Although I have in the past complained about the apparent lack of activity in the Assembly District 77 race to replace Joel Anderson, things now seem to be heating up, at least in the endorsement department.
In the last week and a half, Christine Rubin rolled out a handful of "name" endorsements, as well as the support of the Independence Caucus, while El Cajon Councilman Bill Wells nailed down the backing of a retired state senator and the conservative California Republican Assembly. The two each also gained the endorsements of former candidates in the race.
Rubin announced the support of former Secretary of State Bill Jones, State Senator Mark Wyland (her one-time boss), former Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, and former Cajon Valley Schools Trustee Jeff Kover, who earlier had been a candidate for the Assembly seat.
"Christine stands with me," said Jones, "in recognizing that a restoration of California’s greatness is only possible with common sense solutions to the State’s financial crisis. She knows that we must reduce the tax burden on businesses and individuals, cut wasteful spending, and capitalize on this great state’s incomparable potential for productivity."
Also backing Rubin, the Independence Caucus or "I-Caucus" website touts itself as a "A Citizen’s movement to take back government from ‘Big Money’ Interests groups" (sic).
In the meantime, Wells garnered the backing of former State Senator Wadie Deddeh, as well as Richard Bailey, who dropped out of the race last Tuesday while announcing his support of the El Cajon councilmember.
On Friday night, the California Republican Assembly’s endorsement session resulted in the support of Wells. “Bill Wells received a unanimous vote of endorsement by all three local CRA units this evening," said Greater Santee CRA President Frank Hilliker, "due to the years of hard work he has performed throughout the 77th Assembly District. Bill shares the CRA’s conservative values, and he absolutely will not waiver in upholding them when we send him to Sacramento in November. East County conservative voters can be confident a man like Bill Wells won’t forget where he came from, and should vote for him in the June 8th primary.”
Although perhaps comparatively quiet with endorsements in the last ten days, the third candidate in the race, Santee Councilman Brian Jones, has also locked down several pastors and elected officials, as his website shows.
Unlike 2000, when Jay La Suer easily won the primary, and 2006, when it became clear that the race was between Anderson and Santee Councilman Jack Dale, at this point I would call this year’s 77th campaign a literal crap shoot between the three Republicans. Additionally, unlike many past San Diego-area matchups, this doesn’t appear to be a "moderate vs. conservative" contest, not in any respect. As East County CRA Unit President Sylvia Sullivan said, "We are thankful for a field of great conservative candidates."
Additional details on the endorsements noted above and the AD 77 race can be seen at the San Diego Rostra blog: http://sdrostra.com/?tag=77th-state-assembly
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