2015 News

Debra Saunders--SF Chronicle--Steve Glazer: A moderate Democrat, actually

Posted by · March 10, 2015 9:04 AM

San Francisco Chronicle
March 9, 2015
By Debra Saunders

Orinda Mayor Steve Glazer says that he is running for a state Senate seat vacated by now-Rep. Mark DeSaulnier “as a pragmatic problem-solver rather than a partisan.” In my line of work, I hear that sort of stock phrase all the time; I take it with a grain of salt. In Glazer’s case, however, two facts suggest he means business: 1) He supports a law to prohibit BART workers from striking as they did in 2013; 2) Public employee unions have shoveled hundreds of thousands of dollars to help defeat Glazer, a Democrat.

This race is so dirty that the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and California Professional Firefighters both dumped $25,000 into a six-figure independent expenditure campaign that is promoting Michaela Hertle, the only Republican on the ballot. Why would Big Public Labor help a Republican? Perhaps because Hertle has withdrawn from the race and endorsed Glazer but remains on the ballot. If she draws enough GOP and independent votes in the March 17 top-two primary, the field would be left to two Democrats who support BART workers’ power to strike — Assembly member Susan Bonilla of Concord and former Assembly member Joan Buchanan of Alamo.

With union money, the Asian American Small Business Political Action Committee has sent out a mailer to GOP voters that proclaims, “There are just too many Democrats in the state Senate causing partisan gridlock.” Like unions hate having too many Dems in Sacramento.

And guess what: Unlike the folks listed on the PAC’s victory list, Hertle is not Asian. She is “the only business person in the race,” countered Bill Wong, the PAC political director and also a Democratic campaign consultant. He denied that his PAC was acting as a spoiler, trying to throw the race to Big Labor Dems.

I asked spokesman Carroll Wills why the firefighters union was pushing voters toward a Republican candidate. “We just felt like it was important to make sure that Republicans actually had a choice in that contest,” Wills told me. He also called Glazer a “fake Democrat” — who really could put an R after his name.

A fake Democrat? Glazer has been a longtime member of Gov. Jerry Brown’s small and tight-knit inner circle. He worked for state Senate President Pro Tem David Roberti, a Democrat’s Democrat.

Name one issue that’s not a social issue where Glazer is a Democrat, Wills challenged. OK. In 2012, Glazer helped Brown pass Proposition 30, which raised the state sales and income taxes for Californians earning $250,000 or more.

It’s true Glazer has business support. But that’s because private enterprise needs Democrats who are, as California Chamber of Commerce Veep Marty Wilson put it, “reform-minded” and “will stand up to the unions.” The chambers’ JOBSPac has spent more than $180,000 to help elect Glazer, a Democrat who helped push through a big tax increase, because the chamber is desperate to elect Democrats willing to buck the left’s entrenched interests.

But unlike Big Labor, Big Business isn’t trying to mislead the voting public. Wilson looks at the Hertle mailer as “a typical underhanded union trick that’s not going to work.”

Source: http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/saunders/article/Steve-Glazer-A-moderate-Democrat-actually-6124644.php

Dan Walters Opinion--Sacramento Bee--Steve Glazer’s foes use an old trick in California Senate election

Posted by · March 10, 2015 8:44 AM

Sacramento Bee
March 9, 2015
By Dan Walters

One of the sneakier campaign tricks employed by politicians is helping a weaker opponent draw votes away from a stronger rival.

A classic example occurred in 1984, when Republican state Sen. John Doolittle’s campaign funneled money to a Democratic opponent in hopes of weakening a third candidate, Republican-turned-independent Ray Johnson, also a state senator.

Doolittle won the election, even though he was later fined by the Fair Political Practices Commission for the trick.

Something similar to that occurred in 2002 when then-Gov. Gray Davis was facing a tough re-election battle. Democrat Davis wanted to face Bill Simon, a conservative Republican, so Davis’ campaign spent a lot of money attacking Richard Riordan, the moderate former mayor of Los Angeles, prior to the June primary.

The idea clearly was to undercut Riordan and make it more likely that Simon would face Davis.

The ploy worked. Simon won the primary and Davis then defeated him very narrowly in the November runoff. Had Davis faced Riordan, chances are high he would have been denied re-election. A year later, voters recalled Davis.

