Report from California

Dianne Feinstein is back in D.C.

Her three-month absence was clogging up the Senate Judiciary Committee work. Senate Democrats were impatient. 

So were her potential successors.

Feinstein, 89, greeted at airport by Charles Schumer

College classmate Tony Farrell observes California politics from his Bay Area home base. He brings a brand manager's perspective to his Guest Posts here. He managed marketing for The Gap, The Sharper Image, and The Nature Company. He handled the Trump Steaks account. He makes a point that is not obvious to people who perceive California as a single place with a single ultra-liberal orientation. California has regional differences, especially the Bay Area vs. Southern California divide. There is also a political spectrum of moderate to progressive within the dominant Democratic Party.

Farrell sent this selfie of himself and his wife at this year's opening day game of the Houston Astros. He noted that gasoline in Houston was $2.81 a gallon.

Guest Post by Tony Farrell

The race for Dianne Feinstein's Senate seat.

More than a year ago, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a front-page article on Senator Diane Feinstein’s declining mental acuity. They quoted a number of anonymous sources who had worked closely with the former mayor for years. That triggered widespread soul-searching about what the much-respected Senator should do, because of the article’s credibility. 

At last, in November, Feinstein announced she would not be running for reelection, if for no other reason than her being 91 years old when her term ends. And now, with her chronic absence from more than a hundred important votes, most people I know believe she should step down immediately. 

In any event, three sitting Congressional Representatives have announced they are running for her seat, two from Southern California and one from the Bay Area. The two leaders, Adam Schiff (L.A. County) and Katie Porter (Orange County, if you can believe it) are far ahead of Barbara Lee (representing Oakland since succeeding socialist Ron Dellums in 1991). 

So, in some ways, it’s likely the state’s political power will continue to shift South; for decades, Northern California has led the state, with Pelosi, Feinstein, Boxer and Newsom (who could practically walk to each other's houses up here).

I must say, nobody is talking about this race! Lots of chatting about Feinstein because she is so well liked and her story is amazing; it’s a sad tale that began with an assassination and is ending badly. But the headline of a recent Institute of Government Studies (UC Berkeley) poll was headlined “Large Proportions Undecided” and “Many Unfamiliar.” That’s a good summary!

By far, Representative Adam Schiff has the greatest name recognition because of his national stature in fighting Trump, especially during the first impeachment. He is considered a California moderate (which means a progressive everywhere else) and has the backing of establishment Democrats, including Pelosi; plus millions in the bank. (Note that the California Senate race is second only to the national Presidential race in terms of expense. All three candidates have plenty of money.)

Representative Barbara Lee has okay name recognition, in part because she was the only dissenting vote (420 to 1) in President Bush’s call to invade Afghanistan; in hindsight, she looks prescient and wise. (More so than Representative Jeannette Rankin, a pacifist who cast the only dissenting vote on December 8, 1941.) Lee has served Oakland without any serious opposition for 30 years, and she is very progressive even by California standards. Perhaps fatally, she has emerged as a strong cheerleader for the report on reparations for descendants of enslaved Blacks in the state. 

Finally, Representative Katie Porter (first elected in 2018) has been endorsed by Senator Warren and is an influential new member of the Congressional Progressive caucus (the one that turned away Schiff as too moderate). She is quite strong among younger voters (Lee will be 77 years old next November) but is not well known in Northern California, which will hurt.

Our current Senator is Alex Padilla, a Latino from Los Angeles; he replaced Kamala Harris when she was elected Vice President—the beginning of the power shift South. 

It’s interesting to note that, in California, it’s super-rare for any sitting Representative to get elected Senator. The last time it happened was 1991; and the last time before that was 1970. So, new territory.

From where I sit now, I believe Adam Schiff will win with relative ease, against another Democrat. (Note that California’s primaries, for state offices, are “open,” meaning they are not restricted to either party. The top two vote-getters are the ones who move on to the general election; the last few Senate races have been between two Democrats.)  

My state is nowhere near as liberal or progressive as national (and Fox) legends would have it. The fact is, California has more Trump voters than Texas! I believe Katie Porter is too unknown and too liberal to win; and Barbara Lee is too old and way too progressive to win. Moreover, I think the moderate Adam Schiff has demonstrated excellent governing and communication skills and should make a great Senator; perhaps a President some day.

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