On Her Third Try, Chu Wins Seat in Assembly

Successfully campaigning across ethnic lines, Monterey Park Councilwoman Judy Chu soundly defeated Alhambra Mayor Daniel R. Arguello in a special election for an Assembly seat in a heavily Latino San Gabriel Valley district.

Chu had failed twice before to capture the seat, losing both races to Latinas, but the third time was the charm, with Chu capturing 58.5% of the vote, compared to 33.7% for Arguello.

Technically, Tuesday’s election was a Democratic primary, but since Chu took more than 50% of the vote, there will be no runoff with a lone Libertarian candidate, Kim Goldsworthy, who received 2.5%. Another Democrat, Robert Miranda, mustered 5.3%. There was no Republican candidate in the 49th Assembly District, which stretches from Los Angeles’ El Sereno neighborhood to Rosemead,

A quarter of voters in the district are Asian American, but nearly half are Latino, and Chu drew key Latino endorsements to appeal to voters across the district. She was backed by unions, by Reps. Hilda Solis (D-El Monte) and Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) and by Sheriff Lee Baca. Chu had not drawn such high-powered Latino support in her two previous races.

“I am honored that I received votes from people of many different ethnic groups. . . . This is a truly multiethnic district, and the lessons of the 49th Assembly District need to be brought to the state,” Chu said Wednesday.

Arguello’s campaign manager, Darrell Alatorre, blamed the outcome on low turnout. Of nearly 143,000 voters, less than 15% cast ballots. Chu garnered 12,101 votes, compared to Arguello’s 6,958.

Steve Gray Barkin, Chu’s consultant, said that while her campaign was broad, Arguello concentrated on Latinos and targeted middle-class white voters only late in the race. “I expected a victory in the high 40s,” he said. “But clearly Judy picked up a significant number of Latino voters.”

Chu and Arguello shared many concerns, including education, gun violence and the power crisis. However, John Nunez, a local school board president and Chu booster, said she was better known, thanks to her lengthy City Council experience. “She’s helped Latinos over the years and unions,” he said.

Arguello, he said, was elected just two years ago and was tied to the politics of former Los Angeles Councilman Richard Alatorre and state Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles). Chu’s campaign emphasized that Arguello was a former aide to Alatorre, who was recently convicted for tax evasion and gave $1,000 to Arguello’s campaign.

Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) and Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles) called Chu to congratulate her shortly after her win. The speaker, Chu said, “told me he’s got 30 volumes on the electricity [crisis] waiting for my review.”