The same tactic is now being seen in the 7th Senate District, site of a special election next week.

The major contenders in the Contra Costa County-centered district are three Democrats: former Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla and Steve Glazer, an Orinda councilman and veteran campaign manager, most notably of Jerry Brown’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign.

But there’s also a Republican, Michaela Hertle, who withdrew and endorsed Glazer too late to have her name removed from the ballot. That gave unions, who mostly favor Bonilla, an opening to spend money through an entity called the Asian Small Business PAC, seeking votes for Hertle.

The goal, obviously, is to gain enough Republican votes for Hertle to keep Glazer, who has been highly critical of unions, off the May runoff election ballot.

Last week, the state Republican Party sued the Asian Small Business PAC, claiming it is illegally using the Republican Party’s elephant symbol in its mail.

“It’s egregious on the part of a Democratic political action committee to intentionally deceive Californians with its use of well-known Republican images,” Jim Brulte, the state Republican chairman, said in a statement.

Yes it is, but as noted earlier, it’s certainly not the first time it’s happened, nor is it likely to be the last.

The tactic is based on a theory that a substantial number of voters aren’t really paying attention and can be fooled into voting a certain way. But, one wonders, will it work in the 7th district, where the voters are mostly upper-middle class suburbanites?

It’s getting heavy media attention in the district and could backfire on Bonilla.

Source: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/dan-walters/article13144352.html

SF Chronicle--State GOP sues Dem group for 'deceptive’ tactics in East Bay race

Posted by · March 09, 2015 9:19 AM

March 8, 2015
By Carla Marinucci

Democratic groups don’t normally go on the attack against their own “liberal” governor, complain about “too many Democrats” in the state Legislature, or urge voters to cast ballots for a Republican candidate.

But those are just some of the strange — and, critics say, deceptive — tactics at play in the special election for the East Bay’s Seventh Senate District seat, where the attacks, mischief and outside money permeating what might normally be a sleepy special election has reached surprising proportions.

In a contest dominated by three veteran Democrats, the Asian American Small Business Political Action Committee, funded generously by unions, has paid for mailer attack ads that complain there are “too many Democrats in the state Senate causing partisan gridlock” who kowtow to “special interests that are paralyzing our state government.” It urges a vote for “real reform” in the form of Republican Michaela Hertle while never mentioning that she withdrew from the race weeks ago and endorsed Orinda MayorSteve Glazer, a centrist Democrat. It’s a ploy to turn Republican voters away from Glazer.

That tactic so enraged the state Republican Party that on Friday it filed a lawsuit charging that the Democratic PAC has been “deceptive” and engaged in trademark infringement by issuing what appeared to be “official party communications” from the GOP in its attempt to misinform voters.

Action on BART strikes

The unusual strategy by the Democratic PAC, Glazer says, came after he angered public employee unions by calling for a legal ban on future BART strikes and presenting himself as a “pragmatic, pro-business Democrat.”

He’s in the race against two former Assembly members: Joan Buchanan of Alamo, who was termed out of office and enjoys the widest name recognition and highest approval ratings in the district, polls show, and Susan Bonilla. She has the endorsement of the state Democratic Party and many of the state’s major labor groups, as well as Rep. Mark DeSaulnier of Concord, whose election to Congress in November created the vacancy. Democrat Terry Kremin, a teacher who has never held political office, is also a declared candidate.

“The amount of spending and mail is unbelievable,” says Glazer, who’s been the focus of the union-funded attack mailers from the small-business PAC. The group’s ads, which are directed at Republican voters, slam Glazer for “advising liberal Jerry Brown” and for being the “mastermind” behind Proposition 30, the 2012 sales and income tax measure that Brown backed and was approved by voters.

The goal of such a strategy, Glazer says, is clearly to “confuse the voters,” in the district where 43.5 percent of the voters are Democrats, 28.5 percent Republicans and 22 percent independent.

Under the state’s top-two primary system, if no candidate gets a majority of the vote in the Mach 17 primary, the top two finishers of either party go on to a May 19 runoff.

Alienating Democrats

Republican Joel Fox, publisher of the Fox & Hounds political website, says Glazer “is in a position to make a likely runoff, especially if Republican voters and some independents join the Democrats who agree with Glazer’s positions.”

