Sanchez Makes Senate Race
LA Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez will continue on to November to face California Attorney General Kamala Harris in the race for the U.S. Senate. Both are Democrats. Sanchez came in second to Harris, with an 11 percent gap between them. Under the new open primary system, it is the first time two candidates of the same party make the runoff. If elected in November, Sanchez would be the first Latina to ever serve in the U.S. Senate.
Former GOP Chairman Out
Past California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring lost his election for the SD County GOP Central Committee on last week’s ballot. Nehring came in 10th place where only the top six people get elected to serve on the Party’s governing body. Nehring previously served as the Chairman of the SD County GOP, and recently was a national spokesman for the Ted Cruz campaign. Now that Cruz is out, Nehring hasn’t announced if he’s endorsing Donald Trump.
No Latinos in City Atty Race
Both Gil Cabrera and Rafael Castellanos failed to make the run-off election for SD City Attorney. Republican Robert Hickey came in first, and Democrat Mara Elliott in second. They will face each other in the November election. Cabrera and Castellanos split support and major endorsements among Latinos. But, together they received 88,515 votes, 13,000 more votes than Hickey.
Gonzalez Wins Election
SD County Board of Education member Guadalupe Gonzalez won her election to a full 4-year term. Gonzalez was appointed last year when Lyn Neylon resigned her Board seat. Neylon had beaten incumbent Jerry Rindone to win the seat in 2012. Rindone later applied to fill the vacancy, but the remaining board members chose to appoint Gonzalez instead. Rindone then challenged Gonzalez for the seat in last week’s election. She won by a 56 percent to 44 percent margin. Rindone also ran and lost his campaign for Chula Vista Mayor in 2014. Three losses in a row will likely be the end of Rindone’s long career in public office.
Ramirez and Diaz Runoff
Two Latinos will face off in the November run-off for a seat on the Chula Vista City Council. Former Councilman Rudy Ramirez came in first place with retired firefighter Mike Diaz in a very close second, separated by only 124 votes. Two other candidates, Emmanuel Soto and Eduardo Reyes didn’t make the cut. The 4th District includes the areas West of 805 and South of L Street.