In the race to replace California Democratic State Sen. Fran Pavley, who will term out of office in less than a year, Janice Kamenir-Reznik, co-founder of the nonprofit Jewish World Watch, last month entered a busy State Senate District 27 primary contest that now has six Democratic candidates, at least four of them Jewish, and only one Republican, Steve Fazio, who’s also Jewish.
The 27th District, which stretches from Malibu, Calabasas and the western San Fernando Valley to Simi Valley and Valencia, is politically, demographically and geographically diverse, with nearly 1 million residents, including 10 percent more registered Democrats than Republicans.
The Democratic field in this race is currently so crowded that the California Democratic Party said it won’t endorse anyone until the general election in November, a not-uncommon move in such circumstances. At a recent pre-endorsement meeting, a California Democratic Party nomination hinged on one of the six candidates getting support from at least 70 percent of the delegates. That didn’t happen.
Had any of the candidates received support from only 50 percent of the delegates, the Democrats could have voted for endorsement at the party’s state convention in San Jose later this month. No one reached that bar, either, so the party won’t endorse before the voters and delegates nominate one in June.
The six Democrats — Henry Stern, Kamenir-Reznik, David Pollock, Richard Mathews, Shawn Bayliss and George Thomas — will run along with Fazio in a June primary that will choose the top two vote-getters for the November election.
Pavley first took the office in the Democratic wave of 2008, then, in 2102, beat her Republican opponent by 26,000 votes (about 7 percent).
The Journal spoke with four candidates before press time and will follow the race as it develops.
Henry Stern, Democrat
Current job: Senior policy adviser for Fran Pavley
Key endorsements: Fran Pavley, Rep. Ted Lieu, former Rep. Henry Waxman, California Legislative Jewish Caucus
Money raised to date: $676,925 (source: California Secretary of State)
A senior policy adviser to Pavley and a former adviser to longtime former Congressman Henry Waxman, the Harvard and UC Berkeley graduate joined Pavley’s team in 2012 after three years on Waxman’s team in Washington, D.C., where he worked closely with Waxman on a major cap-and-trade bill that narrowly passed the House in 2009 but never made it to a vote in the Senate.
“California seemed to me like an amazing opportunity to make policy progress when D.C. grinded to a halt,” Stern said.
In Sacramento, Stern said, he hopes to focus on environmental and water policy, which he believes the state can improve by using Israel as a model of “how to manage scarcity in a sustainable way.
“I hope voters want to talk about water. People are sufficiently freaked out,” Stern, 33, said. “I may be the youngest candidate, but I’d say I’m also the most experienced at policy-making.”
Janice Kamenir-Reznik, Democrat
Current job: Attorney; co-founder of Jewish World Watch
Key endorsements: Former Rep. Howard Berman, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, former Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky
Money raised to date: $250,000 (Source: Kamenir-Reznik)
Well-known within the local Jewish community, attorney and longtime political activist Kamenir-Reznik co-founded Jewish World Watch in 2005 to raise awareness among Jews and Americans in general about global genocides, as well as to assist genocide victims. And now she’s hoping to bring her activism to state politics.
She entered the race relatively late — in early January — but her endorsements, along with her name recognition among the district’s Jewish voters, may help boost the rookie politician.
Kamenir-Reznik said she was recruited for the seat by Close the Gap CA, a group that works to elect more women to the state legislature as its choice to replace Pavley.
Still learning the ins and outs of state policy, Kamenir-Reznik said she’ll be selling her character and weltanschauung (worldview) on the campaign trail.
“All a candidate really has to sell is character, because they can say anything they want on the campaign trail,” Kamenir-Reznik, 63, said. Addressing Stern’s youth as a contrast to her track record: “I can’t tell you what he’ll do if given a challenge to solve as a leader. We’re not comparable in that way.”
Kamenir-Reznik said one of her main priorities as state senator would be education — specifically improving the poor performance of the L.A. Unified School District.
“How can you say there shouldn’t be charter schools? Anybody who says that isn’t giving the kids the fairest shake,” Kamenir-Reznik said, adding that she also understands the arguments against charter schools. “I do not think we can allow the bulk of our public school system to be depleted.”
Steve Fazio, Republican
Current job: Owner, Fazio Cleaners
Key endorsements: California Republican Party, Reps. Kevin McCarthy, Ed Royce
Money raised to date: $292,727 (Source: California Secretary of State)
A first-time politician, Fazio owns the dry cleaning chain Fazio Cleaners, with nine stores in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. He’s a reserve officer for the Los Angeles Police Department, a member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and a board member of the American Jewish Committee
He is running largely on a platform of reducing the state’s negative impact on small businesses, and believes California is “dealing with businesses almost as if we’re the enemy.”
“The regulatory environment has just become overwhelming for us in small business. [That’s] why you see an exodus of people in business. A lot of my friends in business have left the state,” Fazio said. “Our taxes and our regulatory environment have become far too onerous.”
He acknowledges a Democratic edge in the district, but points to Carly Fiorina’s and Meg Whitman’s strong performances in the district in their 2010 senatorial and gubernatorial election bids as signs that a Republican can win.
“There’s a pathway for a Republican to win the office, particularly when there’s no incumbent and no tremendous name ID among the folks who are running,” Fazio said.
David Pollock, Democrat
Current job: Mayor pro tem of Moorpark; business consultant
Key endorsements: Ventura County Supervisors Steve Bennett and John Zaragoza, former State Superintendents for Public Instruction Jack O’Connell and Delaine Eastin
Money raised to date: $476,622 (California Secretary of State)
A Moorpark city councilmember since 2009, former president of the California School Boards Association and a member of Ventura County’s board of air pollution control, Pollock is highlighting his local political experience in his bid to become state senator.
He said he wants to focus on three key issues — the environment, public education and health care — and his website highlights his championing of open public spaces, open enrollment in public schools and his work in passing local school bonds as accomplishments on the local and statewide level.
“I’m the only elected official in the race,” Pollock said. “The thing that distinguishes me is local knowledge.”
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