Special election musical chairs
Encyclopedia
"Special election musical chairs" is a term used by editorialists to describe a series of special elections triggered by the mid-term resignation or death of an officeholder, with elections being won by other officeholders, triggering further special elections until either the next election required to replace a vacant office is scheduled on a regular election day or the winner of an election does not create a vacancy in any elected office.
It is represented well by a series of five special elections that were held in the Oakland
-Berkeley
area from April 1998 to April 1999, due to: a political retirement, elected officials seeking higher office, and the requirements for filling mid-term vacancies under California
election law
. Near the end of it, there had been so many elections held that voters were increasingly unwilling to participate, and turnout fell to 15% of registered voters, one of the lowest turnouts in California history. The "musical chairs" began with the mid-term retirement of well-known Congressman Ron Dellums
, and ended one year later with the unexpected election to the California State Assembly
of Green Party
candidate Audie Bock
.
On November 17, 1997, 27-year veteran Congressman Ron Dellums
announced that he was retiring from Congress. Having represented the Oakland-Berkeley area since 1970 and first elected as anti-Vietnam War activist, the 61-year-old Dellums said: "Now I choose to make a personal decision and to empower myself to regain my life. It's important for me to now move on.".
But rather than serve the rest of his 2-year term (which was set to expire in January 1999), Dellums announced that he would step down effective February 1998. Therefore, a special election would have to be called, and was scheduled for April 7, 1998. Upon stepping down, Dellums endorsed a long-time aide, Barbara Lee
, who at the time was representing the Berkeley-Oakland area in the California State Senate
.
With strong support from a popular incumbent, Barbara Lee
faced little opposition in the April 7th special election. She was elected to Congress with 67% of the vote, defeating fellow Democrats Greg Harper and Randall Stewart, and Republican Charlie Sanders. Voter turnout was 16%.
As Lee took office immediately, Lee had to give up her State Senate seat, triggering a special election, called for September 1, 1998.
Unlike the Congressional race, where Lee had no significant opposition, the special election for Lee's Senate seat was fiercely contested by local Democrats. Because the California legislature has term limits, there are many politicians seeking higher office—and many viewed the special election as a rare opportunity to run for a Senate seat without risking their existing office.
At first, two Democrats entered the race: California State Assemblywoman Dion Aroner
of Berkeley, and Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, also of Berkeley. Both were considered progressive Democrats in the Dellums-Lee mold, and shared a similar political base. Like Lee, Carson was on Dellums' staff for 20 years.
California State Assemblyman Don Perata
of Alameda "told Carson that he had no plans to run himself, but then after Carson jumped into the race, Perata did, too." Aroner and Carson split the progressive vote, thereby helping Perata win the race.
Although then-California State Assemblyman Don Perata
of Alameda entered the race. Perata was a more moderate Democrat, and represented the southern half of the Senate district. There was the possibility that Aroner and Carson would split the progressive Berkeley vote, allowing Perata to win in a low-turnout special election, although the political demographics of the district were more progressive than Perata.
The September special election had a 15% voter turnout. Fueled by a well-financed, absentee ballot-driven campaign, Don Perata finished in first place with 33% of the vote. Dion Aroner came in a very close second with 32% -- only 900 votes short of a first-place finish. Carson finished third with 20% -- and other candidates finished far behind.
With no candidate receiving a majority, a run-off election was required. But it was not to be a run-off between the top two finishers (Perata and Aroner) because both were Democrats. Under California election law, if no candidate receives a majority in a special election for a partisan office, there must be a run-off among the top finishers of each political party, not the top two vote-getters overall. Therefore, Aroner and Carson were eliminated from the run-off because, like Perata, they were Democrats.
as the Democratic Party
candidate, Deborah Wright
as the Republican
candidate and Marsha Feinland
as the Peace & Freedom Party candidate. Because the district is overwhelmingly Democratic, running against these two candidates did not generate much excitement. With the November 1998 general election just two months away, the special run-off election was consolidated with the previously scheduled statewide election.
On November 3, 1998, when Gray Davis
was elected Governor of California and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
was re-elected to a second term, Don Perata
easily won the special election to the State Senate over the Republican and Peace & Freedom party candidates.
But while running for the State Senate, Don Perata
was also on the ballot for re-election to the California State Assembly
-- and in that race he easily defeated Republican Linda Marshall. Because he could not legally hold a seat in both houses of the legislature, Perata announced on November 4 that he would resign his Assembly seat as soon as possible.
Therefore, a special election was called for Perata's Assembly seat on February 2, 1999.
