Election results

The five statewide propositions, Props 1A-1E, that would have dealt with the budget went down in flames. Not a single one of them cracked 40 percent support. Proposition 1F, the mostly symbolic pay freeze for lawmakers in bad budget years, won with almost three-quarters of voters supporting it.

Carmen Trutanich won the race for Los Angeles City Attorney, beating Jack Weiss 55.7 percent to 44.3 percent. Trutanich took the early lead and never relinquished it.

Barring a Republican miracle, Board of Equalization member Judy Chu will be heading to Congress to replace Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. Chu, a Democrat, won the primary battle for the 32nd Congressional District with 31.9 percent of the vote. State Sen. Gil Cedillo came in second with 23.4 percent and Emanuel Pleitez proved to be a factor with 13.5 percent. Chu will go on to battle Republican Betty Tom Chu in a July 14 runoff, which Judy Chu is expected to win easily.

The race to replace Weiss in LA's 5th City Council district may be too close to call. Paul Koretz is ahead of David Vahedi 50.5 percent to 49.5 percent, but the difference represents only 335 votes.

Final pitch for the 32nd

The 12-way race to replace Labor Secretary Hilda Solis in the 32nd Congressional District comes to a close tomorrow*. Los Angeles Times reporter Jean Merl looks at the role endorsements might play for the two heavyweights in the contest - Board of Equalization member Judy Chu and state Sen. Gil Cedillo - given the expected low-voter turnout. Rebecca Kimitch at the San Gabriel Valley Tribune checks out the campaigns' ground games heading into the final weekend.

*If no one wins a majority of the vote tomorrow there will be a runoff in July between the top vote getters in each party. Given the partisan makeup of the district, the top Democrat is expected to win easily.

Four in the afternoon

1. Mailer wars in the 32nd Congressional District race - Sen. Gil Cedillo's camp takes a cut-and-paste approach. LAT

2. The Los Angeles Daily News laid off Dodgers beat writer Tony Jackson. LAO

3. Washington Times columnist and sometimes Drudge Report editor Andrew Breitbart spoke at an anti-tax rally in front of Pasadena City Hall and said this about how America treats dissenters: "Just like in Cuba, like in Venezuela, those that dissent are marginalized at best, and jailed or killed or worse." PSN

4. Charlie Munger, who has a big stake in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, had this to say about the state of the newspaper industry: "It’s really a national tragedy. As they disappear - I think what replaces them won’t be as desirable as what we’re losing." His partner, Warren Buffett, said he wouldn't buy another newspaper "at any price." PaidContent

Hey, big spender

A Los Angeles Times search of public records found that, in the last six years, state Sen. Gil Cedillo spent $125,000 out of his campaign funds for fancy hotels, expensive meals and extravagant shopping sprees. Cedillo is running for the congressional seat recently vacated by Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

From the LAT:

Cedillo's expenses include $7,022 at Nordstrom; $3,483 at Banana Republic; $1,418 at Ann Taylor; $498 at Bloomingdale's; $450 at Crate & Barrel; and $375 at Macy's.

-snip-

All told, Cedillo has spent about $77,000 on restaurants, $29,000 on hotels and $21,000 on airline tickets over six years in the Senate. (That does not include tens of thousands of dollars spent on fundraising events at restaurants, hotels or banquet halls.)

The restaurant charges that Cedillo reported as meetings, office or travel expenses include $424 at Ristorante Buca Mario in Florence; $298 at Ristorante San Francesco in Assisi, Italy; $501 at Emporio da Gula in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil; and in Los Angeles, $964 at Cicada; $559 at La Serenata de Garibaldi; $229 at Blair's; and $1,373 at the Palm.

Cedillo told the Times that all of the items he bought were gifts for others and called his many overseas excursions "relevant to the extent that they enrich my capacity as a legislator." Good government advocated Bob Stern said "it sounds like he is using campaign funds to supplement his lifestyle."

