Photo courtesy of sarajacobsforca.com
Sara Jacobs
Back in January, I wrote in this space that I fully expected Republican Rep. Darrell Issa to win reelection in the 49th congressional district. Less than a week later, he decided not to seek reelection. Not that I needed help looking like an idiot, but thanks a lot, D.
And while I was just as happy to hear that Issa was, as some publications put it, “retiring,” I did not believe that was the case for a second. What’s more, I was immediately concerned with the prospect of what would come next. That is, while a Democratic candidate would have a pretty good chance of defeating the highly unpopular (but incredibly well-financed) Issa, another GOP candidate—a fresh face on the scene—could spell trouble for the Dems.
Barely a month later, and it’s hard to keep track of all the people running in the 49th. Issa, however, was pretty smart in endorsing state tax board member Diane Harkey of Orange County to be his successor. Sensing the writing may be on the wall, other local Democratic representatives have followed suit with their own endorsements. Both Democratic Reps. Susan Davis and Juan Vargas recently endorsed Sara Jacobs, the former CEO of a non-profit and State Department official under President Obama.
A lot has been made about the Encinitas-based Jacobs’ age (if she wins, she’d be the youngest woman ever to be elected to the House) and her family (yes, that Jacobs, as in Qualcomm), but it’s her progressiveness and knowledge of the issues that make her such an appealing candidate. However, I certainly expect candidates such as Harkey and County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar (a fellow Encinitas local) to point out Jacobs’ inexperience at every opportunity the closer we get to the June primary.
Speaking of the Board of Supervisors, Democratic candidate Nathan Fletcher has wracked up quite a few high-level endorsements, likely due to the GOP field being pretty much an island of one (former District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis). While it’s great to help a candidate build momentum, it also does a disservice to the other candidates in the field who are often working with significantly less campaign funds and decidedly less name recognition, but who are bringing important issues and ideas to the table.
This all begs a few questions: First, should local politicians endorse other candidates this early in the primary season? If so, are they doing it for the right reasons (that candidates’ values most closely align with their values) or are they doing it simply because they want to get ahead of what the rival party is doing? Second, it could also be asked whether they’re endorsing this early because they’re hoping to whittle down the field a bit. With California’s open primaries, it’s not inconceivable that five Democrats could split or spread the vote in June, so much so that two Republicans end up on the ballot in November. It’s unlikely, but just a few months ago no one ever thought someone like Issa would leave in the first place.
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As this issue went to press, the story broke that Chicago-based Tronc (Tribune Online Content) was selling the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune to biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong. This comes not even a month after L.A. Times staff overwhelmingly voted to join the News Guild-Communication Workers of America union.
A story posted to the L.A. Times late Tuesday afternoon had a rosy tone, all things considered, and cited Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ purchase of The Washington Post as a prime example of what can happen when a billionaire invests in journalists. Despite Bezos being anti-union, the Post is now growing, profitable and adding journalists. Lloyd Greif, an L.A. investment banker, told the Times that Soon-Shiong “wants a strong, locally focused, engaged newspaper” and for it to be a “vibrant voice” after a very tumultuous year in which the paper saw three different editors in six months.
We hope that Soon-Shiong’s background in biotech will make him more inclined to see the U-T as a sound investment as well. And while we occasionally poke fun at some of its editorials or troll some of our U-T colleagues on Twitter, we sincerely hope that no one is in danger of losing their job at our local paper of record.
It’s worth pointing out as well the paper that broke the story of the sale in the first place: The Washington Post.