, Piedmont
, and Alameda
. Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris
(who had represented the district from 1977-1991 in the state Assembly) entered the race, and was heavily supported by the California Democratic Party
establishment. But Oakland lawyer Frank Russo, a Democrat, also entered the race and received significant support from Democrats who were disenchanted with Harris. Audie Bock
, a Green Party candidate, also entered the race.
On February 2, with a 19.5 percent voter turnout, Harris finished first with 49% of the vote.. But 49% of the vote is short of the simple majority to avoid a run-off election. Frank Russo came in second place with 37%, and Audie Bock received 8.7% of the vote.
Again, like the State Senate election, California law required a run-off election between the top finishers of each political party. Therefore, because Russo was a Democrat like Harris, he was eliminated.
A special run-off election was called for Tuesday, March 30, 1999 between Elihu Harris
as the Democratic Party
candidate, and Audie Bock
as the Green Party
candidate.
was the former mayor of Oakland, had previously represented the Assembly district from 1977-1991, had almost won the February election outright without the need of a run-off, and Audie Bock
had received only 8.7% of the vote in the February election, Harris was heavily favored to win. On Election Day, he was in Sacramento negotiating his committee assignments.
But the California Democratic Party
made a mistake that arguably created one of the biggest upsets in local political history. In an effort to boost voter turnout in black-majority, heavily Democratic precincts in Oakland, the party sent voters "chicken-dinner" vouchers that said that if they could bring their voter stub to certain locations proving that they had voted, they would receive a free chicken dinner. This created an outcry among voters who felt that it was a racist and demeaning gesture—and it badly hurt Elihu Harris' campaign.
On March 30, in a special run-off election with 15% turnout, Harris lost by less than 1,000 votes to Audie Bock
.
It was one of the largest political upsets in California history—as Bock became the first Green Party
candidate in the country to be elected to a state legislative body. Bock's victory was heralded by progressives across the country, but was minimized by the fact that she had been elected in a very low turnout special election—after a series of five special elections in less than twelve months.
Bock's victory ended the year-long Special Election musical chairs. In the last seven years, the East Bay has not had a special election for statewide or congressional office.
politics in the hands of a small minority of the area's population who are generally more informed and more politically active.
should not have resigned in the middle of his term and that his decision to retire prematurely caused the chain reaction of special elections. But Dellums's mid-term resignation wasn't the only cause of the chain reaction. Had Dellums announced that he would retire at the end of his term in November 1998 and that he was anointing state senator Barbara Lee
as his successor, the April 1998 Congressional election and the September 1998 State Senate election would have been avoided. Voters would have chosen their new Congressman in the November general election. But under this scenario, after getting elected, Barbara Lee would have then been forced to resign her Senate seat, creating the need for a special election in February 1999, and possible follow-on elections, depending who won the Senate election.
This law was passed in 1963 by Democrats in the California state legislature to deal with a problem that had plagued the party for years. The previous law did not require a run-off at all, and whichever candidate in a special election who received a simple plurality of the vote won. Because Republicans tended to be more unified than Democrats, this law benefited Republicans—who would often run only one candidate who would win in a crowded field of candidates, even in strong Democratic districts. The idea behind changing the law was to require a run-off so that, under such a scenario, the top Republican who came in first would then have to face the top Democrat.
However, in districts as overwhelmingly partisan as the districts of the East Bay, this meant that the candidate of the minority party had typically come in third or fourth in the special primary election, increasing the importance of the primary, and leading to possible upsets, like Harris unexpectedly losing to Green Party candidate Audie Bock
, who had received less than 9% of the vote in the previous special election.
Some people argue that this scenario as played out in these elections did not give voters a fair choice because a run-off should be held between the top two finishers, not the top finisher of each party. While Aroner, theoretically, could have challenged Perata two years later in the regularly scheduled election, political reality dictates that it is virtually impossible to defeat an incumbent legislator in a safe district.
's political fortunes weren't so good after winning the unexpected race. Shortly before the 2000 election, Bock left the Green Party and ran for re-election as an Independent because of her inability to work with the Greens and a controversy about her acceptance of $500 campaign contributions from Chevron
and Tosco
. The Green Party has long rejected the acceptance of corporate donations. Officially, Bock claimed that it was a "tactical move" to avoid having to run in the March 2000 primary, though she could have expected to be unopposed. Shortly after losing the November 2000 election to Democrat Wilma Chan
, Bock re-registered as a Democrat
and has perennially re-appeared as a minor candidate.
