Maven’s Musings: Leno vs. Nation

Date March 26, 2008

I am thinking about who I should vote and endorse for our California State Senator. At this point I think the race is between Mark Leno and Joe Nation. Carole Migden is pretty much toast, in my humble opinion. Her pleading no contest to reckless driving made her vulnerable to being challenged for her seat. Then when she settled on 350k fine for 89 campaign finance violations, and now she is being sued for “years of deception” by the very commission she settled with.

“For years, Senator Migden has been deceiving the voters of California by filing inaccurate campaign statements, fabricating the elimination of committees and concealing campaign funds,” said FPPC Chairman Ross Johnson. “The sophisticated and pervasive pattern of deception by her various controlled committees has been ongoing for more than five years.”

So this is why I am thinking Migden’s campaign has no chance especially when there are two appealing candidates running against her that would both do a good job. The race has and should focus on Leno and Nation. I have nothing against Mark Leno. I am just leaning towards Nation because he is from Marin and he has served Marin and Sonoma for three terms in the California Assembly whereas Leno has experience working for primarily San Francisco.

Nation authored 50 successful bills including greenhouse gas labeling for autos, fuel efficiency for tires, and tax incentives for alternative energy. He authored legislation to develop the SMART district. He is the leading international expert on the emerging U.S. carbon market, carbon market policies, and carbon finance.

According to his website, Nation has Lifetime 100% rating by the California League of Conservation voters, 100% rating from Sierra Club in 2005, 100% rating by Planned Parenthood and NARAL, 91% lifetime rating by the California State Labor Federation, 100% rating by the California School Employees Association (2005), 100% rating by the Lambda Letters Project-HIVAIDS and Women’s Issues (2005), 96% rating by Children’s Advocacy Institute (2006), 100% rating by the California Congress of Seniors (2005), 100% rating by Jericho, A+ rating by PAW-PAC, California’s political action committee for animals (2006). Nation co-authored the bill that would have legalized gay marriage, author of two global warming bills that became law and the co-author of the nation’s first carbon reduction bill among others.

I keep hearing that Joe Nation is not progressive or like a republican and I am not sure what that means. No one has been able to tell me why he isn’t progressive enough to be our state senator.

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Category Posted in Carole Migden, Joe Nation, Mark Leno, elections