“The problem for him,” Fox wrote, “is that, in a special election, those voters may not focus on the fact that the designated Republican has withdrawn” and vote for her anyway.

Democratic consultant Steve Maviglio says Glazer alienated Democrats by attacking some of the very labor groups who have helped the party make huge gains in the state — taking control of both houses of the state Legislature, and every statewide office in California. He says both Buchanan and Bonilla are “credible” Democrats, and Glazer will now have to peel off “ultraconservative” Democrats, Republicans and independents to get to the runoff in the race.

But Republican political consultant Rob Stutzman calls the Asian American PAC actions “sloppy” and “a huge misstep,” even in the bare-knuckled world of California politics.

“The net effect of it has been helpful to Glazer,” he says. “I think he’s doing well with GOP voters, because this has helped them to understand that a dirty trick was being employed against them.”

Whatever the strategy, a lot of money has gone into the race. Upward of $1.5 million in independent expenditures has swamped the race, the California secretary of state’s website reports.

Some of the Asian American Small Business PAC’s donors include key unions: the International Union of Operating EngineersLocal 39 ($40,000); California School Employees ($5,000); the state Building and Construction Trades Council ($10,000); the California State Council of Service Employees ($40,000); the California Nurses Association ($10,000) and theProfessional Engineers in California Government ($20,000).

'Caught in the middle’

Buchanan, meanwhile, says she’s been “caught in the middle” of special interests. On one hand, some unions are still angered by her authorship of a 2012 bill that curbed pension spiking in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. On the other hand, “I don’t have a billionaire who’s supporting me,” a reference to Southern California businessman Bill Bloomfield, a wealthy independent who has invested $439,000 in independent expenditure committees to boost Glazer’s bid.

Buchanan has gotten just $50,000 in independent expenditure help, all of it from the California Building Industry Association. That’s a mere fraction of Glazer’s $615,000 total.

Bonilla has also reaped a windfall of independent expenditures — $523,669 as of last week, from groups that include theAlliance of Energy, Labor and Healthcare Invested in the Middle Class, California Professional Firefighters, California Nurses Association, California Dental Association and California Medical Association.

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/State-GOP-sues-Dem-group-for-deceptive-6122463.php

San Francisco Chronicle recommends: Steve Glazer for California Senate

Posted by · March 07, 2015 5:31 AM

San Francisco Chronicle
March 6, 2015

The late entry of a maverick centrist Democrat into the race to succeed Mark DeSaulnier in state Senate District Seven has given East Bay voters an appealing alternative to two experienced legislators. Voters can maintain a meaningful choice in the May 19 special election by voting for Orinda Mayor Steve Glazer, a longtime adviser to Gov. Jerry Brown, in the March 17 primary.

His two main opponents, Joan Buchanan and Susan Bonilla, are past and present Assembly Democrats who are well steeped in the issues and have reliably party-line voting records. Not surprisingly, unions are spending big on their behalf, not only for their past and future support, but for labor’s fear of Glazer’s willingness to challenge party orthodoxy.

Republican Michaela Hertle has suspended her campaign and endorsed Glazer.

While Glazer sides with traditional Democratic positions more often than not, there are times when the public interest is served by legislators showing the independence to stand up to the public employee unions, which wield inordinate influence in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

Glazer has zeroed in on some of the issues where action has been stalled by union opposition. One is the need to reform the 40-year-old California Environmental Quality Act to keep it from being exploited by interests whose motive has nothing to do with environmental protection. In fact, one of the casualties of these abuses has been infill development designed to ease traffic and improve air quality. Brown once called CEQA reform “the Lord’s work.” But too many Democratic legislators answer to other special-interest masters who object to any substantive change to the law.

Other areas where a more independent Democrat could be of value include pension and education reforms. Glazer is committed to moving ahead on both. He also continues to carry the torch for prohibiting BART workers from striking. It makes perfect sense in a transit-dependent region where an extended shutdown would be devastating to the economy, to the environment and to public safety.

Bonilla and Buchanan defend the BART workers’ right to strike.

