The Race for Governor 2010: Who is California’s Barack Obama?

Gavin Newsom came out against Prop 5 on the eve of the election, undermining his own “break from the past” image. He also spent another local election cycle opposing the very constituencies who an Obama-style grassroots campaign would need to attract.

Newsom’s gay marriage stance gave him an opening to be a major candidate for change, but he squandered this opportunity by failing to campaign across the state for “No on 8” among undecided or even negative voters. Unlike Obama, who prioritized outreach to the unusual suspects, Newsom tends to avoid audiences that do not agree with him.

As was true prior to Obama at the national level, it has been a very long time since California Democrats have gotten really excited about a gubernatorial nominee. It is hard for me to believe that the Democratic base does not want to bring the same type of change to Sacramento in 2010 that it brought to Washington DC this year.

Loretta Sanchez

Linda Sanchez (left), and her sister Loretta Sanchez. Photo by Jackie Sullivan.

One way for Democrats to generate excitement is to nominate a Latino and/or woman candidate for governor. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez from Orange County has been mentioned, and she was in the Berkeley last week with her sister and fellow Congresswoman Linda Sanchez.

I asked Loretta Sanchez last week about her governor plans (Linda announced she is not running). She said she was “taking a look at the governor’s race in the next couple of months,” and that her decision would depend on two factors.

First, Sanchez needs to feel she can win.

Second, she needs to decide whether she has the “passion for doing the job.”

Is California ready to elect a Latina Governor? After voting overwhelmingly for an African-American president, and backing a woman candidate in the presidential primaries, Sanchez’s race or gender should not be a major obstacle.

Moreover, Sanchez has a 100% voting record on union issues, and will galvanize the labor community. Her base in Orange County gives her key support among more conservative Democrats and independents that sometimes vote Republican in governor’s races.

The Sanchez sisters have just published an inspirational book, Dreams in Color. Like Obama’s Audacity of Hope, the book lays the groundwork for Loretta’s message.

Sanchez has a very compelling personal story. The second of seven children from an immigrant family whose parents did not attend college, Sanchez was raised with strong values about blue-collar work She describes going to the supermarket with her family and putting grapes in the cart. Her mother removed the grapes, explaining that the family was supporting Cesar Chavez and the UFW’s grape boycott.

At the Center of Latin American Studies event that I attended last week, young people lined up to buy copies of the book; they would likely be excited to join a Sanchez gubernatorial campaign.

Is Villaraigosa an Option?

After a rough start that included a messy divorce, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has found his stride. Even his early and aggressive campaigning for Hillary Clinton did not prevent him from maintaining strong support among Obama loyalists.

Villaraigosa faces token opposition in his 2009 re-election race. Would he want to leave that position to run for governor in 2010? Would his campaign whiz, the appropriately named Ace Smith, be able to run a Villaraigosa governor’s campaign while also leading Kamala Harris’s Attorney General effort?

I felt in 2006 that 2008 was Obama’s time. Villaraigosa is strongly positioned to pick up the state’s next US Senate seat, but if he wants the powerful governor’s office, it ‘s 2010 or never.

Money: Obstacle to Progressive Candidates?

Television and radio ads, rather than grassroots outreach, has typically dominated California governor campaigns. This expensive approach has eliminated many progressive candidates from statewide races.

But organized labor in California has the resources to back its own candidate for Governor, rather than relying on politicians’ self-selection. And the Internet can certainly be used to create a statewide field campaign that galvanizes the activist base.

While Loretta Sanchez and Antonio Villaraigosa evaluate their prospects, progressive groups need to focus on alternatives to Feinstein, Brown and Newsom. With the exception of Newsom on gay marriage, none offer a break from the past, and none will galvanize the Democratic base.

Barack Obama recognized in 2006 that there was an opening for change at the presidential level—progressives must recognize that California offers a similar opportunity in 2010.

Randy Shaw is the editor and publisher of Beyond Chron, an alternative online daily newspaper, with whose permission this article is republished. Shaw is also the author of the newly released, Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century (University of California Press).