Simi Valley Lawyer Enters Race for State Senate Seat : Primary: Daniel Gonzalez, 43, is first Democrat in running to replace Republican Cathie Wright in district that includes part of the Valley.

Simi Valley lawyer Daniel Gonzalez, who lost a bid for Congress last year, announced Thursday that he is running to replace veteran state Sen. Cathie Wright, who is leaving office because of term limits.

Gonzalez, 43, becomes the first Democrat in the March primary race for a seat Republicans have held since the early 1970s.

Two prominent Republicans-- Northridge Assemblyman Tom McClintock and Ventura County Supervisor Judy Mikels--have already announced that they are in the race.

“I think the district is close enough that a Democrat can pull an upset,” said Gonzalez, president of the 63-member Ventura County Mexican-American Bar Assn.

The 19th District--which includes most of Ventura County and parts of the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys--is 42.5% Republican and 39.5% Democrat. Nearly two-thirds of its 389,000 registered voters live in this county.

A second Democrat, Northridge attorney John Birke, also confirmed that he plans to formally announce his candidacy next week. He ran against Wright in 1996 but lost 61% to 39%.

“If the Republicans nominate Tom McClintock, a lot of Republicans would entertain the notion of voting for a Democrat in the general election,” said Birke, 35. “Especially one who offers a stark contrast, like I do, to McClintock’s extreme right-wing positions. Even Cathie Wright says he’s too conservative for the district.”

Port of Hueneme Harbor Commissioner Jess Herrera, another Democrat, is also considering a run, Gonzalez said.

The increasingly crowded field of candidates is one reason Gonzalez said he finally decided to run.

Earlier, he had backed away from this race. That was because the March open primary allows voters to cast their ballots for candidates of any party, and Gonzalez did not want to pull votes from Mikels, a moderate Republican he favors over McClintock.

“Mr. McClintock’s views are just not those of this district,” Gonzalez said.

But now, with two other probable Democratic candidates, Gonzalez said he thought Mikels would lose to McClintock in the primary regardless of his candidacy.

Mikels has also dropped well behind McClintock in fund-raising, Gonzalez noted. Reports for the period ending June 30 showed McClintock with $267,000, including a $100,000 loan from Camarillo religious radio broadcast mogul Edward Atsinger III. Mikels had raised $80,000 in cash and loans.

“McClintock will win the [Republican] primary,” Gonzalez said. “I think he simply has a lot more dollars than Judy. He’s going to have the Christian right, or they’re going to have him in their pocket. And that’s a formidable opponent for her. I just don’t see it happening for her.”

Gonzalez said he thinks he can win both the primary and the general election by seeking out moderates of both parties, particularly those in the San Fernando Valley.

“There are 12,000 more registered voters on the Republican side, but a lot of the Valley voters tend to vote Democrat,” he said. “So I definitely think it’s a winnable race.”

Gonzalez, a former resident of Mission Hills, said he has spent the last month meeting the public at busy Valley locations, including the Northridge shopping mall and Cal State University Northridge.

In Gonzalez’s only other run for elective office, he was defeated by Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) 60% to 40% last year.

But he maintains that he lost because he was so badly underfunded, spending only about $50,000 against a six-term incumbent with 10 times as much in the bank.

No Latino has ever been elected to a statewide office from Ventura County. Gonzalez said that should be remedied. “It’s been time for us to have a Latino representative for decades,” he said.