The top two finishers in the primary will advance to the May 19 special election. The Capitol desperately needs legislators willing to stand up to special interests and work across party lines. Steve Glazer is our choice in the March 17 primary.

Source: http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Chronicle-recommends-Steve-Glazer-for-California-6119753.php

Contra Costa Times / Tri-Valley Times Editorial: Voters should ignore deceitful labor attack on Glazer

Posted by · March 05, 2015 8:23 AM

Contra Costa Times / East County Times / San Ramon Valley Times / Tri-Valley Times
March 5, 2015 (print editions)

Labor unions are branding state Senate candidate Steve Glazer as too conservative -- and too liberal.

In duplicitous, targeted mailers, they tell Democrats that Glazer is a business-loving special interest sellout who wants to give millionaires tax breaks. To Republicans, they say Glazer is a tax-and-spend liberal and that they should instead support a candidate who withdrew from the race.

In fact, Glazer, a California State University trustee and former political adviser to Gov. Jerry Brown, is a moderate Democrat who earned our endorsement because of his centrist politics and desire to build bipartisan coalitions.

Labor leaders hate him because he dared to help elect moderate Democratic candidates to the state Legislature and called for banning BART strikes. Their mailers, among scores in the March 17 special primary election that has so far attracted about $2 million in contributions, prove once again that voters shouldn't trust such propaganda.

The special election will fill the seat Mark DeSaulnier vacated after his election to Congress. The ballot has five names, but only three candidates, all Democrats, are credible. The only Republican, Michaela Hertle, dropped out of the race early and endorsed Glazer.

Glazer, the most centrist candidate, is counting on backing from moderate Democrats, independents and Republicans. Labor is trying to undermine his support from both ends.

The mailers to Republicans were sent under the guise of the "Asian American Small Business PAC," funded with $50,000 from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the California Professional Firefighters Political Action Committee.

One mailer to Republican voters claims Glazer wants to raise taxes and smacks him for having advised "liberal Jerry Brown." Two others call on Republicans to support Hertle, without mentioning that she dropped out. By the way, Hertle is not Asian.

The labor-financed mailers complain, ironically, that "there are just too many Democrats in the State Senate causing partisan gridlock" and decry "the special interests that are paralyzing our state government."

The mailers to Democrats brand Glazer a "Republican Sellout" who "wants to give millionaires a tax break" that will lead to education cuts. Once again, the twisted message is bogus. It comes from eight labor groups that provided $230,000 to fund "Working Families Opposing Glazer for Senate 2015."

Lest there be any doubt the pincer movement is a coordinated labor campaign, the mailers to Democrats and Republicans feature the same grainy, unflattering picture of Glazer.

With all the spending in this race on all sides, there will almost certainly be more misleading mailers coming. Voters should beware.

Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/editorial/ci_27643657/contra-costa-times-editorial-voters-should-ignore-deceitful

[Contra Costa Times circulates in Clayton, Concord, Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda, Pacheco and Walnut Creek.]

[East County Times circulates in Antioch, Bay Point, Byron, Brentwood, Discovery Bay, Knightsen, Oakley and Pittsburg.]

[San Ramon Valley Times circulates in Alamo, Blackhawk, Danville, Diablo and San Ramon.]

[Tri-Valley Times circulates in Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton and Sunol.]

Pleasanton Weekly--Pleasanton mayor, most on council endorse Glazer for State Senate

Posted by · March 04, 2015 1:20 PM

Pleasanton Weekly
March 2, 2015
By Jeb Bing

Candidate for State Senate Steve Glazer said Monday that he has secured endorsements from four out of the five members of the Pleasanton City Council.

Mayor Jerry Thorne and Councilmembers Kathy Narum, Arne Olson and Jerry Pentin have all endorsed Glazer in his bid for State Senate District 7. "I am honored to have the support of a majority of the elected officials in Pleasanton," said Glazer. "These leaders are working hard to keep Pleasanton an outstanding place to live and raise a family and it means a great deal to me to have their endorsements."

"Steve Glazer believes there should be local control on local issues," Thorne said. "He and I share the creed that government closer to the people is most responsible and accountable. He would make an outstanding state senator."

Councilwoman Kathy Narum agreed.

