BIG DAY FOR DEMOCRATS; FEWER GAINS THAN HOPED FOR IN CALIFORNIA

With election of US Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) to the White House with at least 349 electoral votes and more than 52 percent of the popular vote, Democrats across the nation had much to celebrate. Democrats also increased their majority in the US Senate to at least 57 with 3 seats still undecided at press time. In the House, Democrats looked to pick up nearly 20 seats to expand their majority there as well. The wave that has swept the nation didn't quite deliver what had been hoped for by some in the California legislature. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) and Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) both hoped for gains in their respective houses that could give them the two-thirds vote needed to pass a budget, increase taxes or override a gubernatorial veto.

The latest tallies suggest that such is not to be. Late returns show that Speaker Bass is likely to expand her caucus's majority in the 80-member chamber from 48 members to at least 50 for the first time in 30 years. That number could grow to 51 if Democrat Alyson Huber, an El Dorado Hills attorney, can overcome a roughly 1,000 vote deficit to Lodi businessman Jack Sieglock. Because Huber trails by less than 1 percent, a re-count is likely. In the Senate, Democrats beat back an effort by termed-out Assemblymember Greg Aghazarian (R-Stockton) to take a seat formerly held by Senator Mike Machado (D-Linden). Lois Wolk (D-Davis) won a decisive victory in that Sacramento-San Joaquin valley district. Senate Democrats' only hope for a pick up is in the tightly contested 19th Senate district. That seat, formerly held by conservative Tom McClintock (R-Simi Valley) remains a toss up between former Assemblymember and attorney Hanna Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) and another former Assemblymember Tony Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks). At press time, Jackson held a slim 108 vote lead with more than total 306,000 votes cast. A Jackson win would add to the record number of women (14 or 35%) serving in the Senate next year.

LEGISLATIVE LAWYERS CONTINUE TO DECLINE

Continuing recent trends, the 2009-10 California Legislature will include fewer lawyer-lawmakers than currently in office. The state Senate will again bear the brunt of the changes where long-time lawyer legislators Dick Ackerman (R-Tustin) and Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) will be termed out. That reduces the number of attorneys in the upper house to just five (12.5%), including just one Republican, Tom Harman of Orange. Hanna Beth Jackson will be the Senate's sixth and only new attorney if she maintains her slim lead over Tony Strickland in the 19th Senate district. Three of the Assembly's 16 attorneys (20%) will term out, all of whom are Republican: Greg Aghazarian of Stockton, Rick Keene of Chico and Todd Spitzer of Orange. They will be replaced by at least two Democrats who are attorneys: Marty Block of San Diego and Bill Monning of Monterey. If Democrat Alyson Huber is able to prevail over Jack Sieglock in the 10th Assembly District, there will be no net loss of attorneys in the Assembly. SENATE 19th SD - Hanna Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) is a former Assembly Member (2000-2004) and former member of the Assembly Judiciary Committee. Upon completing her third term in the Assembly, she co-founded the non-profit organization, Speak Out, California! She is a graduate of Scripps College and Boston University School of Law. Jackson is married to Superior Court Judge George Eskin.

ASSEMBLY
27th AD - Bill Monning (D-Monterey) is a professor of International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. He is the President and Co-Founder of Global Majority, Inc., an international nongovernmental Organization (NGO), founded in 2003, committed to education, training, and advocacy in field of non-violent conflict resolution. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and the University of San Francisco School of Law.
78th AD - Martin Block (D-San Diego) is a retired professor and dean at San Diego State University who was the Founding Chair/Director of the National Higher Education Law and Policy Institute. He has served on the San Diego Community College Board of Trustees and as a Judge Pro Tem for the San Diego Superior Court. He is a graduate of Indiana University and the DePaul University College of Law.