Other items in today’s column include:
*Political bytes
*Coming our way
*Mazal tov! Mazal tov!
SAN DIEGO — Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who spent hundreds of millions of dollars on television commercials, dropped out of the Democratic presidential race on Wednesday, endorsing former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden for the office and promising to aid his campaign, which he said is best suited to defeat President Donald Trump. That further consolidated Biden’s position in what is fast becoming a two-man race with Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination.How extensive that help will be is yet to be determined. Although Bloomberg had won in Tuesday’s balloting in the U.S. territory of American Samoa, in none of the 14 state contests did he finish higher than third place.
Ballot counting was continuing in California’s presidential election, but Sanders was far enough ahead of Joe Biden to be the projected winner in the state, which will apportion its 415 delegates among the frontrunners. Bloomberg came in third. In 13 other states, Biden on Tuesday won in 10 of them: Alabama, Arkansas, Maine Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Sanders prevailed in Colorado, Utah, and Vermont.
Another candidate, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, placed no better than third in any of the Democratic contests, including in her home state of Massachusetts. She was reported on Wednesday to be considering whether to continue in the race, or to drop out.
Sanders and Bloomberg were two of the 12 Jewish candidates whose names appeared on San Diego County ballots. Of the other 10, semi-official returns indicated that three placed in first positions — Sara Jacobs in the 53rd Congressional District, Joe Leventhal in San Diego’s 5th City Council District, and incumbent Bernie Rhinerson in the District B race for the San Diego Community College District. (Their second-place finishing opponents respectively were San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez, City Attorney candidate Marni Von Wilpert, and Daniel Piedra.)
Semi-official returns do not include provisional ballots or late mailed-in ballots, so it is possible that when official results are announced, there may be changes in the standings.
Placing second in semi-official returns were Kate Schwartz in the 75th Assembly District; Sara Davis in the 78th Assembly District; Terra Lawson-Remer in the 3rd County Supervisorial District; Cory Briggs in the race for San Diego City Attorney, all of whom will go to November runoffs, according to San Diego County Registrar Michael Vu. In those races, the candidates in top positions respectively were Republican Assemblywoman Marie Waldron; San Diego City Councilman Chris Ward; incumbent County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar; and City Attorney Mara W. Elliott. In the 78th Assembly District, another Jewish candidate, Micah Perlin, finished third.
In the battle to become San Diego’s mayor, San Diego City Councilwoman Barbara Bry, a Democrat, in semi-official returns lost a close race to her Council colleague Scott Sherman, a Republican, for second place and a run-off spot in November against Assemblyman Todd Gloria, a Democrat. The mayor’s race, like those for city attorney, San Diego City Council, and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, is technically non-partisan.
In a two-person contest for Office No. 18 of the San Diego Superior Court, CJ Mody defeated judicial hopeful Roberta Winston. Under rules of judicial races, unless the numbers change in the official canvass, Mody will be declared elected without need of facing the voters again in November, Vu said.
The retirement of Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) in the 53rd Congressional District; Congressman Duncan Hunter’s conviction and resignation on charges of misappropriating campaign funds in the 50th Congressional District; and the completion of two terms by San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer had a cascading effect this election cycle.
The race for Davis’s old seat drew San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez, which opened up her 9th Council District seat. Seven candidates competed, with semi-official returns showing Kevin Barrios and Sean Elo as the top finishers. Duncan Hunter’s open seat drew Ammar Campa-Najjar, his Democratic opponent in 2018, along with three major Republican candidates, former Congressman Darrell Issa, who placed second in Tuesday’s semi-official returns behind Campo-Najjar; and former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio, third, and state Sen. Brian Jones (R-Santee), fourth. As Jones is in the middle of his state Senate term, he had what politicians call “a free ride.”
With Faulconer termed out, the race for his post drew candidacies of Assemblyman Todd Gloria (D-San Diego), and City Councilmembers Barbara Bry of the 1st District and Scott Sherman of the 7th District. Gloria’s seat thus became open, prompting Councilman Chris Ward of the 3rd Council District to run for it. That set up open contests in the 1st, 3rd, and 7th Districts. Top finishers in the 1st District, according to semi-official returns, were Joe LaCava and Aaron Brennan. In the 3rd District, Stephen Whitburn and Toni Duran came in first and second. In the 7th District, Raul Campillo and Noli Zosa finished in the 1 and 2 positions. The other City Council race, in the 5th District, was occasioned by incumbent Mark Kersey’s retirement. Joe Leventhal and Marni Von Wilpert were separated by only 20 votes at the end of the semi-official counting.
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Political bytes
*A majority of the United States Senators have signed onto the Never Again Education Act by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev) that would provide grants for educational institutions around the country offering classes, teacher training, resources and field trips. Among Jewish cosponsors are Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Dianne Feinstein of California, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Chuck Schumer of New York, and Ron Wyden of Oregon. “A recent survey shows that Americans are forgetting about the Holocaust, opening the door for anti-Semitic rhetoric and actions to re-emerge in the mainstream,” commented Rhoda Smolow and Janice Weinman, respectively the president and CEO of Hadassah, Women’s Zionist Organization of America. “Ending bigotry and hatred begins with education. The Never Again Education Act will provide funding to equip educators with the resources for training and materials they need to ensure that comprehensive Holocaust education is made available in our schools. We will continue working with Members of Congress to ensure that this bill is passed and signed into law.”
