[img]1776|left|Senator Curren Price||no_popup[/img]The fairest, most vigorous, most convincing endorsement to be seen this election season was posted about state Sen. Curren Price (D-Culver City) the other day in the Downtown News.
Mr. Price is strongly favored to defeat newcomer/former City Council aide Ana Cubas in the race to succeed Jan Perry in the 9th Council District in South Los Angeles.
I would make such a statement with cement-strength assurance if it were not for the poisonous cultural dynamic – Ms. Cubas’s Hispanic roots vs. Mr. Price’s black ethnicity.
The Downtown News can serve up the most cogent, persuasive arguments for and against each, and they will be as meaningless as a half-baked greenhouse gas emission to the thousands of bigots who robotically vote for an ethnic colleague without considering the better candidate.
Surely only Ms. Cubas’s family members would contend she is better qualified than Mr. Price, a well-tested Inglewood City Council, state Assembly, state Senate veteran who understands how the game is played.
As closely as I can tell, Ms. Cubas is harping on her Wendy gene – “Vote for me because I am a girl” – and her ethnicity.
Ugh.
Like the Downtown News, we scarcely must stir to find reasons to criticize the performance of Mr. Price in Sacramento. Irrelevant.
The newspaper makes a persuasive case for backing Mr. Price:
Mr. Price brings some compelling experience and proposals, such as his aim to create business improvement districts for key corridors like Central and Slauson avenues, and his plans to tap into the 9th’s “network of nonprofits” to combat the worsening homelessness problem (not as bad as exists on Skid Row, but obviously related). He comprehends the needs of small businesses along the Figueroa Corridor and knows the importance of addressing basic issues. He has received extensive backing during the campaign from business and labor groups, and these ties could help propel change.
The Downtown News acknowledges major failings in both:
This endorsement decision is not easy. That is partly because Mr. Price and Ms. Cubas both carry some serious baggage. In a few cases, it's the same baggage. Both worked to facilitate the redistricting last year that devastated the 9th, removing Downtown from the district and creating a shockingly poor territory. Mr. Price , testified at meetings in favor of the carving. Ms. Cubas has sought to downplay her role, saying that in working for Mr. Huizar, who supported changing boundaries, she was doing her job. Still, her job meant hacking apart the community, and she did not publicly protest.
Both also can be accused of carpetbagging, as each only moved into the district for the sake of running for the Council seat. Although both claim historic or familial ties to the area, the fact remains that until recently, neither was sufficiently familiar with the daily challenges of life in the 9th. This is another effect of redistricting – removing the best homegrown or resident candidates, and instead sparking the need to move in someone allied with other communities or interests.
South L.A. voters, who don’t choose by skin color, should not have to ponder long.
