Safe Seats Still Swept Up in Heated Battle

The shape of the next California Legislature was being molded Tuesday with intensely fought primaries that will bring some fresh faces into the Assembly and possibly realign the politics of the traditionally liberal Senate.

The impact of term limits was evident up and down the state, clearing out much of the lower house and propelling many veteran members to look for safe landings in the upper house.

Most of the 80 Assembly districts and the 20 Senate seats up for election this year are secure for one party or the other, so the makeup of the Legislature is likely to be largely set in the primaries, barring upsets in November.

Allan Hoffenblum, editor of the California Target Book, which tracks legislative races, said only two Senate seats might switch party hands in the fall, one in Orange County being vacated by Joe Dunn in District 34 and the other in Salinas held by Republican Jeff Denham in District 12.

He said the number of Assembly seats that would be seriously contested in the fall would depend on a number of factors, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s popularity in his own reelection bid. But many of the safe Democratic seats were the subject of passionate primaries as early returns trickled in this morning.

In early returns for one of the state’s best-funded legislative fights this year, Assemblyman Rudy Bermudez was locked in a tight race with colleague Ronald S. Calderon for Senate District 30 in Los Angeles’ Eastside.

Calderon, a favorite of banking and insurance interests, hoped to move to the upper house, while his older brother Charles -- a Senate fixture in the 1990s -- was ahead in his bid to return to the Legislature by claiming Ronald’s District 58 Assembly seat.

Bermudez is a state parole officer close to the prison guards union, which has been working hard for his nomination.

In another feisty Democratic primary between Assembly veterans, Jenny Oropeza was running ahead of George Nakano to replace Sen. Debra Bowen in District 28, which runs up the Southern California coast from Long Beach to Venice. Oropeza is finishing her third term in the Assembly.

Another Assembly veteran, Gloria Negrete McLeod, was ahead of Joe Baca Jr., the son and namesake of the local congressman, for Senate District 32, which encompasses Pomona and several southwestern San Bernardino County cities.

Orange County is the site of one of the few competitive districts in the general election, making the Democratic primary in Senate District 34 worthy of particular attention from statewide political observers. Orange County Supervisor Lou Correa was holding on to an early lead over Assemblyman Tom Umberg.

In early returns in the Republican primary, Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher was ahead of an anti-immigration activist, Lupe Moreno.

The primary winners will vie to replace Joe Dunn, who won the seat back for the Democrats in 1998 but is now termed out and running for state controller.

Assemblywoman Cindy Montanez and Los Angeles City Councilman Alex Padilla sought the Democratic nod for Senate District 20. The race was notable for the clash between two of Los Angeles County’s youngest ambitious politicians, both in their early 30s and so driven that they wanted to give up their current posts even before term limits forced them out.

Padilla had a slight lead early this morning. The winner expects to replace outgoing Sen. Richard Alarcon in the heavily Democratic district, in which no Republican candidate has filed.

The Legislature’s lower house was guaranteed to be filled with new faces to Sacramento, with 36 of the 80 seats being vacated, most because of term limits.

Kevin de Leon, a leader of the California Teachers Assn., appeared to win the Democratic nomination in Assembly District 45, which runs from Hollywood to the Alhambra city line. He faced Christina Chavez, granddaughter of the co-founder of the United Farm Workers, Cesar Chavez, and Gabriel Buelna and Elena Popp, who had the endorsement of the district’s current representative, Jackie Goldberg.

De Leon had the backing of schoolmate Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Mike Feuer took an early lead against Abbe Land and two others for the Democratic nomination in liberal Assembly District 42, which includes Brentwood, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. The other Democratic candidates were Eric M. Fine and Mark Gonzaga.

Though only a fifth of the district, now represented by Paul Koretz, was registered Republican, two candidates -- Clark Baker and Steven Mark Sion -- were fighting for the GOP nod.

In Assembly District 43, Paul Krekorian led in early returns over Frank Quintero for the seat held by the second-most powerful assemblyman, Democratic Majority Leader Dario Frommer, who is being forced out by term limits. The district includes Glendale, Burbank, Silver Lake and Los Feliz.

Farther south, Mike Davis led slightly in early returns against Anthony Willoughby and Edward R. Turner in a fight to replace Mark Ridley-Thomas, who is running for the Senate. He represented Assembly District 48, which spans Central and South Los Angeles.

In the 51st Assembly District, Curren Price and Steve Bradford were locked in a close race to replace termed-out Jerome Horton in representing the Inland South Bay neighborhoods.

In the 55th Assembly District, Laura Richardson took an early lead against Warren Furutani to replace Jenny Oropeza. The Democratic district includes Harbor City and Wilmington, most of Lakewood and parts of Long Beach.

The election season has been notable for the large number of relatives of termed-out incumbents seeking to take their seats.

Democratic Assembly candidates included Laura Canciamilla, who is married to Joe Canciamilla of Pittsburg; Renee Chavez, wife of Ed Chavez of La Puente; and Mike Eng, husband of Judy Chu of Monterey Park.

Canciamilla was losing in early returns to Mark DeSaulnier, a Contra Costa County supervisor, in Assembly District 11 in the East Bay. Emmanuel Gbenga Ogunleye and Gerold Lee Gorman were also on the ballot.

Eng showed a strong lead in early returns against Daniel Arguello for the 49th Assembly District seat in the San Gabriel Valley being vacated by Chu.

Chavez faced strong challenges from Edward Hernandez, Bradley McFadden and James Solis in the 57th Assembly District in the central San Gabriel Valley, with Hernandez taking the early lead.

On the GOP side, Dianne Harman was aiming to take husband Tom’s Assembly seat in the safely Republican 67th District in northwest Orange County. She faced Michael McGill and Jim Silva in the primary, and was losing to both in early returns.

Two sets of siblings were hoping to take their brothers’ seats in the Assembly: Jeremy Baca, the brother of Joe Baca Jr., and Charles Calderon, brother of Ronald Calderon.

Calderon lined up most of the endorsements and collected more money than his opponents in the 58th Assembly District: David Armenta, Geraldine Guzman and Owen Newcomer. With half the precincts reporting, Baca was losing to Wilmer Amina Carter in the 62nd Assembly District.