After September 11, 2001, Bock announced her run for Congress against Barbara Lee
in the 2002 primary as a Democrat, arguing that Lee's vote against going to war in Afghanistan was unpatriotic. Her campaign website showed the twin towers of the World Trade Center
and a campaign slogan "It's OK to Love America" -- implying that Barbara Lee was un-American. After it was revealed that her campaign was being funded by Republican consultant, she withdrew from the race before the filing deadline. In 2003, Bock ran for Governor of California
in the 2003 California recall. On a right-wing website, she urged Democrats to vote to recall Gray Davis. Bock received 2,872 votes.
now serves as Chancellor of the Peralta Community College District
, a community college district that oversees four colleges in the East Bay (Berkeley City College
in Berkeley, Laney College
in Oakland, Merritt College
in Oakland, and College of Alameda
in Alameda).
. He has sold his law practice, and now runs a progressive website, the California Progress Report, which covers news and commentary on state politics. Many people often confuse him with John Russo, the Oakland City Attorney (and former City Councilman), who in June 2006 ran and failed to get the Democratic nomination for State Assembly. Coincidentally, John Russo ran in the same Assembly district (16th) that Frank Russo had run in. The two are not related.
After the 2008 election, Russo left the California Progress Report to become chief-of-staff for Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner
.
went on to be a powerful political force in California politics. After the 2000 Census, Perata used his influence to re-draw the state Senate districts, carving out a district for him that was far less "progressive" than the old one he had represented (the district now includes Livermore
). In August 2004, Perata's colleagues elected him President pro tempore of the State Senate, which made him the third most powerful person in state politics, after then-Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez
and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
.
Because California state senators can serve only two terms (or eight years), it was an open question for a while whether Perata could run for another term in 2004. Because he had won the September 1998 special-election, it was argued that he had finished more than half of Barbara Lee
's state senate term, and therefore was ineligible to run in 2004. But Perata received a legal opinion from California Attorney General (and political ally) Bill Lockyer
that said that because Perata didn't take office until January 1999, he had technically served less than half of a senate term. By the time Perata will have to leave in 2009, he will have been in the State Senate longer than any other current state senator—and will have amassed more power, influence and seniority.
In 2007, Perata and Nunez championed Proposition 93 for the February 2008 ballot -- as a means of reforming term limits, and allowing Perata to serve an extra term. Under the measure's original draft form, Perata would have been unable to benefit from Prop 93's extension of term limits because he had already been in the Senate for 10 years. Prop 93's drafters thus re-wrote the initiative so that he could. All of this, however, proved a moot point when the voters rejected Prop 93.
Perata left the State Senate in 2008, and ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Oakland in 2010.
returned to the State Assembly until term limits forced her out in 2002. She moved back to Berkeley and opened up a political consulting firm. In 2004, Aroner briefly considered another run for the State Senate—believing that Don Perata would likewise be forced out because of term limits. But after Perata received the legal opinion allowing him to run for another term, Aroner opted not to run.
is still on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors
, representing District 5. In 2004, he was the main sponsor of the successful Proposition B, a 0.5% sales tax increase to save Highland Hospital, Oakland's last remaining trauma center.
made international headlines on September 14, 2001 by casting the only "no" vote in Congress against the war in Afghanistan. Urging restraint from the "post-September 11
hysteria", and arguing that "we must not become the evil we deplore," Lee became a national hero among the anti-war movement but also received death threats for this vote. Her constituents generally approved of her vote, and bumper stickers appeared throughout her district that said "Barbara Lee Speaks for Me!" Despite rumors of a backlash, she was easily re-elected in 2002 with 81% of the vote. She went on to be a critic of the war in Iraq, and currently co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus
. She continues to be re-elected, most recently with a majority of 86%.
became a lobbyist after his retirement from Congress. In 2006, he announced that he would return to politics with a run for mayor of Oakland. In June 2006, he was elected by barely avoiding a November run-off, and took office as mayor on 1 January 2007. Dellums became the latest in a series of Bay Area elder statesmen such as Willie Brown in San Francisco, Tom Bates
in Berkeley and Jerry Brown
in Oakland who, after a long career in public office, returned to their hometowns and were elected Mayor.
Dellums' tenure as Oakland Mayor, however, has proven to be controversial -- as voters have questioned his commitment and lack of presence. Dellums has said he will not run for re-election in 2010, setting off an active race for Mayor of Oakland. Don Perata is one of the candidates.
It is represented well by a series of five special elections that were held in the Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
-Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
area from April 1998 to April 1999, due to: a political retirement, elected officials seeking higher office, and the requirements for filling mid-term vacancies under California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
election law
Election law
Election law is a discipline falling at the juncture of constitutional law and political science. It researches "the politics of law and the law of politics"...
