With Labor Day now well behind us, we are now officially in the 2010 primary season, and as such, we here at the FlashReport will start to take a closer look at the legislative primaries shaping up in both safe GOP and competitive Congressional, Senate and Assembly Districts.
Where to start first on such an endeavor is always a challenge – so I picked the 33rd State Assembly District, which stretches up and down the California coast, from Hearst Castle on the 
Northern almost to Santa Barbara to the South (map). This seat has been considered a “safe” GOP seat for many years, though voter registration trends ensure that this year, with an open seat, it will be in play next November. The current incumbent, Assembly Republican Leader Sam Blakeslee (pictured), will retire at the end of next year due to term limits, and is expected to run for State Senate in 2012.
In making my calls around the district to get the “lay of the land” – it became very obvious to me that while there may be more Republican candidates, as we sit here around 8 months from the primary, this is shaping up to be a battle between longtime San Luis Obispo County Supervisor K.H. “Katcho” Achadjian and Santa Maria City Planning Commissioner Henrietta “Etta” Waterfield.
There is no doubt that Katcho Achadjian (pictured) is a fixture in San Luis Obispo County – well respected by 
many. But as was pointed out to me by a number of people to whom I spoke, including supporters of his, Achadjian is definitely the “establishment” from-government candidate. He’s certainly viewed as more moderate – in both ideology and temperament, and has served in elective office for some time. Among other positions, he serves as a Central Coast representative on the California Coastal Commission.
From an ideological perspective, it is pretty clear that Etta Waterfield (pictured) would be the more conservative candidate of the two. You name the issue, from taxes, spending, sanctity of life, gun ownership, dislike and 
distrust of big government – Waterfield is not only a conservative’s conservative – but she is quite articulate about it. Waterfield actually spends her time professional advising small businesses in her area on how to grow and thrive – I’m sure a challenging job in our current economic climate. (If curious FR readers want more of a "hint" on how this will primary will shape up ideologically, former Congressman Bill Thomas and former Assemblyman Brooks Firestone, two notoriously divisive and moderate legislators, have lined up behind Achadjian.)
Waterfield’s family history is pretty interesting. Her husband, Buck, is the son of then-Los Angeles Rams hall-of-fame quarterback Bob Waterfield and 1950’s big screen glamour actress Jane Russell. There is certainly no doubt that her in-laws will have a lot of contacts to help Etta to raise some much-needed funds for her legislative bid.
Right now, the big news in this primary is that apparently early this year, in February, Achadjian voted as a member of the San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors to adopt an official legislative platform that called on the legislature to pass a budget with 55% of the vote, instead of a two-thirds vote. Apparently he also signed onto a Board of Supervisors resolution calling on the legislature to raise the state’s car tax back to where ex-Governor Gray Davis had then, before Governor Schwarzenegger cut them right after he won the recall election back in 2003.
More attention was drawn to this issue when the Supervisor denied, on a radio program, that he had cast such a vote (on the lowering of the vote threshold to pass taxes). Apparently he did, say the official minutes of the Clerk of the Board (Vote is D(6)1)) – whoops. Clearly being defined as a candidate that wants to make it easier to raise taxes is not the place you want to be positioned in a general election in this economy, let alone in a Republican primary.
Both Achadjian and Waterfield are capably represented when it comes to political consultants – the former having retained Jim Nygren, and the latter Tim Clark. Clark does have the more contemporary experience in the district, having served as a consultant for the incumbent, Sam Blakeslee, when he won this seat five years ago.
As to resources that will be available to these “professionals” to hone and deliver a message to the voters on behalf of their respective clients? As the end of the last reporting period, Waterfield has raised $58,008 in contributions, and has also loaned her campaign $100.000. Achadjian had taken in $70,158 (with just over $10k of that as a transfer from his Supervisorial campaign account, and had loaned himself $2,000. He also reported non-monetary contributions in the amount of $6,229. Of course these numbers are as of the June 30 cutoff – so both have had several months to build on these numbers.
Speaking of Sam Blakeslee – he has not formally endorsed Waterfield in this race. But it was widely accepted by those to whom I spoke in preparing this piece that it was not a question of whether Blakeslee will endorse Waterfield, but when. And I suspect in this particular district, especially given the vote of the local State Senator Abel Maldonado for the largest tax increase in the state’s history (he’s endorsed Achadjian, Blakeslee’s endorsement is the one you want. It’s undoubtedly telling that Blakeslee named Waterfield as the 33rd Assembly District 2009 Small Businesswoman of the Year…
We’ll circle back around to this district later on in the primary season for a review – and of course stand ready to bring you breaking news as it happens.
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