"Steve has the independence and experience to fight the powerful interests in Sacramento who want to steal our water, raise our taxes and usurp our local control," she said. "In this field of candidates, Steve is the clear choice."

Pleasanton Councilman Olson added: "I am supporting Steve because he has a proven record of taking important stands on issues most elected officials are afraid to touch," he said. "These include such issues as pension reform, making tough cuts to ensure a balanced (state) budget and opposing that outrageous BART strike. He has strength of character," Olson said. "He is Independent. I am confident Steve can work in a bi-partisan manner in Sacramento."

Glazer currently serves as the mayor of Orinda and a trustee of the California State University 23-campus system.

The State Senate District 7 seat is vacant following Mark DeSaulnier's election to Congress. Glazer, along with Susan Bonilla, Joan Buchanan and Terry Kremin -- all Democrats -- will face off in the primary election on Tuesday, March 17.

Michaela M. Hertle, a Republican, withdrew from the race shortly after the official candidate list came out, so her name will still be on the primary ballot. The top two winners in the primary will vie for votes again in the special election that has been called for May 19.

Source: http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/news/2015/03/02/pleasanton-mayor-most-on-council-endorse-glazer-for-state-senate

KTVU--New bill would make it illegal for BART workers to strike

Posted by · February 26, 2015 10:53 AM

KTVU
By Tom Vacar, Reporter

ORINDA, Calif. (KTVU) -- An East Bay Republican introduced a bill Wednesday that would prohibit BART employees from striking, creating a scenario which would leave both sides with few alternatives, none of them appealing.

Back in 2013, after months of contentious negotiations, BART unions struck twice for a total of eight days of chaos that stranded 400,000 daily riders and cause a Bay Area wide transportation crisis.

"If management is incompetent and the unions won't reach an agreement, how do we make sure that we're not hurt?" asked Steve Glazer, Democratic Mayor of Orinda, a city that relies heavily on BART.

Assemblywoman Catharine Baker's bill would forbid BART workers from striking even after their contract has expired, so long as BART continued to pay their existing salaries and benefits.

"It keeps the workers' pay intact, but it means that they can't go on strike and all the harm it does to all of us," said Glazer, whose stance has drawn the ire of organized labor.

If workers strike, they can be fired. That also suggests that if they keep working, even if they slow things down like the port workers did, they cannot be locked out.

In a Democratic-controlled legislature that has strong support from organized labor, the bill will likely be dead on arrival.

"Her bill is going be a tough sell, because the Democrats are more fearful of the union than the people," said Glazer.

One BART union said it is focused on an independent study BART Management paid for to keep what led to the strike from ever happening again.

"They came out with a report that has 63 recommendations and I think we're trying to work on those recommendations and improve the labor relations so it doesn't get to that point," said Chris Finn, President of the local Amalgamated Transit Union that represents BART employees.

Rider opinion was divided over the issue of firing strikers.

"I think it's strong arming and I think it's union busting. Whether or not that's a good thing, I'm not really sure," said BART user Claire Barnum.

"I would not be for firing them," said Peter Cushing. Yet some argued transit strikes put too much at stake, create too much havoc and should be prohibited like many other transit systems nationwide that have "no strike" clauses.

"I agree with that totally. It just affects too many people It shouldn't be allowed. It is a public agency," said Carol Minoot.

There's always the option for someone to qualify a ballot initiative and ask the people directly, but the cost of that would be about $2 million just to get it on the ballot.

Source: http://www.ktvu.com/story/28203497/new-bill-would-make-it-illegal-for-bart-workers-to-strike

Antioch Herald--Glazer calls on opponents to disclose campaign promises

Posted by · February 26, 2015 10:47 AM

Antioch Herald
February 25, 2015

State Senate candidate Steve Glazer called on his opponents to provide full transparency of their campaign promises by releasing their answers to special interest questionnaires on their webpage.

“Together we can take a positive step to end the hidden agendas and backroom deals that prevent our elected officials from addressing California’s problems in a fair and open manner. I ask you to join me in sharing with voters all of our responses to candidate questionnaires,” said Glazer.

“By publishing our responses on our websites, we will make our race a model of independence from the very special interests that use these questionnaires to pressure candidates into adopting rigid and narrowly drawn positions,” Glazer said in his letter.

