Democratic Club

by Mary Larson

LW Contributor

The Orange County Registrar of Voters has until March 2 to certify the results of the Jan. 31 Seal Beach City Council runoff election. However, published reports already make it clear that over 1,800 Leisure World residents who were eligible to vote in this election did not vote. It is also clear that Leisure World’s new representative on the council will be Nathan Steele. As of Feb. 2, he was ahead by 185 votes with only approximately 36 ballots left to count.

With this runoff election completed, the Democratic Club is now focusing on what to anticipate in next year’s local and state-wide races. It is already clear that the contest to replace Dianne Feinstein in the U.S. Senate could be the most crowded and high-profile primary race of the 2024 cycle. Following close behind will be the race to replace Katie Porter in the House of Representatives. Nancy Pelosi has already announced she will endorse Adam Schiff to replace Feinstein if she opts not to run again. Porter, the first candidate to throw her hat in this race, has been endorsed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

As previously reported, former U.S. Congressman Harley Rouda and California Senator Dave Min have both announced they will be running to replace Porter in the House.

Leisure World Democrats and supporters are reminded that they— speaking as an individual— are free to endorse any candidate at any time.

The SBLW Democratic Club is chartered by the Democratic Party of Orange County. This means that the club must follow the party’s rules and regulations in making candidate endorsements.

Before making endorsements, the club will send representatives to participate later this year in a meeting called a “pre-endorsement conference.” The meeting has currently been scheduled for October. Participants will vote on which candidates should receive the Democratic Party’s endorsement. The number of votes any club will have in this conference will depend on the number of members “in good standing” in that club.

The names of all candidates receiving at least 70% of the preendorsement vote are forwarded to the California Democratic Party for consideration during their state-wide convention. The final decision on endorsement will be made at this convention. Endorsements for local candidates (school boards, city councils, etc.) are made by the Democratic Party of Orange County governing body. The LW club will have one vote in that process.

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