| So Buchanan led off the evening (each candidate was given 5 minutes to speak and 5 minutes of Q&A, with the other candidates out of the room) by stating that she would be making an announcement in the next week, but doesn't wish to talk about CA-10 issues until Tauscher has tendered her resignation. She proceeded to use the rest of her time to talk about the state budget and the propositions in the May 19 special election.
DeSaulnier split his allotted time pretty evenly, talking about the budget, the propositions, and CA-10 issues. He stated that he does not want to step on Tauscher's toes while she's still in office and has settled on the language, "If there's a vacancy, I will be a candidate." He announced his endorsement by the Contra Costa Central Labor Council along with an endorsement by the Building and Construction Trades Council, and listed the many local city council members who are flocking to endorse him. He indicated that he doesn't believe endorsements are enough to win a race, though, and that's why he'll be knocking on doors throughout the district.
DeSaulnier was asked what he thought the important issues were facing CA-10. His response was, "To paraphrase, 'It's the economy, stupid.'" He said that he looked forward to working with George Miller and Nancy Pelosi to ensure that there's more equity in the economy and that rebuilding the middle class would be a priority. He also focused on transportation -- his experience vis-à-vis his tenure on the MTC and the projects that he's shepherded through -- and said that he would hope to be able to use his knowledge to directly benefit the district as a member of the House Transportation Committee. Finally, he noted his commitment to the environment and his desire to continue his work on air quality issues at the federal level.
Then came Garamendi. In a polished speech that included a lot of lofty rhetoric, he talked in sweeping terms about his sense of anger and optimism. He launched into an attack against the Republican corruption and abuse that has left us in a perilous situation. He offhandedly mentioned his conversation with Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar at a conference earlier in the day in San Francisco about offshore drilling. Garamendi talked about the people who interjected into that conversation, "I've just lost my job," how wherever he goes, he hears, "I've just lost my job." He went on to ask, "How did it happen? Why did it happen? Government let us down. That's why we elected Obama. And that's why we can be optimistic.... Changes are afoot in Congress. So I can put aside all the anger to work for change."
And it went on like that for the entire time he was speaking. It's hard to know exactly how it played in the room, how well his rhetoric masked the fact that he was incredibly light on specifics about the district. To be sure, at the end nobody lobbied him to make sure that the new e-bart train to east county will not be served by diesel buses, as they did with DeSaulnier.
I suspect that ultimately this election is going to come down to a question of how much a part of the local community the voters will want their new Congress member to be. Will they want a big picture guy from the Clinton Administration who's not that familiar with the district, or will they want the local candidate with the deeper knowledge of the community and its particular issues. Over the next few months, we're going to find out. |
