C&L welcomes Judy Chu, a progressive candidate for the East L.A./San Gabriel Valley seat vacated by Hilda Solis
By Howie Klein Monday Apr 13, 2009 10:00am
Once the Republicans stopped obstructing the confirmation of southern California Congresswoman Hilda Solis to the Secretary of Labor post Obama had nominated her, the special election for her overwhelmingly Hispanic and overwhelmingly Democratic (PVI is D+15 and McCain received less than a third of the votes) got under way. CA-32 includes parts of East L.A., Monterey Park, Rosemeade, El Monte, Baldwin Park, Azusa, Covina and West Covina; it's 62% Hispanic and 18% Asian. The Republicans haven't bothered to run a candidate there since 2002. The multiparty primary is scheduled for May 19 and the general election will follow on Bastille Day (July 14). There are an even dozen candidates but political handicappers say it all comes down to 4 progressive front-runners: state Senator Gil Cedillo, state Board of Equalization member Judy Chu, former Solis deputy district director Benita Duran, and ex-Obama transition team member Emanuel Pleitez.
Blue America hasn't taken a stand on the race because all four front-runners seem like good choices. We had Emanuel Pleitez over for a live blog session at FDL in early March and today we'll be meeting Judy Chu at Crooks and Liars at 11 am (PT).
People who wrote off Judy Chu's chances in such an overwhelmingly Hispanic district missed the fact that Judy has represented the district in various elected capacities for two decades and that many of the Hispanic elected officials in the district have endorsed her (as has Hilda Solis' family and both the SEIU and the L.A. County Labor Federation). You can check out her stands on the important issues facing the district at her website, where you can also donate to her campaign. But first, please join us below, in the comments section for Dr. Chu's first official visit to Crooks and Liars.
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Welcome to C&L, Judy-- and thanks for taking some time out of your campaign to blog with us. Let me cut right to the chase. Because many of us are here in southern California, we've heard a lot from your advocates, who are also friends of ours, and they are very enthusiastic about you and your candidacy. Hilda was an important Blue America candidate and we were supporting her for years. Judging by your record, we have seen that you will be supportive of the same values and ideals that attracted us to Hilda. But can you tell us what differentiates you from some of the other progressives candidates running? In other words, why you instead of Gil or Emanuel, for example?
The difference is that I'm a proven leader for the San Gabriel Valley. Not only have the voters returned me to office, they've promoted me to higher office; I've been elected 9 times over 23 years from the school board to city council to the Assembly and then to the Board of Equalization.
My roots in this valley are deep. I've shaped the nature of the San Gabriel Valley, particularly back in the l980's when I fought the divisive anti-immigrant, English Only movement and worked over the next decade to bring the community together.
I am known for being a leader on many progressive issues and getting things done. I've done groundbreaking work on consumer rights for immigrant persons buying cars, on protections for outdoor workers and on protecting hate crimes victims. I did a historic tax amnesty bill to help solve the state budget deficit.
I'm the only candidate in this race with a 100% lifetime California Federation of Labor voting record. I'm also the only candidate in this race with a 100% vote on the scorecards for all my years in the Assembly for the Calif League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club and Vote the Coast.
for me?
It's great to be here. I appreciate the chance to speak directly to the Crooks & Liars community.
It's so nice to have you join us at C&L...:-)
tossing some bankers in jail?
We used to live in East LA, now in Las Vegas. The area is quite different depending on which part of it you're in. Is the housing crisis affecting the area to a large part?
Thanks, clint
A couple of weeks ago, I walked a street in Baldwin Park (in the district) and was stunned to see 5 houses in a row that were being foreclosed upon. There is a zipcode in Covina where the amount of foreclosures have increased by 738% in the last 2 years!!
We have a very high amt of foreclosures that are affecting our area. I am glad that President Obama has put forth a plan on dealing with the mortgage foreclosures, but I think that it is only the tip of the iceberg. His plan allows for refinancing for those loans that are 5% above the value of the house, but as we know, there are many persons whose loans are substantially higher than the value of the house.
In the meanwhile, I am being proacctive and am conducting 2 foreclosure workshops: April 18 in Baldwin Park and May 2 in West Covina. Homeowners need to get the resources they need to stay in their houses!
doing wordshops and listening to the residents. In Vegas we have a load of underwater loans. Rep Dina Titus is doing two workshops with leanders, government reps, etc trying to get the TARP money to flow to the homeowners.
Too late for us, though. We lost our house in Dec 07 due mostly to medical bills for me as our insurance will not pay for pain medication.
Thank you for your time.
I am so sorry to hear that you lost your house due to medical bills. Your situation exemplifies exactly what is wrong with our healthcare system. Nobody should have to fear getting sick and families should not have to fear being one illness away from bankruptcy.
