Bill Bloomfield backs candidates in several hot California races

Businessman and philanthropist Bill Bloomfield, who came within eight percentage points of defeating Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) in 2012, has backed candidates in several of this year’s hottest races.

A former longtime Republican who dropped his party affiliation and ran independently two years ago, Bloomfield considered getting into the congressional race again this year.

But he decided against a run and has concentrated on supporting a smorgasbord of other candidates. His choices reflect his efforts to reduce the hyper-partisanship that has crippled Congress in recent years.

To succeed Waxman, who is retiring after 40 years in Congress, Bloomfield, of Manhattan Beach, likes Democrat Matt Miller, co-host of the public radio program “Left, Right & Center.”

“Matt has the smarts and the pragmatism to help lift Congress out of its partisan morass,” Bloomfield said in a statement announcing his choices.

For a South Bay state Senate seat, Bloomfield backed Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District board member Ben Allen, also a Democrat.

Charter schools executive Marshall Tuck won Bloomfield’s backing for the nonpartisan state superintendent of public instruction post.

Republican businessman Neel Kashkari, a former U. S. Treasury official, is Bloomfield’s pick for governor and he also spent money in a independent campaign for him.

For secretary of state, Bloomfield said he voted for Dan Schnur, also a former Republican who re-registered with no party preference some time ago.

Bloomfield has contributed to the campaigns of each of the candidates for state offices he voted for and/or spent money in independent efforts to support them, especially Tuck and Allen, records show.

Although he said he voted for and has supported these candidates financially, Bloomfield said he does not consider his actions to be endorsements. Additionally, he said his backing of Kashkari was a repudiation of another Republican on the ballot, conservative Tim Donnelly (R-Twin Peaks), and “not an endorsement for November.”