The letter was e-mailed to the three other Senate District 7 candidates: Joan Buchanan, Susan Bonilla and Terry Kremin. The fourth candidate Michaela Hertle has withdrawn from the race and endorsed Glazer. Hertle’s name will still appear on the ballot. So far, none of Glazer’s opponents have opted to publish their answers to questionnaires.

“The focus of our campaigns should be on solutions to the big problems facing our state,” said Glazer. “The voters deserve a thoughtful and fair-minded representative in Sacramento, and they should not be left wondering what sort of promises any of us made to secure that position.”

Glazer currently serves as the Mayor of Orinda and a Trustee of the California State University 23-campus system. During his tenure on the Orinda City Council, Glazer has helped balance budgets while making improvements to schools, libraries and roads.

State Senate District 7 includes the communities of Alamo, Antioch, Bay Point, Bethel Island, Blackhawk, Brentwood, Byron, Clayton, Concord, Danville, Diablo, Discovery Bay, Dublin, Lafayette, Livermore, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pacheco, Pittsburg, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Sunol and Walnut Creek.

The primary will be held Tuesday, March 17.

In his Assembly race last year, Glazer declined to fill out any special interest questionnaire. However, he posted detailed positons on issues on his website. Glazer’s positions are now posted on his Senate campaign website atwww.glazerforsenate.com/issues.

Source: http://antiochherald.com/2015/02/p15182/

Tri-Valley Times--Democratic-leaning Asian-American PAC spends for white Republican who left Senate race

Posted by · February 25, 2015 10:10 AM

Tri-Valley Times
February 25, 2015
By Josh Richman

The 7th State Senate District's special election has taken an odd turn as a committee known for backing Asian-American Democrats spends on behalf of a white Republican who dropped out of the contest weeks ago.

The Asian American Small Business PAC has reported independently spending $46,380 on research, polling and a mailer on behalf of Michaela Hertle. That's bad news for the candidate Hertle has endorsed: Democrat Steve Glazer.

"It's gutter politics," Glazer said. "There's no Asian-American in the race, and the Republican has withdrawn and endorsed me. It's clearly an attempt to confuse the voters."

Glazer, Orinda's mayor and a former campaign adviser to Gov. Jerry Brown, is more centrist than the contest's other two prominent Democrats -- Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, and former Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo -- and has been actively courting GOP votes. But when Hertle dropped out of the race and endorsed Glazer Feb. 2, it was too late to remove her name from the ballot. By spending money to tout her now, the PAC effectively is sapping votes from Glazer.

On the front of the PAC's mailer, beside a photo of Hertle apparently cribbed from her Twitter profile, it asks, "Why settle for less? Let's elect a real Republican to stand up for us in the State Senate." On the back, it says the community "needs a real reformer in the State Senate who can break the partisan gridlock and produce results for us."

"Unlike the other candidates, Michaela Hertle is an independent leader who owes no favors to the special interests paralyzing our state government. We can trust Michaela to fight for reform and for us," the flier says, praising her as fiscally conservative and a government reformer.

Bill Wong, the PAC's political director, insisted this truly is a pro-Hertle effort and not an attempt to take votes from Glazer to benefit Bonilla or Buchanan.

"Michaela is still on the ballot, and there's an option for people to vote for her," Wong said, noting that about 41 percent of the district's voters are Republicans or independents. "She thought she couldn't raise enough money to run a legitimate campaign, so we figured we'd throw in this money and see how it goes."

The PAC mostly has supported Asian-American Democrats -- it gave only to Democrats in the 2013-2014 cycle, all but one of whom were Asian-American. But Wong said it has given to a few Republicans in the past, including Michelle Steele and Alan Nakanishi for the Board of Equalization in 2010, so supporting Hertle isn't unprecedented.

Hertle is best aligned with the PAC's ideals, Wong said: "Everyone else is kind of a career politician."

Who's putting up the money remains an open question.

Despite the PAC's name, most of its money comes from big companies and unions. Its biggest donors in 2013-14 were Comcast ($46,800); International Union of Operating Engineers Local 39 ($40,000); the California State Council of Service Employees ($30,000); AT&T ($27,286); and Professional Engineers in California Government ($20,000).

