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Politics

Democrats In 52nd Congressional Race Get No Party Endorsement Yet

By Alison St John / Reporter
Published February 13, 2012 at 1:07 PM PST
This story was published more than 12 years ago.
The 52nd Congressional District.
Brian Bilbray
The 52nd Congressional District.
Democrats In 52nd Congressional Race Get No Party Endorsement Yet
The 52nd Congressional District race threatens the Republican majority in San Diego’s congressional delegation. But the Democratic candidates running against Republican Brian Bilbray won’t have their party’s endorsement until after voters make their choice in June.

The 52nd Congressional District race threatens the Republican majority in San Diego’s congressional delegation. Currently, San Diego has three Republican and two Democratic congressional representatives. Redistricting redrew the boundaries of all the congressional districts. The 52nd is now more evenly divided between Democratic, Republican and Independent voters, making the outcome of this year's election unpredictable.

To win the state Democratic Party's endorsement, candidates need 60 percent of the votes from delegates in their district.

Larry Remer, campaign consultant for former state Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña, said she missed that by one point.

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“You know, 59 percent in the caucus is a tremendous showing of support in the district,” he said.

Maryanne Pintar is spokeswoman for candidate Scott Peters, who is chair of the Port District and former San Diego City Council president. She said the lack of endorsement leaves it to voters to decide the strongest Democratic candidate in June.

"Our strategy was to convince enough delegates that no endorsements was in the best interest of defeating Brian Bilbray, " she said, "and in fact we achieved that."

Saldaña got twice as many votes from delegates as Peters. Pintar said Saldaña’s former state office may explain that fact.

“While the state delegates are a very specific group of people,” she said, “our base of support across the region and in the district is far broader.“

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Peters has raised more money than Saldaña. Pintar said he has about five times more cash on hand to campaign.

But Larry Remer dismisses this advantage.

“If money was what politics was all about, Meg Whitman would be governor, Peter Q Davis would’ve been the mayor of San Diego,” he said.

The state party endorsement wouldn’t have meant much financial support anyway, but it would have meant Saldaña could have used the party’s bulk mailing rates, volunteers and phone banks.

Meanwhile, Bilbray is already getting support from the National Republican Congressional Committee to hold on to the newly “redistricted” seat.

Two other candidates, John Stahl and Wayne Iverson are also running for the seat. Stahl has loaned his campaign $300,000.

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Alison St John
Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.
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