. Near the end of it, there had been so many elections held that voters were increasingly unwilling to participate, and turnout fell to 15% of registered voters, one of the lowest turnouts in California history. The "musical chairs" began with the mid-term retirement of well-known Congressman Ron Dellums
Ron Dellums
Ronald Vernie "Ron" Dellums served as Oakland's forty-fifth mayor. From 1971 to 1998, he was elected to thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S...
, and ended one year later with the unexpected election to the California State Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
of Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
candidate Audie Bock
Audie Bock
Audie Elizabeth Bock is an American film scholar and politician who served in the California State Assembly from 1999 to 2000....
.
April 7, 1998: special Congressional election
Ron Dellums
Ronald Vernie "Ron" Dellums served as Oakland's forty-fifth mayor. From 1971 to 1998, he was elected to thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S...
announced that he was retiring from Congress. Having represented the Oakland-Berkeley area since 1970 and first elected as anti-Vietnam War activist, the 61-year-old Dellums said: "Now I choose to make a personal decision and to empower myself to regain my life. It's important for me to now move on.".
But rather than serve the rest of his 2-year term (which was set to expire in January 1999), Dellums announced that he would step down effective February 1998. Therefore, a special election would have to be called, and was scheduled for April 7, 1998. Upon stepping down, Dellums endorsed a long-time aide, Barbara Lee
Barbara Lee
Barbara Jean Lee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1998. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to represent that district. Lee was the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus...
, who at the time was representing the Berkeley-Oakland area in the California State Senate
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
.
With strong support from a popular incumbent, Barbara Lee
Barbara Lee
Barbara Jean Lee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1998. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to represent that district. Lee was the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus...
faced little opposition in the April 7th special election. She was elected to Congress with 67% of the vote, defeating fellow Democrats Greg Harper and Randall Stewart, and Republican Charlie Sanders. Voter turnout was 16%.
As Lee took office immediately, Lee had to give up her State Senate seat, triggering a special election, called for September 1, 1998.
September 1, 1998: special State Senate election
At first, two Democrats entered the race: California State Assemblywoman Dion Aroner
Dion Aroner
Dion Louise Aroner is a Democrat who represented California's 14th Assembly District, including parts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, from 1996 until 2002. She also lost in a special election primary to Don Perata for the 9th District Senate seat in 1998. She currently owns her own lobbying...
of Berkeley, and Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, also of Berkeley. Both were considered progressive Democrats in the Dellums-Lee mold, and shared a similar political base. Like Lee, Carson was on Dellums' staff for 20 years.
California State Assemblyman Don Perata
Don Perata
Don Richard Perata is a California Democratic politician, who was President pro tempore of the California State Senate from 2004 to 2008. He came in second place in the November 2010 ballot for Mayor of Oakland...
of Alameda "told Carson that he had no plans to run himself, but then after Carson jumped into the race, Perata did, too." Aroner and Carson split the progressive vote, thereby helping Perata win the race.
Although then-California State Assemblyman Don Perata
Don Perata
Don Richard Perata is a California Democratic politician, who was President pro tempore of the California State Senate from 2004 to 2008. He came in second place in the November 2010 ballot for Mayor of Oakland...
of Alameda entered the race. Perata was a more moderate Democrat, and represented the southern half of the Senate district. There was the possibility that Aroner and Carson would split the progressive Berkeley vote, allowing Perata to win in a low-turnout special election, although the political demographics of the district were more progressive than Perata.
The September special election had a 15% voter turnout. Fueled by a well-financed, absentee ballot-driven campaign, Don Perata finished in first place with 33% of the vote. Dion Aroner came in a very close second with 32% -- only 900 votes short of a first-place finish. Carson finished third with 20% -- and other candidates finished far behind.
With no candidate receiving a majority, a run-off election was required. But it was not to be a run-off between the top two finishers (Perata and Aroner) because both were Democrats. Under California election law, if no candidate receives a majority in a special election for a partisan office, there must be a run-off among the top finishers of each political party, not the top two vote-getters overall. Therefore, Aroner and Carson were eliminated from the run-off because, like Perata, they were Democrats.
November 3, 1998: special State Senate run-off election and statewide general election
The run-off was between Don PerataDon Perata
Don Richard Perata is a California Democratic politician, who was President pro tempore of the California State Senate from 2004 to 2008. He came in second place in the November 2010 ballot for Mayor of Oakland...
as the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidate, Deborah Wright
Deborah Wright
Deborah C. Wright is President and CEO of Carver Bancorp, the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank. This is the U.S.'s largest publicly traded African-American operated bank, with locations in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens...
as the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidate and Marsha Feinland
Marsha Feinland
Marsha Feinland was a third-party candidate for President of the United States in the 1996 U.S. presidential election. Her running mate was Kate McClatchy; they were only on the ballot in California and received 25,332 votes...
as the Peace & Freedom Party candidate. Because the district is overwhelmingly Democratic, running against these two candidates did not generate much excitement. With the November 1998 general election just two months away, the special run-off election was consolidated with the previously scheduled statewide election.
