look upon him as the least threatening to … business interests. I think they are conceding a seat to a Democrat, and they want to have some influence with the one they view as most favorable,” he said.
Brownley trails Groveman by more than $200,000, but her support from district politicians will likely make her a powerful contender; 41st District Assemblymember Fran Pavley and Sen. Sheila Kuehl have both endorsed Brownley, as have four of Malibu’s five city council members.
The legacy of Pavley, a Democrat, is expected to loom large in the election. Pavley cannot run for reelection because of term limit rules, but her popularity and name recognition throughout the district might benefit Brownley. The assemblymember has written dozens of environmental laws since taking office in 2000 and is well respected in the district’s large progressive community.
Levey’s strong fundraising campaign has overcome the political hurdle of anonymity and has captured attention in a race that local observers anticipated to be a two-person contest. Excluding candidate loans, Levey leads the race with the most campaign contributions.
Two Republican challengers, Tony Dolz and Adriana Van Hemert, have entered the race for their party’s nomination. Dolz is running as an anti-illegal immigration conservative. His Web site features photos of himself in camouflaged fatigues at the California-Mexico border with the Minutemen. No information is known about Van Hemert.
A Republican challenger will likely face obstacles in the district, which has consistently elected progressive Democrats. In 2004, Fran Pavley defeated Republican challenger Heather Peters for the Assembly seat taking 62.5 percent of the overall votes. Peters captured 37.5 percent.