Despite Legislature’s unpopularity, there’s no shortage of candidates

Los Angeles activists Holly Mitchell and Reggie Jones-Sawyer are among 339 Californians spending a small fortune to compete in the June 8 primary election for the state Legislature, even though it is despised by the public and plagued by a budget mess that will require painful decisions.

California voters will go to the polls to fill 100 state legislative seats, nearly a third of which will have no incumbent on the ballot. A combination of term limits, legislators seeking other offices and lawmaker fatigue has set the stage for political fights up and down the state.

Those who have seized the opportunity include Mitchell and Sawyer, who are among six Democrats competing for the Assembly seat being vacated by former Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles). She is termed out and running for Congress.

Mitchell has raised $269,600, and Sawyer’s campaign has brought in $143,300. Both say they know what they would be getting into: a Legislature facing billions of dollars in budget shortfalls and a meager 9% approval rating from voters, as measured in March by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.

“Sacramento is incredibly dysfunctional right now, so things don’t get done,” said Sawyer, an asset manager for Los Angeles. “We need to send people to Sacramento who can get things done.”

Mitchell, who heads the child development agency Crystal Stairs, said that “it’s going to be hard” for whoever wins the election but that the Legislature needs advocates for working families “now more than ever.”

The race is one of 15 contested primary contests in Los Angeles County.

“For a lot of these seats, the real races are in the primary,” said Eric C. Bauman, chairman of the county Democratic Party, noting that legislative districts were drawn to give an advantage to one party. That means the June election is likely to decide who will win many of the seats in November.

“It’s a tough year for incumbents, in general, of either party because people are frustrated,” said Assembly Speaker John Perez (D-Los Angeles). “They are frustrated by what they see as government that’s not working in the right direction.”

Indeed, many candidates are waging anti-incumbent campaigns to tap voter anger even where there is no incumbent on the ballot.

Bass and other legislators have endorsed Mitchell, a fact seized on by Westside home builder Ed Nicoletti, a Democratic contender in Bass’ 47th Assembly District, which stretches from South Los Angeles to Westwood.

“These are the same geniuses who got us into this mess,” said Nicoletti, whose campaign website attributes California’s financial distress to state government’s “current mentality of borrow . . . and spend.”

Other Democratic candidates are business consultant Lynette Bigelow, counselor Rafael Garcia-Rangel and Robert Jones, a chief arbitrator. The district’s registered voters are 65% Democratic, and none of the other parties have contested primaries there.

Jones-Sawyer, secretary of the California Democratic Party, has the endorsement of the powerful Service Employees International Union California. Nicoletti says he will put at least $50,000 of his own money into his campaign.

Nearby, eight Democrats are in what Bauman described as a “very competitive” contest in the 53rd Assembly District. It includes El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance and part of Los Angeles.

With incumbent Ted Lieu unable to run for reelection because of term limits, a crowded field has emerged that includes Betsy Butler, director of development for Consumer Attorneys of California, and James Lau, who is on leave as a director of the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund.

The Democratic primary also includes Manhattan Beach Mayor Mitch Ward, Los Angeles city prosecutor Nick Karno, legislative aide Edgar Saenz, educator Diane M. Wallace and lawyers Kate Anderson and Peter L. Thottam.

Butler leads in fundraising with $345,000, followed by Anderson with $273,000, according to reports they filed with the state. Karno and Lau are close behind, and each has loaned his campaign at least $100,000.

Karno has the coveted endorsement of the influential Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

No other parties have primary contests.

The GOP has a nine-point edge in voter registration in the Inland Empire’s 59th Assembly District. There, Republican incumbent Anthony Adams of Hesperia decided not to run for reelection after dodging a failed recall attempt by residents angry that he voted to raise taxes.

The six Republicans inthe primary are Claremont City Councilman Corey Calaycay, former Covina Councilman Chris Lancaster,Hesperia school board member Anthony Riley, Lake Arrowhead businessman Ken Hunter, Apple Valley lawyer Iver Bye and businessman Tim Donnelly, former state leader of the Minutemen anti-illegal immigration group.

“Typically you have a lot of new faces showing up where voter registration numbers indicate the winner of the primary is likely to be the winner of the general election,” said Ron Nehring, chairman of the California Republican Party.

Two libertarians, one Democrat and one American Independent Party candidate are also on the ballot.

Republican Assemblyman Bill Emmerson of Redlands is termed out in the 63rd district, which has drawn a crowd of seven GOP candidates. They are Rancho Cucamonga Mayor Donald Kurth, business owner Michael Morrell, Fontana City Councilwoman Acquanetta Warren, Redlands City Councilwoman Pat Gilbreath, Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Chabot, financial analyst Henry Nickel and teacher Jacqueline Bolda.

In Orange County, Republican incumbent Chuck DeVore of Irvine is termed out of his 70th Assembly district seat, and GOP contenders include Tustin City Councilman Jerry Amante, Irvine City Councilman Steven Choi, college trustee Don Wagner and businessman Jay Ferguson.

Lawyers Melissa Fox and Mike Glover are competing on the Democratic side.

In the 50th Assembly District, incumbent Hector De La Torre of Los Angeles is term limited out, and the Democratic contenders include legislative aide Ricardo Lara, South Gate City Clerk Carmen Avalos, Downey City Councilman Luis H. Marquez and engineer Art Olivier. The Republican primary candidates are P.J. Mellana, a recreation supervisor, and insurance analyst Gladys O. Miller.

The 57th Assembly District is also an open seat, with Democratic incumbent Ed Hernandez leaving to run for state Senate. The Democratic primary includes West Covina City Councilman Roger Hernandez and water district director Alfonso C. Contreras.

patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com