On November 3, 1998, when Gray Davis
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served as California's 37th Governor from 1999 until being recalled in 2003...
was elected Governor of California and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
was re-elected to a second term, Don Perata
Don Perata
Don Richard Perata is a California Democratic politician, who was President pro tempore of the California State Senate from 2004 to 2008. He came in second place in the November 2010 ballot for Mayor of Oakland...
easily won the special election to the State Senate over the Republican and Peace & Freedom party candidates.
But while running for the State Senate, Don Perata
Don Perata
Don Richard Perata is a California Democratic politician, who was President pro tempore of the California State Senate from 2004 to 2008. He came in second place in the November 2010 ballot for Mayor of Oakland...
was also on the ballot for re-election to the California State Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
-- and in that race he easily defeated Republican Linda Marshall. Because he could not legally hold a seat in both houses of the legislature, Perata announced on November 4 that he would resign his Assembly seat as soon as possible.
Therefore, a special election was called for Perata's Assembly seat on February 2, 1999.
February 2, 1999: special State Assembly election
Now there was a special election for the 16th Assembly district, which covered most of OaklandOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, Piedmont
Piedmont, California
Piedmont is a small, affluent city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is surrounded by the city of Oakland. The population was 10,667 at the 2010 census. Piedmont was incorporated in 1907 and was developed significantly in the 1920s and 1930s...
, and Alameda
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
. Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris
Elihu Harris
Elihu Mason Harris is a former U.S. Democratic Party politician and college administrator. He served as the 46th mayor of Oakland, California from 1991 to until 1999. He served for 12 years as a member of the California State Assembly before his election as Oakland mayor...
(who had represented the district from 1977-1991 in the state Assembly) entered the race, and was heavily supported by the California Democratic Party
California Democratic Party
The California Democratic Party is the state branch of the Democratic Party in the state of California, headquartered in Sacramento. It is chaired by veteran Democratic politician and former United States Representative John L. Burton, who succeeded Art Torres in April 2009. It is the majority...
establishment. But Oakland lawyer Frank Russo, a Democrat, also entered the race and received significant support from Democrats who were disenchanted with Harris. Audie Bock
Audie Bock
Audie Elizabeth Bock is an American film scholar and politician who served in the California State Assembly from 1999 to 2000....
, a Green Party candidate, also entered the race.
On February 2, with a 19.5 percent voter turnout, Harris finished first with 49% of the vote.. But 49% of the vote is short of the simple majority to avoid a run-off election. Frank Russo came in second place with 37%, and Audie Bock received 8.7% of the vote.
Again, like the State Senate election, California law required a run-off election between the top finishers of each political party. Therefore, because Russo was a Democrat like Harris, he was eliminated.
A special run-off election was called for Tuesday, March 30, 1999 between Elihu Harris
Elihu Harris
Elihu Mason Harris is a former U.S. Democratic Party politician and college administrator. He served as the 46th mayor of Oakland, California from 1991 to until 1999. He served for 12 years as a member of the California State Assembly before his election as Oakland mayor...
as the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidate, and Audie Bock
Audie Bock
Audie Elizabeth Bock is an American film scholar and politician who served in the California State Assembly from 1999 to 2000....
as the Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
candidate.
March 30, 1999: special run-off State Assembly election
Because Elihu HarrisElihu Harris
Elihu Mason Harris is a former U.S. Democratic Party politician and college administrator. He served as the 46th mayor of Oakland, California from 1991 to until 1999. He served for 12 years as a member of the California State Assembly before his election as Oakland mayor...
was the former mayor of Oakland, had previously represented the Assembly district from 1977-1991, had almost won the February election outright without the need of a run-off, and Audie Bock
Audie Bock
Audie Elizabeth Bock is an American film scholar and politician who served in the California State Assembly from 1999 to 2000....
had received only 8.7% of the vote in the February election, Harris was heavily favored to win. On Election Day, he was in Sacramento negotiating his committee assignments.
But the California Democratic Party
California Democratic Party
The California Democratic Party is the state branch of the Democratic Party in the state of California, headquartered in Sacramento. It is chaired by veteran Democratic politician and former United States Representative John L. Burton, who succeeded Art Torres in April 2009. It is the majority...
made a mistake that arguably created one of the biggest upsets in local political history. In an effort to boost voter turnout in black-majority, heavily Democratic precincts in Oakland, the party sent voters "chicken-dinner" vouchers that said that if they could bring their voter stub to certain locations proving that they had voted, they would receive a free chicken dinner. This created an outcry among voters who felt that it was a racist and demeaning gesture—and it badly hurt Elihu Harris' campaign.
