It’s that biennial season when you get to feel like the winner of a popularity contest each time you fetch your mail. There are so many political candidates so eager to prove their virtues (or another candidates’ vices), and as you remove the fistfuls of glossy, grandstanding mailers is your first thought: A) I feel loved; B) I’m fortunate to still live in a democracy; or C) Why won’t these people leave me alone?
As I perused the official sample ballot from Los Angeles County, I realized that I recognized very few of the names and I doubt I’m the only one. I counted 134 people running for public office, and that doesn’t include the 61 running for governor—but it does include several facing charges of criminal or ethical violations.
If the latter surprises you, keep in mind that the current occupant of the Oval Office was elected as a convicted felon, so the bar is pretty low.
However, mere accusations aren’t proof of wrong-doing, and there’s only an accusation against Fiona Ma, the current State Treasurer running for Lieutenant Governor due to term limits (not to be confused with Eleni Kounalakis, the current Lieutenant Governor running for State Treasurer). Ma was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee but has denied the allegation. She rightly points out that the lawsuit against her was dropped, but that was because of a settlement that required the State of California (meaning you and me) to pay $350,000 to her accuser.
Robert S. Draper, L.A. County Superior Court Judge (Office No. 2 on your bingo card), has also been accused of sexual harassment, based on inappropriate (and somewhat bizarre) comments. Though Judge Draper has had an impressive legal career, including 14 years on the bench, he’s now 84 years old and hasn’t been allowed to adjudicate a case since 2023, when it was determined that he no longer could carry out his duties due to diminished faculties. Where have we seen this show before? The Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) rated him “not qualified.”
If you’re not familiar with the LACBA ratings (the link is included in the online version of this column), it’s a great resource for separating the wheat from the chaff—or at least the “qualified” from the unqualified. Of the 37 judicial candidates on the ballot, only one received the highest ranking of "exceptionally well qualified”: Judge David Walgren (Superior Court Office No. 81).
Moving on to statewide contests, if you’re reading a newspaper, you most likely know who’s running for governor, though you may be underwhelmed by the choices. I have to confess I’ve gone from dreading Kamala Harris might run for governor to deeply regretting that she didn’t.
Not that we’re lacking for star power, given that Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, Pete Buttigieg and even Hillary Clinton make nearly daily appearances on the campaign literature of Brian Goldsmith, who is running for state senator.
The celebrity endorsements are supposed to convince us of Goldsmith’s qualifications and capabilities, but they have the inverse effect on me. The mailers trumpet Goldsmith’s opposition to Trump, which is mostly irrelevant to the job Goldsmith’s seeking, while offering little about his accomplishments or skills beyond ingratiating himself (or sucking up) to Democrat bigwigs.
Competing for our attention (and our mailbox real estate) is Dr. Sion Roy, a cardiologist and former president of the Santa Monica Democratic Club, boasting endorsements from more local, lower-wattage politicos. Santa Monica Renters Rights (SMRR) has sent out repeated missives touting Roy’s support for rent control while referring to Goldsmith as an untrustworthy stranger, which implies that Goldsmith’s sucking up needed to start a little further down the ladder.
And in case you’re wondering, Roy is also eager to lead the battle against Trump from the deep blue perch of Sacramento.
There are actually eight other candidates in the state senate race, including Zennon Ulyate-Crow, the precocious 23-year old executive director of Abundance Network Santa Monica and Mike Newhouse, a moderate Democrat and former president of the Venice Neighborhood Council, who is endorsed by several police associations.
Newhouse gets credit for including the most information on his mailers about his background and his goals. However, when I visited each of the campaign websites, it’s Goldsmith, an accomplished political consultant, who offered the most extensively detailed positions on the largest range of issues.
There are many other contests, and I highly recommend checking out the LA Times and/or LAist voter guides. There are two former Santa Monica mayors running for state office: Tony Vazquez for California Treasurer and Michael Feinstein for Secretary of State. And Ben Allen, term-limited out of the state senate seat so many are pursuing, is now running for California Insurance Commissioner, where his intelligence and integrity would be welcome.
It’s easy to support someone as conscientious as Allen, but I have the advantage of having interviewed him. I know far less about most of the other candidates, though I’ve now spent hours researching all of them online, which is something few people have the time to do.
Is it truly democracy if we have so little clue who we’re voting for? Of course not. It’s not news that we have a terribly flawed system. Yet it still beats the alternatives. I prefer a little electoral homework to kneeling at the golden statue of our dear leader. How about you?
Devan Sipher can be reached at Devan@smdp.com.