Brad Sherman wins 30th Congressional District seat in Valley

Rep. Howard Berman conceded to fellow Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman after a bitter fight with his younger House colleague over a San Fernando Valley seat.

The race grew so contentious that at one point the two got physical at a Pierce College candidates forum. Berman stepped close to Sherman as the congressmen argued hotly, and Sherman thrust his arm around Berman, shouting, “You want to get into this?”
In his concession statement, Berman said, “I congratulate Brad .... I will do whatever I can to ensure a cooperative and orderly transition.”

The battle between the two men with similar voting records grew from two recent changes in the state’s political landscape: fresh political maps that put both their homes in the reconfigured 30th Congressional District and a new top-two primary system that lets two members of the same party compete in the general election.

Continue reading >>

-- Jean Merl, Los Angeles Times