I was a co-author for single-pay healthcare insurance for the years that I was in the legislature. I believe that we pay an exorbitant amount of our dollar for the middle-man and not for healthcare. As a result, our healthcare is one of the most expensive in the world, and yet we are low on the scale of health people in this world.
I know that Pres Obama is pushing instead for Universal Healthcare, and I welcome that which will expand the availability of healthcare for all.
Whatever happened to the word liberal?
community feel when the media is littered with the Pat Buchanan's who attack Latinos and make it seem like they want to take over Texas?
The right wing rhetoric by the Pat Buchanan types hurt Latinos and all immigrants in this country. It actually hurts nearly all people in this country, since most of us came from immigrant families.
I feel that it's important to protect immigrants and have done so for the last few decades.
Immigrants were cheated at a car dealership when the contract presented to them was in English, despite the fact that they had negotiated the contract in their own language. I did a bill which said that if you negotiate for the contract in one language, the written contract must be in the same language.
When massive numbers of immigrants were cheated by fraudulent "immigration consultants," I did a bill which strengthened the requirements to be an immigration consultant so that it would be more difficult for them to take advantage of immigrants.
I believe that we must help one another and work as one community and as a united America.
I know you were the chair of the state Assembly's Appropriations Committee and, of course, now you're the vice chair of the California Board of Equalization (which collects over $53 billion a year). Are you going to look for a committee like Financial Services or Ways and Means or something like that if you're elected? And can you tell us what you thought of Obama's budget and stimulus package? Was it about right? Too much? Not enough? What would you do to make his economic policies better (if you think they need tweaking)?
I believe that one of the strongest contributions I would make to Congress is my financial expertise. I was Chair of Assembly Appropriations, which is considered the most powerful committee in the legislature because you have the power of life and death of every bill with a fiscal impact. I was a member of the Budget Conference Committee, which were the 6 legislators that reconciled the Assembly and Senate versions of California's $100 billion budget. Today, I work in bringing in the tax dollar at the Board of Equalization, and I know what challenges we have in closing the tax gap, which is the difference between what people owe in this country versus what they pay.
But most importantly, I have done some out-of-the-box thinking, such as in my Tax Amnesty bill. This was a 2 month period for people to pay their taxes without penalty, and was expected to bring in $300 million but actually brought in $4.3 billion to the state. It was the most successful tax amnesty in the nation in history.
I felt that Obama's budget and stimulus package was a step in the right direction, but the results will not be overnight. But we must find a way to get out of the stalemate that we are in, where people are no spending and financial institutions are not lending. I am particularly interested in making sure that California gets it's fair share, however. Though California has the 5th highest unemployment rate, it is not getting it's comparable share of the stimulus dollars.
I realize that this doesn't pertain to your district. But I think it does pertain to us as a whole. Being from Calif myself, I'd like to hear your position on Off Shore Drilling and, your position on Stem Cell research. Thank You.
I was in Santa Barbara when there was an oil spill due to offshore drilling. I have seen for myself what irreversible damage there can be with offshore drilling.
I believe that energy independence should come through greater reliance on green technologies and alternative fuel sources for automobiles.
I also my a huge supporter of Stem Cell Research. It was tragic that we lost all those years of research due to the policies of the Bush Administration. We could have made such progress on diseases such as Parkinson's.
Thank You Judy. I believe that the GOP will try again to push for Off Shore drilling . I am in complete agreement with you positions.
I remember that oil spill in 69 too. You don't look old enough to have been there.:)
That's hilarious! I was a freshman at the UC Santa Barbara in 1970!!
We might have been there at the same time!
Judy, during debates-- or via any interviews-- have any differences come up between you and Gil (and you and Emanuel) in terms of policies and priorities?
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/ca...
read this and you wont want to vote for gil!!
Yes, there is a very clear policy difference on the environment between me and Gil Cedillo. As I mentioned, I had a 100% score on the scorecards of the Ca League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club and Vote the Coast for all the years I was there. Gil's score was as low as 70% and never 100%.
Probably the starkest difference was shown in Senator Cedillo's bill, SB 493. It was a bill that would release property owners from liability for toxic sights. All the environmental groups were against it. The builders and the CA Chamber of Commerce (which represents the big corporations in Calif) were for it. The bill came to the Environmental Safety and Toxics Committee in the Assemby, of which I was a member. Ultimately, I just had to vote against this bill, which would have been very harmful to the environment.
The next day, in the Senate Judiciary committee, Senator Cedillo killed the bills of the 3 of us that voted no on this bill.