On March 30, in a special run-off election with 15% turnout, Harris lost by less than 1,000 votes to Audie Bock
Audie Bock
Audie Elizabeth Bock is an American film scholar and politician who served in the California State Assembly from 1999 to 2000....
.
It was one of the largest political upsets in California history—as Bock became the first Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
candidate in the country to be elected to a state legislative body. Bock's victory was heralded by progressives across the country, but was minimized by the fact that she had been elected in a very low turnout special election—after a series of five special elections in less than twelve months.
Bock's victory ended the year-long Special Election musical chairs. In the last seven years, the East Bay has not had a special election for statewide or congressional office.
Retrospective analysis
Holding five special elections in less than twelve months cost the state an enormous amount of money. With repeated special elections, voter turnout declined, placing fateful decisions of who would dominate East BayEast Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...
politics in the hands of a small minority of the area's population who are generally more informed and more politically active.
Political ambitions
Some argue that Ron DellumsRon Dellums
Ronald Vernie "Ron" Dellums served as Oakland's forty-fifth mayor. From 1971 to 1998, he was elected to thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S...
should not have resigned in the middle of his term and that his decision to retire prematurely caused the chain reaction of special elections. But Dellums's mid-term resignation wasn't the only cause of the chain reaction. Had Dellums announced that he would retire at the end of his term in November 1998 and that he was anointing state senator Barbara Lee
Barbara Lee
Barbara Jean Lee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1998. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to represent that district. Lee was the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus...
as his successor, the April 1998 Congressional election and the September 1998 State Senate election would have been avoided. Voters would have chosen their new Congressman in the November general election. But under this scenario, after getting elected, Barbara Lee would have then been forced to resign her Senate seat, creating the need for a special election in February 1999, and possible follow-on elections, depending who won the Senate election.
Election law for special elections
Another issue that played out in these elections is whether California election law should be amended to deal with how and when run-off special elections should be held. Section 10706(a) of the California Election Code, which governs special elections, says:- If no candidate receives a majority of votes cast, the name of that candidate of each qualified political party who receives the most votes cast for all candidates of that party shall be placed on the special general election ballot as the candidate of that party.
This law was passed in 1963 by Democrats in the California state legislature to deal with a problem that had plagued the party for years. The previous law did not require a run-off at all, and whichever candidate in a special election who received a simple plurality of the vote won. Because Republicans tended to be more unified than Democrats, this law benefited Republicans—who would often run only one candidate who would win in a crowded field of candidates, even in strong Democratic districts. The idea behind changing the law was to require a run-off so that, under such a scenario, the top Republican who came in first would then have to face the top Democrat.
However, in districts as overwhelmingly partisan as the districts of the East Bay, this meant that the candidate of the minority party had typically come in third or fourth in the special primary election, increasing the importance of the primary, and leading to possible upsets, like Harris unexpectedly losing to Green Party candidate Audie Bock
Audie Bock
Audie Elizabeth Bock is an American film scholar and politician who served in the California State Assembly from 1999 to 2000....
, who had received less than 9% of the vote in the previous special election.
Some people argue that this scenario as played out in these elections did not give voters a fair choice because a run-off should be held between the top two finishers, not the top finisher of each party. While Aroner, theoretically, could have challenged Perata two years later in the regularly scheduled election, political reality dictates that it is virtually impossible to defeat an incumbent legislator in a safe district.
East Bay politics afterwards
What happened to the various political figures in these elections reveals how critical the five special elections were to reshaping the face of East Bay politics.Audie Bock
Audie BockAudie Bock
Audie Elizabeth Bock is an American film scholar and politician who served in the California State Assembly from 1999 to 2000....
's political fortunes weren't so good after winning the unexpected race. Shortly before the 2000 election, Bock left the Green Party and ran for re-election as an Independent because of her inability to work with the Greens and a controversy about her acceptance of $500 campaign contributions from Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
and Tosco
Tosco Corporation
Tosco was an independent US based petroleum refining and marketing corporation. It was founded in 1955 in Santa Monica, California by A&P heir Huntington Hartford, and originally focused on extracting oil from oil shale and developing alternative energy sources.-Oil shale operations:In 1964...
