MIGDEN FIRES BACK

Names Top Endorsers
Embattled SF State Senator Carole Migden has rolled out a list of high-powered endorsers for her re-election bid this June. The list includes California’s two U.S. Senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein according to Migden’s Web site, http://www.carolemigdenleading.com/.

State Treasurer Bill Lockyer is also on the list, along with Senate President Don Perata of Oakland and nearly two dozen other Democrats in the Senate.

Migden is in a tough fight with two primary opponents, SF Assemblyman Mark Leno and former Assemblyman Joe Nation, who represented Marin County, before he was termed out in 2006. Leno recently scored the endorsement of SF Mayor Gavin Newsom and told me by phone he’s also supported by SF District Attorney Kamela Harris. “The momentum of the campaign is terrific,” Leno says.

LENO SCORES BIG ENDORSEMENT

POLITICAL FISH
San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno has landed one of the biggest fish in the San Francisco Bay in his race to unseat Carole Migden for her Senate post. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has announced his endorsement of Mark Leno. The Mayor’s office confirmed for me, His Honor made it official Wednesday night in an event before more than 1,000 people at the Herbst Theatre on Van Ness Blvd.

WHAT IT MEANS
Mark Leno can now count on “the Mayor’s ability to raise money and to stump for Mark”, according to Eric Jaye, chief political strategist for Gavin Newsom. Jaye told me by phone today, it also means “more people on the street, more emails and more money for Mark Leno”.

Gavin Newsom scored a decisive re-election victory (74% margin in a field of 11 candidates) in the race for Mayor last November, so his endorsement paves the way for the city’s Democratic machine to line up behind Leno. Ultimately, it means extra support, momentum and political clout for the Assemblyman in a very competitive battle for the Migden seat.

THREE WAY RACE
There’s a third candidate in the race to capture Migden’s seat…it’s former Assemblyman Joe Nation. Nation represented Marin and southern portions of Sonoma County as a Democrat Assemblyman from 2000, until he was termed out in 2006. He’s considered to be a tough competitor, having served in Sacramento before.

TIGHT RACE
Political insiders project this election race to go down to the wire.
“We can expect this race to be won by just 2 or 3 points” Eric Jaye told me today. The primary election is set for Tuesday, June 3.

GOV’S COMMUNICATION GURU SETS SAIL

MENDELSOHN JOINS PR FIRM
Adam Mendelsohn, the Deputy Chief of Staff and Communications Director for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, is leaving. He’ll be joining Steve Schmidt, who ran the Gov’s re-election campaign in 2006, at Mercury Public Affairs, with offices in Sacramento, Orange County and Los Angeles. Mendelsohn will be Managing Director for Mercury, according to the firm’s press release.

Mendelsohn was a key strategist for the Governor, the guy behind the scenes who crafted communication messages for the Schwarzenegger press office. He won’t be far from the political scene, as Schmidt is now a senior advisor to Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign. Mendelsohn will be replaced in the Governor’s Office by Matt David, who also worked with Schmidt on Schwarzenegger’s 2006 re-election campaign. Matt David was also briefly part of McCain’s presidential campaign last year.

BAY AREA POWER BLACKOUT?

NEW SPEAKER LIKELY TO BE FROM SOCAL

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma of San Francisco and Assemblyman Alberto Torrico of Fremont are both in the running for Speaker of the Assembly, now that current Speaker Fabian Nunez of Los Angeles has called for a Democratic caucus election on March 11th. Political insiders at the Capitol tell us neither one is likely to get the nod.

VICTIMS OF GEOGRAPHY

The reason has nothing to do with qualifications, but rather geography.

You see now that Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento has been named as new leader of the Senate when Don Parata of Oakland leaves in November, the chances of another Northern California legislator getting the Assembly Speakership has dropped to near zero.

It’s an unwritten rule at the Capitol that the top two leadership positions are shared between Northern California and Southern California. As a case in point – look at the current leadership – Perata is from Oakland and Nunez from L.A., so lawmakers believe that gives the Legislature geographic balance.

That means Ma and Torrico are victims of geography, because the Assembly seems destined now to pick a leader from L.A….and there are plenty of candidates, including Karen Bass, Kevin De Leon, Mike Feuer, Anthony Portantino, Hector De La Torre and Charles Calderon.

MEXICAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT STATE CAPITOL

FESTIVITIES SET FOR FEB 13
Mexican President Felipe Calderon Hinojsa will pay an official visit to Sacramento next Wednesday, to address a joint session of the California legislature. It’s the highlight of his visit to the U.S., which includes a swing through five cities.

It will be Calderon’s first official visit to the U.S. since he was sworn in as President in December 2006. While here, Calderon will meet privately with Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez then join Governor Schwarzenegger for lunch.

This is not the first time a president of Mexico has spoken before the California legislature. Calderon’s predecessor – President Vincente Fox – spoke to a joint session of the California legislature back in May 2006.