The PAC had $55,064 banked as of Dec. 31, so either it has mostly cleaned out its coffers for this race, or it has received more contributions since the year's start. Any such new contributions won't be reported until well after the March 17 special primary election. And because it already had more money banked than it spent on this race, its mailer need only identify the PAC and not any big new donors.

Glazer said he's sure he knows who's funding this "pro-Hertle" effort.

"It's all being orchestrated by the BART unions and friends," he said. "This is a front group for nefarious interests that don't want to be known."

It's no secret the unions hate him.

Glazer burned his bridges with labor first by consulting with JOBSPAC, the California Chamber of Commerce's political action committee, to help centrist Democrats like himself beat labor-backed Democrats in 2012's elections. More recently, he crusaded for legislation to ban transit-worker strikes like the ones that stilled BART in 2013. Unions this month have put $110,000 into a new PAC opposing Glazer.

But Glazer is benefitting from independent spending, too. Republican-turned-independent millionaire Southern California businessman Bill Bloomfield -- a patron of centrist Democrats who buck their party and labor -- has spent $224,000 on Glazer's behalf this month. And JOBSPAC has spent almost $38,000 against Bonilla and Buchanan.

Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/News/ci_27590502/Democraticleaning-AsianAmerican-PAC-spends-for-white-Republican-who-left-Senate-race

Editorial Board of the Sacramento Bee--Moneyed interests detest Steve Glazer

Posted by · February 25, 2015 7:59 AM

Sacramento Bee
February 24, 2105
By the Editorial Board

You’d think Steve Glazer would get the hint. He is not a welcome man in Sacramento.

Glazer is a veteran Democratic operative and longtime political adviser to Gov. Jerry Brown, but he got sideways with organized labor and Democratic leaders in 2012 by daring to help the California Chamber of Commerce elect business-friendly Democrats.

They don’t forget.

Ever since, labor and its allies have gone out of their way to crush Glazer’s political ambitions. They succeeded last year by blocking his election to the Assembly. Now, they are trying to block Glazer from winning a March special election for a state Senate seat in Contra Costa and Alameda counties.

On paper, his main opponents are two Democrats, Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla of Concord and former Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan of Alamo. His true opponents are big shots who call many of the shots in the Legislature.

They’re working through something called the Asian American Small Business Political Action Committee. The stunt would make grizzled veterans shake their heads in amazement, except grizzled veterans know that campaign tactics get more deceptive each year.

In past years, the Asian American Small Business PAC spent almost all of its money to help to elect Democrats who are Asian American.

In the Senate District 7 race, however, the committee is spending heavily to prop up a Republican, Michaela Hertle, whose name will appear on the ballot but who dropped out of the race and endorsed Glazer.

In mailers sent to Republicans, the Asian committee says Hertle is “a real reformer” who can “break the partisan gridlock and produce results for us,” as first reported by Josh Richman of the Bay Area News Group.

The pro-Hertle mailing is unoriginal and trite. But the brains behind it believe that by boosting Hertle – against her wishes – they can kneecap Glazer, who is running as a moderate and hopes to attract some Republican votes.

Bill Wong, a campaign consultant who has worked for numerous Democratic legislators, runs the committee, along with assorted other Democratic operatives, among them Jadine Nielsen. Nielsen most recently worked for U.S. Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, where Nielsen lives.

In an interview, Wong said his goal was “to make a splash” by getting involved in a high-profile state campaign. He said that while Hertle is not Asian, many voters in the district are. And, he added, Hertle is a businessperson.

Given its name, you might think the Asian American Small Business PAC gets its money from small businesses, or maybe from Asian Americans. Such a thought would be naive.

In its campaign finance filing for 2013-14, the committee reported its donors included Comcast at $46,000, the operating engineers union at $40,000, the Service Employees International Union at $30,000, and AT&T at $27,000.

Edison International, insurance companies, a public affairs firm that represents the oil industry, and insurance companies fund it, too, as do unions that represent public school teachers.

In short, many of the players who matter in Sacramento agree that Glazer is persona non grata. If the powers that control Sacramento are so worried about Glazer, perhaps the voters of Senate District 7 should send him over.

Photo caption: "Steve Glazer's true opponents are big shots who call many of the shots in the Legislature."

Source: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article11124581.html