3 Republicans Challenge a Lone Democrat in 53rd District Vote

In one of the few swing districts in the state, three Republican candidates are competing against a lone Democrat in a special election Tuesday for a South Bay Assembly seat left vacant after incumbent Mike Gordon died earlier this year.

The contest in the 53rd Assembly District, which stretches from Venice to Torrance, could be won outright if one candidate gets a 50% majority. Otherwise, the election would be decided in a Nov. 8 runoff.

Although a Democrat has held the seat since 1992, it is considered vulnerable. Voter registration in the district is 41% Democrat and 35% Republican, but 20% decline to state party affiliation.

The GOP candidates are Mary Jo Ford, 43, a Manhattan Beach physician; Paul Nowatka, 65, a Torrance City Council member and retired policeman; and Paul Whitehead, 38, a high school teacher.

The sole Democrat in the race is Ted Lieu, 36, a Torrance City Council member and former campaign manager for Gordon, who died of a brain tumor in June after his election last November. Gordon was best known for leading the fight against expansion of Los Angeles International Airport and helping to persuade the Pentagon to keep open the Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo.

Although Ford has received strong support from state GOP leaders, her campaign may have suffered irreparable damage. The Daily Breeze recently reported that Ford had previously registered as an American Independent and as a Democrat, despite declaring herself a lifelong Republican.

After her campaign initially denied the allegations, Ford, a political novice, later apologized for the misstatement. But it has cost her some credibility with party officials.

“It’s not the crime; it’s the coverup,” said Republican political analyst Allan Hoffenblum. “Let’s put it this way: The Assembly Republican leadership is not pleased she misled them.”

Republican leaders rallied around Ford, he said, because the party has enjoyed greater success with women voters when it has backed female candidates. The fact that Ford pledged to spend $500,000 of her own money on the race also helped.

But the election is still considered to be up for grabs.

“I think right from the beginning everybody thought there was only a 30% chance she could win this, particularly with [President Bush’s] low popularity here and [Gov. Arnold] Schwarzenegger’s low popularity here,” Hoffenblum said.

By Thursday evening, Nowatka, who has an extensive resume of civic involvement, said momentum was moving his way.

Nowatka, a 57-year resident of the district, said the main focuses of his campaign are opposition to LAX expansion, education and emergency preparedness. He cites his experience on the aviation and homeland security committees of the South Bay Cities Council of Government.

Whitehead said he would push to expand industrial arts in schools so more students could learn a trade; provide more transportation alternatives for seniors; and lobby for tougher border enforcement.

“I am not a hater,” the Venice resident said. “I would not round up and send people back on a truck, but we have to stop the crossings at the border.”

As the only Democrat in the race, Lieu will automatically move on to the November runoff unless he wins outright with more than 50% of the vote on Tuesday.

The Democratic leadership at the state and local level is solidly behind him, and Lieu has a long list of endorsements, including ones from the California Firefighters Assn. and the California Teachers Assn. He said education and public safety are his primary concerns.

“You see what happened with [Hurricane] Katrina,” he said. “If there’s no security of your citizens, nothing else can follow.”

If elected, Lieu said, his main objective would be to push Schwarzenegger to return $3 billion earmarked for schools that was instead used to help balance the state budget.

Also competing in Tuesday’s election as the Peace and Freedom Party’s candidate is James Smith of Venice. Smith said he would call for a moratorium on development west of the 405 Freeway, push for single-payer healthcare coverage and ask the state to formally oppose the war in Iraq.

“Most of the polls show overwhelming opposition to the war among Californians, yet political leaders in the state have not spoken out against it,” he said.