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Fight over Senate endorsement heats up convention
THE INCREASINGLY nasty battle over who will lay claim to the San Francisco/North Bay state Senate seat, occupied by Carole Migden, spilled over onto the convention floor at the Democrats' fractious conclave in San Jose last weekend, practically overshadowing the address by former President Bill Clinton. The stage was set when 271 district caucus delegates cast ballots to endorse one of the three contenders: Migden, former Marin Assemblyman Joe Nation, who lives in Sonoma County, and Assemblyman Mark Leno of San Francisco. The caucus outcome - never in much doubt - gave incumbent Migden a 56 percent majority and presumably the endorsement. Nation did not make an effort to get the endorsement. But because Migden failed to get a 70 percent majority, it could be challenged, which is what the Leno forces were able to do by collecting the required 300 signatures. Then, launching an overnight anti-Migden leafleting blitz using what a Migden spokesperson labeled "blatant smear tactics," they forced a another vote on the convention floor. Migden made her case to the 2,000 delegates, but received a crushing defeat that left both candidates short of 70 percent and no endorsement for anyone. The big winner in this ruckus could turn out to be Nation, the former assemblyman who entered the fray just a little over a month ago, but who has managed to raise a respectable sum of money in a race few thought he would enter or could win. His supporters, who were all but invisible among the hundreds of clashing Leno and Migden placard holders marching up and back amongst the bemused delegates, are gaining confidence that the former San Rafael resident might just pull this off. Jim Ross, Nation's campaign manager, sees a path to victory if they can capture 52 percent to 54 percent of the vote in Marin and Sonoma counties. A lower turnout - likely in the June primary with no big races at the top of the ticket - also could favor Nation. With about half the district's voters in Marin and Sonoma, if Migden and Leno split the San Francisco vote as anticipated, Nation could pick up just enough to eke out a victory. In the latest polls, Migden trails Leno and Nation with only 14 percent of the vote, suggesting that she might not have enough time to catch up. Nation was beaten handily by Rep. Lynn Woolsey in the 2006 congressional primary, but seems to have gained new life. The North Bay has lacked a state Senate representative since Peter Behr in 1978. Term limits forced Nation out of the Assembly two years ago. Migden has not been helped by the disclosures of numerous campaign spending and disclosure violations for which she was fined a record $350,000 by the Fair Political Practices Commission. She was issued a partial reprieve when a federal judge ruled that she could spend $647,000 from an old campaign account in the Senate race. The damage already may have been done. One Marin council member, who asked not to be named, said that if she is expected to properly manage her campaign expenditures, a state senator accountable to a much larger constituency with the advice available to her should be able to do the same. Migden and Leno are graduates of the San Francisco school of roughhouse politics in which name-calling and ad hominem attacks have evolved into an art form. Her hard-nosed, take-no-prisoners approach served Migden well in the Assembly where she was named chairwoman of the powerful Appropriations Committee - the first woman to wield that gavel. Marin's political establishment has not taken as kindly to her with its more laid-back brand of politics. As a lesbian, she is also a forceful advocate for the LGBT community, a constituency she shares with Leno, who has been a prominent gay legislator for many years. She authored the landmark legislation creating California's domestic partner registry and was named "Rookie of the Year" in 1998 by the California Journal. Migden has been endorsed by U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein.
Richard Rubin writes a monthly column for the Marin Independent Journal. For more information on the author or to read his past articles, contact the Marin Independent Journal or visit their website at
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