Endorsement:
Politics is local and is about representing the voters.
The 80th Assembly District race is between Steve Castañeda and Lorena Gonzalez. They both are worthy candidates. While both are similar in many ways, there are some distinctive differences between the two candidates that fall along the lines of degrees differences in ideology.
Both are Democrats, Gonzalez is a lifetime Democrat. Castañeda re-registered as a Democrat several years ago when, as he described it, the Party left him. Both have strong Labor union credentials. Gonzalez is head of the Labor Union, which naturally gives her an advantage. Meanwhile, in all of his past elections, Castañeda has earned the respect and endorsements of the Unions.
The biggest difference could be that Castañeda would be considered more of a fiscal conservative than Gonzalez. Both candidates have been in leadership positions and have demonstrated leadership skills.
With that said, this endorsement is not about the intangibles or the differences between the two, but is about the constituents. Who would best represent their interests? This, in our opinion, is the most important distinction when it comes to our endorsement.
Whenever a candidate asks a resident for their vote, that candidate is telling the voter that they will represent their interests, their needs, and their issues while in office. This is where Lorena Gonzalez comes up woefully short. She does not know the community or the voters of the 80th district.
Gonzalez only recent moved into the 80th district, the most Northern section, in San Diego. But if you win this race, it means that you won the Chula Vista vote.
You have not seen Gonzalez in the community, buying her early morning coffee in Chula Vista or taking her children to school at one of our neighborhood schools. You would not have seen her attending local meetings outside of union related issues.
You will not see Gonzalez in the park talking with folks, that is until recently while campaigning. You don’t see her in our libraries or at the grocery store.
We are pretty sure that as of six months ago Gonzalez would probably have gotten lost in Chula Vista without GPS, if she were to drive around the local communities.
La Prensa requested an interview with Gonzalez to talk about the issues in the district and was ignored. In researching Gonzalez, we could find only one interview with Gonzalez about the race, a Q&A in the UT and not one question about the district. Other than that we could not find one article where Gonzalez was asked directly about the district, the issues within the district, or her work in the district.
Gonzalez has skillfully avoided answering the tough questions and has let the assumptions and generalities define her as a candidate.
With so little local knowledge, how can Lorena Gonzalez go before the voters and say that she will represent their interests, when she doesn’t really know the community?
All politics is local and Steve Castañeda is a local. Castañeda was born in San Diego and has lived in Chula Vista for the past 23 years. He has represented the voters of Chula Vista as a council member for the past eight years. He not only knows the issues, he knows his neighbors, he attends a local church, he shops in the South Bay, and he plays in the South Bay.
When Steve Castañeda goes before a voter and says he wants to represent him or her, he is speaking from the heart. Steve knows that voter, and he knows their issues, their hopes, and their dreams.
This is the advantage Steve Castañeda has over Lorena Gonzalez.
In supporting Steve Castañeda for the 80th Assembly District, we are going against the grain. It would be ever so convenient and easier to join in with the crowd in support of Gonzalez, but for this paper it is not about joining in, but about what we feel is right and in the best interest of the 80th Assembly District.
Gonzalez is smart and can speak to the issues, but politics is about representing the community and the people in the community. Steve Castañeda knows this community and knows the people of the South Bay and for this reason we endorse Steve Castañeda for the 80th Assembly District.