Author: Judy Lloyd

We started the sweepstakes in Congressional District 10 when news was leaked of Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher’s prospective nomination by President Obama as the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security on March 18th.

So today, May 6, 2009, the real games begin with the President’s announcement of Tauscher’s formal nomination.

Democrat, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi released a poll on Tuesday showing his standing as strongest among the top Democrat contenders at 24%. Senator Mark DeSaulnier had 13% and Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan got 10%. Garamendi’s name ID is not surprising at 80%, given that he has run for every office in the state of California. DeSaulnier’s name ID trails at 39% to Buchanan’s 45%.

The field to replace Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher in the 10th Congressional District keeps getting bigger and bigger. Newly announced Democratic candidate Anthony Woods entered the race yesterday and he offers an attention-getting story. Woods is an Iraqi war veteran, bronze star winner, West Point Grad and he’s out of the army because of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Woods is gay and disclosed that to army brass so he was sent packing. Read more about Woods’ story in Shane Goldmacher’s Capitol Alert report.

Just a week of so ago John Garamendi pulled out of the Governor’s race to focus on the CD-10, thinking he’d have an easy ride to congress. It appears others don’t see Garamendi as a sure thing and are willing to challenge him for the seat.

Garamendi chose a taxpayer-funded facility to do an “official” visit prior to his very political entry into the CD-10 race. Garamendi is “in” with his one major endorser – the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299.

There’s nothing in the Bay Area like a good protest! A Berkeley alum once told me that they used to just post a sign that said “Protest!” and people showed up – whether they were protesting something or nothing at all. People like a good party.

The peaceful protest at the Tax Tea Party in Pleasanton was one of several in the Bay Area. Even after 6 hours, there were still 600 angry taxpayers when I closed the program with KSFO radio personality Barbara Simpson. I learned later from other reports that there were actually 2,000 during the day in that location, 500 in Walnut Creek, and nearly 1,000 in San Francisco.

What I liked best about the Tax Tea Party was that these were real Californians – people who showed up because they were sick of paying for things they don’t benefit from – like corporate bailouts and bloated government. These people scratch their heads every day wondering what that extra tax dollar is paying for. It is not putting food on their table or clothing on their kids. These were not Republicans or Democrats – they were Americans. People Taxed Enough Already.

Rep. Ellen Tauscher’s appointment by the Obama-Clinton Administration has sure ignited the political talkers. Open seats and special elections bring out the most qualified candidates, the least viable, and sometimes nobody at all.

The sweepstakes could be really intriguing or completely dull in this district which is really not much like the one Bill Baker held in the mid-1990s – the new “10th” is yet another poster child for redistricting reform.

As a resident of this district, I have to admit, it crossed my mind – for about 5 seconds. Let me be the first to raise my hand and say I’m not running. It took me about seven minutes to look at the numbers and rule myself out as a candidate. In the last four days, I’ve gotten a myriad of calls from my friends from Capitol Hill, so I started to evaluate others who might be better positioned to run in this congressional seat where Democrats dominate by 18-points of registration over Republicans.

Yes, it’s a GOP long-shot but special elections sometimes yield unconventional results.

This past Saturday, the Town of Danville welcomed home Captain C.B. “Sully” Sullenberger for the first time since that heroic day when this courageous and talented pilot performed a “near miracle’, making a perfect landing in New York’s Hudson River that saved 155 lives.

My town rolled out the red carpet for Sullenberger, his family, and the several thousand guests who packed the town green. With the usual flourishes about to begin, I stood with my 11-year old son, an aviator-to-be someday, whose father, grandfather, and two uncles are pilots. In a family like this, you learn a lot more about the pinpoint precision, steady hand, and clear mind required with all flights – this one being nothing less than remarkable.

As Springsteen’s “Local Hero” passed through my head, the ceremony began. I thought about what “Sully” would say, how he would say it, and what the crowd’s reaction might be. I thought about when Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s Iron Man record appearing in the most consecutive games (then 2,130) in Major League Baseball history.

Like so many others who suffered bruising losses this past Tuesday, I had that moment that CNN Commentator Donna Brazile described in her “letter to losers” of being tired, angry and sad. I lost my own primary for state assembly in the 15th district in June and promptly jumped in to help the winner Abram Wilson retain our only Republican seat in the Bay Area legislature. I did everything I could to help the presidential ticket and my friend congressional candidate Dean Andal in the 11th district.

I raised an astounding $22,500 for the Victory campaigns and even more for Andal and Wilson during the general election. Why? I just didn’t see how we could risk having a GOP “shut out” for business-friendly candidates – thus paving the way for more regulation and mandates and less flexibility.

Then Election Day and the Obama tsunami hit.

The reality of no Bay Area representation in the state legislature and the U.S. Congress was as biting a cold as I’ve felt since I left Clarkson University (where it is 45 degrees below zero in the winter).

When Aerosmith’s Joe Perry (who I have now dubbed “Joe the Guitarist”) offered his endorsement this morning of John McCain for President, the self-described “hard core Republican” had me cheering. Like “Joe the Plumber”, this “Joe” gets it.

Perry said that issues like national security and anguish over the economy prompted him to split from the rest of the entertainment world and throw his support behind McCain. “The Guitarist”, a man of humble beginnings who still lives in New Hampshire, talked about how his parents drilled it into him at a young age that hard work leads to success and that having people like Schwarzenegger and Giuliani on board definitely encouraged him to “raise his hand” to support McCain.

“Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden in a recent visit to the Bay Area a few days ago endorsed Abram Wilson, the Republican Candidate running in the sharply contested 15th District Assembly Race in Contra Costa, Alameda, Sacramento, and San Joaquin Counties. This seat, the most contested legislative district in Northern California, has a 2% registration difference between Republicans and Democrats – Biden’s endorsement could put Wilson over the top.”

And – if you believe that – I have some swampland in Florida to sell you.

The thought of the liberal “Joe Senator” endorsing mainstream Republican Wilson is about as likely as the thought of Republican VP Nominee Sarah Palin endorsing union-backed Joan Buchanan in this contested race.

Yet, a mailer sent out this week from a group called “Create Change – Support Joan Buchanan Independent Expenditure Committee” suggested that Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin was indeed supporting Buchanan, a Democrat.

I was challenged several weeks ago to look at the record of Sarah Palin and John McCain and compare that to the alternative to see who would be best for California businesses and families.

I own a technology company with my husband that deals with custom software in the health care and life science industries. I’ve been on the front lines dealing with issues like workplace flexibility as an advocate for jobs and competitiveness.

I wanted to get past the “fad” and Rock Star appeal. What is “Palin Power”? Is she really a “Barracuda”? Will she help working women as “Sarah the Riveter”? Or, is she just “Caribou Barbie”?

Unless you are “Hilary”, “Oprah”, “Angelina” or “Madonna”, it’s uncommon to be known by your first name and receive immediate name ID. But in a short 35 days since her selection to the Republican ticket, “Sarah” has become a phenomenon – the glasses, the Tina Fey jokes, those fabulous boots she wore to her first appearance in Silicon Valley this past Sunday. “Rock star” is an understatement.