. The Green Party has long rejected the acceptance of corporate donations. Officially, Bock claimed that it was a "tactical move" to avoid having to run in the March 2000 primary, though she could have expected to be unopposed. Shortly after losing the November 2000 election to Democrat Wilma Chan
Wilma Chan
Wilma Chan is a politician in California. Chan served as the California State Assembly Majority Leader from 2002–2004; she was the first woman and the first Asian American to hold the position. She also served as Assembly Majority Whip from 2001-2002. Chan is a Democrat...
, Bock re-registered as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and has perennially re-appeared as a minor candidate.
After September 11, 2001, Bock announced her run for Congress against Barbara Lee
Barbara Lee
Barbara Jean Lee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1998. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to represent that district. Lee was the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus...
in the 2002 primary as a Democrat, arguing that Lee's vote against going to war in Afghanistan was unpatriotic. Her campaign website showed the twin towers of the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
and a campaign slogan "It's OK to Love America" -- implying that Barbara Lee was un-American. After it was revealed that her campaign was being funded by Republican consultant, she withdrew from the race before the filing deadline. In 2003, Bock ran for Governor of California
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
in the 2003 California recall. On a right-wing website, she urged Democrats to vote to recall Gray Davis. Bock received 2,872 votes.
Elihu Harris
Elihu HarrisElihu Harris
Elihu Mason Harris is a former U.S. Democratic Party politician and college administrator. He served as the 46th mayor of Oakland, California from 1991 to until 1999. He served for 12 years as a member of the California State Assembly before his election as Oakland mayor...
now serves as Chancellor of the Peralta Community College District
Peralta Community College District
The Peralta Community College District is the community college district serving northern Alameda County, California. The district operates four community colleges: Berkeley City College, Laney College and Merritt College in Oakland, and College of Alameda. From 1968 to 1988, non-contiguous Plumas...
, a community college district that oversees four colleges in the East Bay (Berkeley City College
Berkeley City College
Berkeley City College , formerly Vista Community College, one of the California Community Colleges, is part of the Peralta Community College District. It is centrally located in downtown Berkeley, two blocks west of the UC Berkeley campus...
in Berkeley, Laney College
Laney College
Laney College is a community college located in Oakland, California, next to the Lake Merritt BART station and the Kaiser Convention Center. Laney is the largest of the four colleges of the Peralta Community College District which serves northern Alameda County.Laney College originally opened in...
in Oakland, Merritt College
Merritt College
Merritt College is a two-year community college located in the Oakland Hills in Alameda County, California. The school's enrollment is approximately 6,000 students. The college is named after physician Dr...
in Oakland, and College of Alameda
College of Alameda
College of Alameda is a two-year community college located in Alameda, California.The college is part of the Peralta Community College District and was opened in 1968. The college has been located at its campus at Atlantic Avenue and Webster Street since 1970...
in Alameda).
Frank Russo
Frank Russo remains active in the California Democratic PartyCalifornia Democratic Party
The California Democratic Party is the state branch of the Democratic Party in the state of California, headquartered in Sacramento. It is chaired by veteran Democratic politician and former United States Representative John L. Burton, who succeeded Art Torres in April 2009. It is the majority...
. He has sold his law practice, and now runs a progressive website, the California Progress Report, which covers news and commentary on state politics. Many people often confuse him with John Russo, the Oakland City Attorney (and former City Councilman), who in June 2006 ran and failed to get the Democratic nomination for State Assembly. Coincidentally, John Russo ran in the same Assembly district (16th) that Frank Russo had run in. The two are not related.
After the 2008 election, Russo left the California Progress Report to become chief-of-staff for Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner
Nancy Skinner (California politician)
Nancy Skinner is a member of the California State Assembly from California's 14th Assembly District. She is a Democrat. She has served as a member of the East Bay Regional Park Board, Ward 1 since 2006. She had previously founded and worked for several non-profit groups on global warming and...
.
Don Perata
State Senator Don PerataDon Perata
Don Richard Perata is a California Democratic politician, who was President pro tempore of the California State Senate from 2004 to 2008. He came in second place in the November 2010 ballot for Mayor of Oakland...
went on to be a powerful political force in California politics. After the 2000 Census, Perata used his influence to re-draw the state Senate districts, carving out a district for him that was far less "progressive" than the old one he had represented (the district now includes Livermore
Livermore, California
Livermore is a city in Alameda County. The population as of 2010 was 80,968. Livermore is located on the eastern edge of California's San Francisco Bay Area....
). In August 2004, Perata's colleagues elected him President pro tempore of the State Senate, which made him the third most powerful person in state politics, after then-Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez
Fabian Núñez
Fabian Núñez has been a labor union adviser and a Democratic politician. He served three two year terms as a member of the State Assembly, leaving office late in 2008...
and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
.
