'Odd couple' battles it out for senate seat
WALNUT CREEK -- It's hardly your typical political matchup -- pitting a missionary's daughter backed by Planned Parenthood and nearly every major Democratic lawmaker against a close confidant of Gov. Jerry Brown, who is counting on independents and Republicans to carry him to Sacramento.
The state Senate race between Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, and Orinda Mayor Steve Glazer is a confrontation between Democratic moderates who have drifted in opposite directions and now champion causes that might have surprised their earliest supporters.
File: Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, center, visits with campaign volunteers Doug Jones and Mary Jo Rossi at her campaign office in Concord, Calif., on Tuesday, March 17, 2015. (SUSAN TRIPP POLLARD)
It is also a battle between two of the most powerful interests in Sacramento -- organized labor and the Chamber of Commerce -- both of which see far more at stake in the May 19 special runoff election than merely who will represent much of Contra Costa County and the Tri-Valley region of Alameda County in the already strongly Democratic state Senate.
The seat was vacated last year when Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, was elected to Congress.
A Glazer victory, after he made headlines during his unsuccessful bid for Assembly last year by calling for the outlawing of BART strikes, could have statewide ramifications for the Democratic Party and its allies in organized labor, political analysts said.
"I think labor is one of the last trip wires the Democrats can't step over," said Richard Temple, a Republican consultant with the firm McNally Temple Associates. "If Glazer wins, this will tell other Democratic candidates that there may be a path that doesn't require them to have union support."
That path comes at a steep cost as voters inundated with a daily barrage of campaign mailers can attest. Glazer has benefited from nearly $2 million in independent expenditures from the Chamber of Commerce and Bill Bloomfield, a Republican-turned-independent Southern California millionaire who funds pro-business Democrats.
File: Mayor Steve Glazer chats with vendors at the Orinda Farmer's Market in Orinda, Calif., on Saturday, April 4, 2015. (Dan Honda)
Bonilla, who votes with the chamber about 40 percent of the time, has benefited from the nearly $1.5 million that union-supported committees have spent opposing Glazer. Bonilla has voted for every labor-backed bill since 2012, including legislation last year that required employers to provide paid sick leave.
With the advent of California's "top two" election system and the Republican Party's long decline, it's becoming increasingly common for labor and business to back different types of Democrats in politically moderate legislative districts.
What makes this runoff so closely watched is the degree to which Glazer, who finished first in last month's primary, has been willing to buck local Democratic leaders on union issues, especially 'Odd couple' battles it out for senate seat - ContraCostaTimes.com:
Susan Bonilla for Senate 2015
Susan Bonilla for Senate 2015:
Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla is a former high school teacher, mayor and county supervisor, who has worked to strengthen neighborhood schools, protect public safety services, and support job growth and working families across the state.
Prior to her election to the State Assembly in 2010, Bonilla served as a Contra Costa County Supervisor and as the Mayor of Concord – the largest community in the State Senate District. While serving her local community, Bonilla built and expanded job-training programs and job creation efforts that successfully helped residents get back to work during the recession.
Additionally, Susan Bonilla authored Assembly Bill 484 – an important and revolutionary change to education policy. Signed by the Governor Brown in 2013, the law enables our schools to phrase out outdated STAR tests and prepare students and teachers for better assessments that reflect the real world knowledge needed in tomorrow’s job market.
Susan has provided steadfast leadership in protecting early childhood education programs, saving transitional kindergarten, which provides our youngest learners the foundations they will need to succeed.
Susan authored historic legislation that expanded health care access for women, created the highest safety standards for California industrial sites while protecting manufacturing jobs, and provided more tools for law enforcement to keep our communities safe.
As a member of Contra Costa County’s Board of Supervisors, Assemblywoman Bonilla created the Foster Youth Employment Program, providing youth in the county foster system job opportunities within the county structure. She also developed partnerships to open the Michael Chavez Center for Economic Opportunity to provide job training directly to residents within the Monument Corridor of Concord.
Prior to serving in public office, Susan was an English teacher in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District. She has a B.A. in English from Azusa Pacific University and teaching credentials from CSU Los Angeles. Susan resides in Concord with her husband, John. They have four daughters and three grandchildren.
