The playing field in the 59th Assembly election has tilted slightly toward the High Desert end of the district. One of the two major desert-area candidates this morning dropped out of the race to replace termed-out Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy in the June 2006 primary. Todd Turoci, an attorney and son of a former county supervisor, announced that he’s bowing out because he’s concerned about being a "part-time" father for the next six years. No disrespect to Mr. Turoci or his stated noble purpose, but isn’t it curious that, according to his press release, the idea of Assembly life being hard on a single-parent family only just recently swayed his decision when it dawned on him he might actually win the election? "Based on recent polling, I am convinced that the race is winnable and that’s what made me re-evaluate the time I would be taking away from my kids," Turoci said. Although Turoci’s fundraising and endorsements had been lacking somewhat, and a few early campaign gaffes aside, his well-recognized name on the ballot could have proven problematic for the other desert candidate, Anthony Adams. (By the way, in the interest of fairness, I need to disclose that I am supporting Adams in this race.) 
"This (Turoci’s departure) greatly increases my chances of unifying San Bernardino County support," Adams said upon hearing the news.
The sprawling 59th District, considered safely Republican, stretches from Arcadia in the San Gabriel Valley to Apple Valley in the High Desert. Republican voters in the district heavily outnumber Democrats: 48% to 33%. Glendora, Hesperia and Apple Valley are the largest cities in the 59th, representing nearly one-third of the district’s registered voters. Republican voter registration is evenly split between Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. The good news for Adams is the two large desert cities, where he’s a well-established figure, contain almost half the number of Republican voters in the district. Adams is the former Legislative Affairs Director for San Bernardino County and a former senior staffer for Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus. He has support from many local legislators, as well as former Senator Jim Brulte.
One important question for Adams is whether another prominent High Desert candidate enters the race before filing closes March 10. So far, there is one other apparent desert candidate, attorney Susan Slater, who claims to reside in Apple Valley. Many local Republicans hope to take advantage of a split field on the Los Angeles County side by having a single San Bernardino County candidate with broad support. So far that candidate is shaping up to be Adams. Adams points out that he has majority support from Republicans on both desert city councils in the district. Additionally, he has endorsements from all Republican council members in the other two Victor Valley Cities of Adelanto and Victorville, so if Prop. 77 were to pass and redistricting resulted in the re-unification of the Victor Valley, Adams would be in an enviable position to show well in an area with a population of 300,000.
Also ru
nning is attorney Harry Scolinos of Arcadia. Scolinos has the support of the L.A. Sheriff’s Deputies and the incumbent Mountjoy. The rest of the field includes former Sierra Madre Councilman Bart Doyle, an attorney and President of the Los Angeles County East Chapter of the Building Industry Association of Southern California, and Chris Lancaster, son of former Assemblyman Bill Lancaster. Lancaster is government affairs director for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune newspaper. In July, he resigned from the Covina City Council to move to the City of LaVerne to run for the 59th Assembly seat. At the June filing, Adams reported $125,000 cash on hand. Scolinos, Doyle, Lancaster and Slater showed no contributions at the June filing. However, Scolinos has demonstrated a past willingness to self-fund. In a 2004 challenge to Democrat Congressman Adam Schiff, Scolinos shelled out $300,000. We’ll see how the next round of finance reports look when they come out in January. Stay tuned…