As the election is reaching its climax more and more elected officials and political celebrities are finally picking a side. Recently Maxine Waters chose to endorse Wendy Greuel, while Karen Bass chose to endorse Eric Garcetti. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0409-mayor-black-endorsements-20130409,0,1684436.story
Like so many other events in this campaign the endorsements led to a stalemate. Bass and Waters are two of the more prominent black representatives of Southern California. Garcetti and Greuel bothe need to garner support from the wide open black community. Endorsements from Waters and Bass were both highly sought after. In the end, neither candidate was able to secure support from both of them and so the endorsements would appear to cancel one another out. Jan Perry has endorsed Garcetti, but the pivotal battle for South LA still seems wide open.
The race is tight in many key demographics, but these late endorsements have helped give us a clearer picture of the candidates and their supporters. Kevin James endorsed Garcetti, as James felt he was the more conservative of the two remaining candidates. Waters is one of the most liberal politicians in the state and has chosen to endorse Greuel. It seems that Garcetti is beginning to position himself as somewhat of a moderate, although he did also aggressively court Waters' endorsement.
It interesting to watch these late endorsements role in. Often endorsers wait until the last minute to make a decision, this has been especially true in this close race. If you choose the losing candidate, its best to pick late so that your connection to the loser is brief in eyes of the public. And if you want to be viewed as political Nostredamus who always makes the right pick it is best to wait til the last minute. Being cautious and gauging how the wind is blowing before making a last minute decision increases your odds of being right. Waiting unttil the last minute is how many endorsers have come to be thought of as crucial endorsements, or political king makers.
As the race heats up and election day closes in we are sure to see many more important figures jump off the fence and finally make a decision between Garcetti and Greuel.
Greuel has really been raking in the big name endorsements, not just Maxine Waters but Nancy Pelosi, Dolores Huerta, basically every union, Magic Johnson, and even the big dog Bill Clinton, who has been doing events for her all over town...I just can't believe that she is doing so well with the big name endorsements, and yet so poorly in the polling. On another note, I seriously appreciate your careful, considered, and comprehensive coverage of local politics.
ReplyDeleteIt's not surprising to see Greuel doing so poorly in the polls. She has not learned the lessons of the recent Top 2 Primary system in California. The top 2 candidates in this race are both Democrats who are appealing to the entire electorate. Greuel is conducting a campaign that is old fashioned. She is appealing to Democrats as though her opponent was a Republican appealing to Republicans. That is not the case. In order for Greuel to win she needs to appeal to Republican voters also. They vote too and with no candidate will opt for the more conservative of the two. Long gone in California is the liberal Democrat v the Conservative Republican. Greuel needs to learn that, and fast.
ReplyDeleteI really do agree with this Andrew, I think John Shallman has been taking a very negative and aggressive strategy of late, and it does not appear to be paying off.
ReplyDeleteThe truth is she did try to seek Kevin James' endorsement in an attempt to lure moderate and Republican voters:
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-greuel-garcetti-james-20130430,0,4192078.story
Pretty cringe inducing article. It certainly appears that she courted James. When that didn't work out she was kind of forced to take the stance as the more liberal liberal. I certainly agree that this strategy probably won't work out for her, but at this late date she may have little other options...
I think the political endorsements are very interesting in this mayoral election. Eric Garcetti remains the frontrunner in this race yet Greuel's impressive list of endorsers has made this a much closer race. Environmental sustainability is a very important issue to me initially I supported Eric Garcetti because he seems to be more focused on that. However, Wendy Greuel's endorsements from President Bill Clinton, Senator Barbara Boxer and Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi have definitely made me feel more favorable towards her than I had previously. Also, I disagree with your assessment that Greuel's endorsements make her the more liberal candidate. In fact, Wendy Greuel was a Republican for many years before entering public office. The rest of the country tends to look toward California for setting the precedent on emerging issues. For this reason, I still support Eric Garcetti because he will lead Los Angeles on a more sustainable path that will influence the politicians throughout our state and (hopefully) the country.
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