Secretary Hilda

The Senate has confirmed Rep. Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor by a vote of 80-17. Now that that's over with, all of the politicians who've been patiently positioning themselves to run for higher office once she got the job can begin their campaigning. (New York Times via LA Observed)

A tax on the White House

A new revelation of tax troubles could trip up the already wobbly nomination of Rep. Hilda Solis, D-El Monte, to be Secretary of Labor. USA Today discovered that on Wednesday Solis' husband paid about $6,400 in back taxes to settle a lien on his auto repair business. On Thursday, a vote on her nomination was put on hold. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Solis remains the president's choice for the job.

Were Solis to withdraw her name, a whole host of California politicians would be stuck doing the jobs they were recently elected to do.

Chu gets labor support

Two of the most powerful unions in Southern California, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and Service Employees International Union, have endorsed state Board of Equalization chairwoman Judy Chu to succeed Rep. Hilda Solis in Congress, assuming Solis is confirmed as President Obama's secretary of labor.

The endorsements give Chu an early advantage over state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-East Los Angeles, who also plans to run for the seat.

Romero drops out*, **

The pathway to Congress just got a little easier for Judy Chu - or a little harder, depending on how you view it.

According to the Sacramento Bee, state Sen. Gloria Romero has pulled her name from contention in the coming race to replace Rep. Hilda Solis and will instead support the candidacy of fellow state Sen. Gil Cedillo.

Romero said she'll move ahead with plans to run next year for state Superintendent of Public Instruction.

With Romero out, Cedillo presumably will have an easier time unifying the Latino vote in the heavily Latino district. Politico.com had a story yesterday that Romero and Cedillo might split the Latino vote and throw the election to Chu.

Chu, who chairs the state Board of Equalization, might still have the advantage in the district. She has has the endorsement of a couple important Latino electeds and has represented portions of the 32nd Congressional District in the Assembly.

All of the aforementioned politicians are Democrats, by the way. CD 32 is a safe Democratic seat.

Solis, by the way, is President-elect Obama's nominee for Secretary of Labor.

*Note: Solis is scheduled to go before the Senate for her confirmation hearing tomorrow (Jan. 9).

**Update: Sen. Cedillo confirms what everyone already knew, that he's running for the Solis seat. Read the press release here.

Politico looks at Solis seat*

David Mark, former political reporter at the Pasadena Star-News, now writing for Politico, takes a look at the race to replace Rep. Hilda Solis, who is President-elect Obama's pick for Labor Secretary. Mark thinks Judy Chu, chair of the state Board of Equalization, will benefit from a split in the Latino vote.

From the story:

In the special House election to succeed Rep. Hilda L. Solis (D-Calif.), who was recently tapped to become the Obama administration’s labor secretary, former Monterey Park Mayor Judy Chu stands to gain from a potentially crowded field of prominent Latino officeholders that could divide the Hispanic vote and enable her to capture the solidly Democratic, East Los Angeles-based seat.

*Update: Assemblyman Ed Hernandez, once considered a possible candidate for the Solis seat, has decided not to run. Instead he has thrown his support to Chu. This should help her with voters on the eastern side of the district.

Chu makes it official

Judy Chu, chairwoman of the state Board of Equalization, announced today she will run for the congressional seat now held by Rep. Hilda Solis, D-El Monte. Solis is President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for Secretary of Labor.

Chu released the following statement minutes ago:

Today I am announcing my intention to run for the seat representing the 32nd Congressional District, parts of which I have represented for the last 23 years.

In the past few days I have received many encouraging calls and e-mails from supporters and constituents urging me to run and I have decided to heed those calls.

I have a long history of being a coalition builder, with a track record of working well with others to fight for change. I have successfully passed bills protecting working class families. I’ve successfully tackled budget deficit problems through my tax amnesty bill, and through my work at the helm of the BOE, the main revenue generating agency of the state of California.

I believe my experience is what this country needs at this most crucial point in our nation’s history.

Over the weekend, the Sacramento Bee reported that the brothers Calderon - Ron and Charles - might have their eyes on the seat as well. But Chu and state Sen. Gloria Romero are the clear favorites, since they have both represented large portions of the 32nd and are better known there than the Calderons. Romero, D-East Los Angeles, threw her hat in the ring within hours of the Solis announcement.

Chu and Romero have had a tense relationship at times over the years. In 1998, the two women faced off in a race for the state Assembly. Romero won out.