Because California state senators can serve only two terms (or eight years), it was an open question for a while whether Perata could run for another term in 2004. Because he had won the September 1998 special-election, it was argued that he had finished more than half of Barbara Lee
Barbara Lee
Barbara Jean Lee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1998. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to represent that district. Lee was the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus...
's state senate term, and therefore was ineligible to run in 2004. But Perata received a legal opinion from California Attorney General (and political ally) Bill Lockyer
Bill Lockyer
William Westwood "Bill" Lockyer is an American politician. He is the current 32nd State Treasurer of California, elected in 2006 and re-elected in 2010. He has also served as California Attorney General and President Pro Tempore of the California State Senate...
that said that because Perata didn't take office until January 1999, he had technically served less than half of a senate term. By the time Perata will have to leave in 2009, he will have been in the State Senate longer than any other current state senator—and will have amassed more power, influence and seniority.
In 2007, Perata and Nunez championed Proposition 93 for the February 2008 ballot -- as a means of reforming term limits, and allowing Perata to serve an extra term. Under the measure's original draft form, Perata would have been unable to benefit from Prop 93's extension of term limits because he had already been in the Senate for 10 years. Prop 93's drafters thus re-wrote the initiative so that he could. All of this, however, proved a moot point when the voters rejected Prop 93.
Perata left the State Senate in 2008, and ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Oakland in 2010.
Dion Aroner
After losing her State Senate bid, Dion AronerDion Aroner
Dion Louise Aroner is a Democrat who represented California's 14th Assembly District, including parts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, from 1996 until 2002. She also lost in a special election primary to Don Perata for the 9th District Senate seat in 1998. She currently owns her own lobbying...
returned to the State Assembly until term limits forced her out in 2002. She moved back to Berkeley and opened up a political consulting firm. In 2004, Aroner briefly considered another run for the State Senate—believing that Don Perata would likewise be forced out because of term limits. But after Perata received the legal opinion allowing him to run for another term, Aroner opted not to run.
Keith Carson
Keith CarsonKeith Carson
Keith Carson is a member of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in Alameda County, California for District 5. Carson has served on the board of supervisors in Alameda County, California since 1993, after being subsequently re-elected in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2010.-Personal life:Carson is a...
is still on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors is the five member non-partisan governing board of Alameda County, California. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district based on their residence...
, representing District 5. In 2004, he was the main sponsor of the successful Proposition B, a 0.5% sales tax increase to save Highland Hospital, Oakland's last remaining trauma center.
Barbara Lee
Congresswoman Barbara LeeBarbara Lee
Barbara Jean Lee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1998. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to represent that district. Lee was the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus...
made international headlines on September 14, 2001 by casting the only "no" vote in Congress against the war in Afghanistan. Urging restraint from the "post-September 11
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
hysteria", and arguing that "we must not become the evil we deplore," Lee became a national hero among the anti-war movement but also received death threats for this vote. Her constituents generally approved of her vote, and bumper stickers appeared throughout her district that said "Barbara Lee Speaks for Me!" Despite rumors of a backlash, she was easily re-elected in 2002 with 81% of the vote. She went on to be a critic of the war in Iraq, and currently co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus
Congressional Progressive Caucus
The Congressional Progressive Caucus is the largest caucus within the Democratic caucus in the United States Congress with 83 declared members, and works to advance progressive issues and positions....
. She continues to be re-elected, most recently with a majority of 86%.
Ron Dellums
Ron DellumsRon Dellums
Ronald Vernie "Ron" Dellums served as Oakland's forty-fifth mayor. From 1971 to 1998, he was elected to thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S...
became a lobbyist after his retirement from Congress. In 2006, he announced that he would return to politics with a run for mayor of Oakland. In June 2006, he was elected by barely avoiding a November run-off, and took office as mayor on 1 January 2007. Dellums became the latest in a series of Bay Area elder statesmen such as Willie Brown in San Francisco, Tom Bates
Tom Bates
Thomas H. Bates is an American politician and is currently serving as the Mayor of Berkeley, California. He previously served 20 years as a member of the California State Assembly before being termed out in 1996. Bates is married to Loni Hancock, a former mayor of Berkeley and State Assembly...
in Berkeley and Jerry Brown
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. is an American politician. Brown served as the 34th Governor of California , and is currently serving as the 39th California Governor...
in Oakland who, after a long career in public office, returned to their hometowns and were elected Mayor.
Dellums' tenure as Oakland Mayor, however, has proven to be controversial -- as voters have questioned his commitment and lack of presence. Dellums has said he will not run for re-election in 2010, setting off an active race for Mayor of Oakland. Don Perata is one of the candidates.