Hello Judy,
I would like to get your feelings and thoughts on higher education. It seems lip service is all we get. Politicans say we have to lower the cost, but in reality do nothing. can you tell me what you would do for higher ed?
I must admit that I'm biased towards community colleges because I spent 20 years as a college professor in the Los Angeles Community College District, first at Los Angeles City College, then at East L.A. College.
I think higher education is where you get the biggest bang for the buck. For a relatively inexpensive dollar amount, you can give people the skills that they need in order to get jobs.
I have been a great defender of lower tuition, greater funding for community colleges, increasing the amount for Pell Grants, and increasing funds for programs like Upward Bound.
I also think that we have to encourage young people to aspire to higher ed. We must start at the middle school level to expose young kids to the value of higher ed, and increase funds for such programs as AVID.
Dr Judy-
I see that Betty Chu is running, what is the difference between you and her and are you two related? I am kinda confused.
Betty Chu is a conservative Republican that is running in this race.
She is married to a cousin that I do not know well.
I am a progressive Democrat.
If you become a member of Congress, are you going to join the Progressive Caucus, which Hilda was part of? I noticed that Adam Schiff endorsed you. Is he trying to recruit you into the Blue Dog caucus?
Of course I'd join the Progressive Caucus!
I joined the "Democratic Study Group," which was the Progressive Caucus in the State legislature for all the years that I was there.
by the way, Judy announced her intention to join the Progressive caucus at Calitics earlier this morning
http://www.calitics.com/diary/8521/ca32-im-pr...
disclosure: I'm proud to be Judy Chu's netroots outreach coordinator
Judy, thanks so much for coming.
We've been writing lately about the Obama administration's plans to push comprehensive immigration reform. What kind of role would you see having in that, and what shape would you like such legislation to take?
I believe very strongly that immigration reform needs to take place.
Our system is broken. We should not have a situation where it takes over a year to just process a citizenship application!
Our system tears families apart. If we want immigrants to be truly productive, we need to make sure families stay together.
We should have a means by which immigrants who pay their taxes, have a job, and are willing to play by the rules can take the steps toward legalization. We should have a means to bring people out of the shadows.
Judy,
Another question i have deals with latin america. right now there is a tremendous move in central and south america to the ultra left, because of the 8+ years of neglect by the previous administration. What are your thought and feeling on what should we do to help latin america raise out of poverty, stop the growth of narcotics in the area, and control their gang problem. latin america is a huge trading partner for the USA.
Judy,
As a former member of the appropriations committee and the board of equilization, I'm sure you've watched the budget crisis with great interest. Our state needs a stable tax base, and ever since the passage of prop 13 we've been denied that. Our state's public education system and social services have suffered as a result. Would you support a repeal of prop 13?
Thanks so much for the opportunity to speak to the Crooks & Liars community. I enjoyed the dialogue. The primary is on May 19th, I appreciate your support. Please visit http://www.judychu.net/ and if you can, donate to my campaign at http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/21630
Thanks!
I hope you'll come back after you're elected so we can congratulate you. Good luck!
Judy Chu looks like the type of person that we need in the U.S. House of Represenatives.
take DiFi's seat. Fienstein has got to go.
DiFi will die in that seat with her bride of Frankenstein hairdoo...
That woman has gone through a lot. Harvey Milk?
But, she has shown that she is pulling to the right.
Too many times now.
Just in case you check back in.
Do you have any aspirations for the US Senate?
I wish I would have thought about this earlier.
At any rate, Good Luck Judy.
When you talked about real candidates, Judy you forget this candidate, Rafael Nadal, a worker for peoples right; a true representative of veterans and homeless people in the 32nd. It is an outrage what is going on in our district, such a disproportionate amount of homeless veterans.You and Gill are doing and living very, very well. I just don't think you or Gill care about those less fortune souls. When I'm elected to the 32 congressional District, I will create avenues to relief the suffering of so many.
Rafael Nadal
Candidate for the 32 Congressional District
Thanks so much for the opportunity to speak the community readers of Crooks & Liars, I should have greeted you before, but I wanted to let Ms. Chu know that we are equal Democrats, progressive and have an agenda specific to the needs of our community. Those of you who wish to know me, please look me at www.nadalforcongress.com
Rafael, What is your position on Stem Cell and Off Shore Drilling?
And if there are cuts to be made to balance the budget, where would you make them?
And what's your position on Assault weapons?
Thank You for your time.
Oh,ok
if you check my site www.nadalforcongress.com., my position on assault weapons is very clear. I invite you to visit and donate.
Rafael Nadal
Judy Chu is the only one qualified for this job period...
Well, the voter will decide and I'm sure will be on the merits.
Rafael Nadal
Candidate
www.nadalforcongress.com
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