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14 running for 10th district

The race to replace U.S. Rep. Ellen Tauscher in the 10th Congressional District is heavily under way, with the special election Sept. 1 barely a month away. Fourteen candidates are vying to represent the district, which spreads from Dixon in the north, to El Cerrito in the east, down to Alamo, then loops around to take in Livermore.

Open congressional seats are rare so when Tauscher was appointed as Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security, it was viewed by politicians as a way to make a difference nationally and to secure a long-term job. Although Congressional terms are only two years, elected representatives are usually fairly secure after a few terms unless the opposing party pulls out all the stops to unseat them or the district boundaries are redrawn.

Two local Democratic state officials - Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan (Alamo) and state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier (Concord) - are in the running. Buchanan was elected last November to serve her first term in the state Assembly. DeSaulnier has already served his allotment of terms in the Assembly and was elected senator in November 2008. Since California adopted term limits for its legislators, politicians can no longer specialize in running the state: To apply their knowledge and talents for any length of time they need to seek either national or local posts. The other Democrat already in an elected position is Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, a resident of Walnut Grove who was considering a run for governor until the 10th Congressional seat was vacated. Other Democrats running are Adriel Hampton, an investigator from Dublin, and Anthony Woods, a resident of Fairfield who served two tours of duty in Iraq as an Army captain until he was honorably discharged when he decided to no longer remain silent under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" regulation.

Republicans running are small business owner independent businessman David Harmer of San Ramon; small business owner Mark Loos of Livermore; accountability system owner David Peterson of Walnut Creek; physician John Toth of Concord; Chris Bunch of Fairfield; and retired peace officer Gary W. Clift of Vacaville. Other candidates are insurance agent Jerry Denham, a Walnut Creek resident; of the American Independent party; college instructor Jeremy Cloward of Pleasant Hill, of the Green party; and El Cerrito resident Mary C. McIlroy of the Peace and Freedom party.

The special election Sept. 1 is an "open" primary with all 14 candidates on one ballot. If one candidate receives 50 percent plus one vote, he or she will be elected. Otherwise the top voter getters from all parties will run against each other in the election Nov. 3. It should prove to be an interesting election.

Posted by Dan Johnson, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Aug 2, 2009 at 9:01 am

Good Luck to the 10th District ....

Here in the 11th District we have a Congressman (McNerney) that has had the same message on his website about upcoming events for some time:

District Events

As your representative in Congress, it’s important to me to hear about what’s on your mind and any questions or concerns you may have. Please check back soon for upcoming events.

We want to meet with him & talk about some of the issues he is considering, including health care changes. NOTHING SCHEDULED.

Send them E-Mails for information or schedule and never hear back. Where is McNerney hiding?

We hope the 10th District is more open and accessible.

Posted by Alamo Ron, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood, on Aug 2, 2009 at 3:06 pm

The real winner of this race will be Gerry Mander. This means that the real losers will be the voting public.