This morning at a conference of the American Association of Political Consultants in Sacramento, Gloria Fauss confirmed again that the politically liberal union “had a lot of Republican members” who “want us to engage with Republican candidates” for the legislature. Fauss claimed 150,000 members of the SEIU-UHW, who are generally hospital workers. She agreed with other lobbyists on the morning’s panel on “California 2012 – The Wild West”, that candidates from the “extremes” or “one issue” candidates would not receive support. But what Fauss did specifically say, was that her organization was seeking to support Republican candidates willing to support the “revenue” side of the equation in dealing with California’s budget problems. I think it is fair to interpret her comment as meaning the SEIU will be looking for Republican candidates in the 2012 primaries who support raising taxes.