*A day after Tuesday’s elections, the campaign of second-place finisher Georgette Gomez came out swinging against the front runner, Sara Jacobs, in the 53rd Congressional District. Gomez’s campaign consultant Dan Rottenstreich commented: ” “There’s a clear choice in the runoff election. It’s a choice between Georgette Gómez’s proven record of taking on Trump and getting things done, and Sara Jacobs’ history of resume inflation. It’s a choice between Georgette’s broad base of grassroots support and Sara’s million dollar ad buy funded by pharmaceutical profits. It’s a choice between Georgette’s support from the Democratic Party, teachers and nurses, and Sara’s support from her multimillion dollar trust funds. We are well-positioned to build on our strong base in the primary and pick up supporters of other progressive candidates who did not advance to the runoff. With a clear choice for the voters, I’m confident Georgette will prevail in November.” Jacobs’ campaign manager, Morgan Hill, responded mildly: “Sara is proud to be running a campaign focused on the issues. People are tired of the name-calling and insults they see in our politics these days. Sara’s not focused on running against anyone, but on running for the people of CA-53. Rather than insulting our opponent, we’re focused on thanking the broad coalition of support that gave Sara a decisive victory yesterday and look forward to building upon that in the general.” On her own part, Jacobs said, “Throughout the primary, our grassroots campaign knocked on tens of thousands of doors and made hundreds of thousands of calls to voters. We saw that San Diegans are ready to send a new generation of leaders to Washington and that we don’t have to settle for the same type of politics — where favors are traded, games are played, and nothing gets done for people back home. I’m going to go to Washington with one goal in mind: to actually make a difference in San Diegans’ lives — by respecting everyone, listening to everyone, and working across the aisle to pass common-sense gun laws, address our climate crisis, and fight for housing that’s affordable. Right now, Donald Trump is tearing this nation apart. I’m proud that it seems San Diegans stood firmly against Donald Trump’s divisive agenda at the polls and made sure this seat will stay in Democratic hands.”
*Terra Lawson-Remer struck a cautious note in thanking her supporters in the 3rd District County Supervisorial race in which she came in second in the semi-official results. She said, “The results right now are looking promising for our campaign; with approximately 2/3rds of ballots counted, we are 4,328 votes ahead of the other Democrat in the race [Escondido City Councilwoman Olga Diaz], and are looking likely to make the run-off to defeat Kristin Gaspar in November. We are feeling confident but won’t have conclusive results for a number of days, so we will keep you posted as the Registrar of Voters counts ballots. Regardless of the outcome of this primary election, the most important thing is flipping San Diego County from red to bue and bringing new leadership to the County Board.”
*Assemblyman Todd Gloria, who placed first in semi-official returns in the race for mayor of San Diego, wrote “When I say this campaign is #ForAllOfUs, I mean it, which is why I welcome supporters from all of my primary challengers to join our campaign as we proceed to the general election. As a gay person of color who grew up in a working class household, I know just how important it is to include everyone in a movement, not just the powerful and well-connected. We will make sure every San Diego voter knows they have a place in this movement to create a brighter future for San Diego.”
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Coming our way
*Among San Diego County congregations hosting Purim carnivals on Sunday, March 8, are, at 10 a.m. Tifereth Israel Synagogue, 6660 Cowles Mountain Blvd; and at 11 a.m., the following congregations: Beth El, Beth Am, and Ohr Shalom at the Lawrence Family JCC, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla; Congregation Beth Israel, at 9001 Towne Centre Drive, San Diego; Temple Emanu-El, 6299 Capri Drive; Temple Adat Shalom, 15905 Pomerado Road, Poway; and Temple Solel, 3575 Manchester, in the Cardiff by the Sea neighborhood of Encinitas.
*Beth Jacob Congregation will observe the Fast of Esther beginning at 5:53 a.m. and extending until 7:33 p.m., on Monday, March 9. Seven minutes after the fast ends, there will be a megillah reading in the main sanctuary of the Orthodox Congregation at 4855 College Avenue, San Diego.
*Chabad of Chula Vista sponsors a megillah reading, hypnosis show, photo booth, hamantashen and hors d’ouevres at 6 p.m., Monday, March 9, at the Hampton Inn Eastlake, 2424 Fenton Street, Chula Vista. Reservations via this website.
*Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista has scheduled for 7 p.m., Sunday, March 9, “the annual booing of Haman,” adding “Once Again, Queen Esther will save us.” The Conservative synagogue at 208 Madrona Street, said there will be hamantaschen, ice cream and a toy giveaway for the youngsters.
*StandWithUs offers a “community crash course” for high school and college students as well as community members on how “to counter anti-Israel misinformation and anti-Semitic activity on college campuses and in the community” from 9 a.m. to 2 pm., Sunday, March 15 at the Lawrence Family JCC, 41216 Executive Drive, La Jolla. Ticket price of $18 in advance, $25 at the door, “includes kosher lunch, snacks, swag and other materials.” Reservations via this website.
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Mazal tov! Mazal tov!
*Sandi Masori of San Diego has been honored for her work as a balloon artist with a “Pops Trading Card” bearing a caricature of her on one side, and a description of her work as a balloon artist on the reverse side. Masori, who is the daughter of San Diego Jewish World co-publishers Don & Nancy Harrison, has since turned over her balloon business to her former husband, Shahar Masori, and has built a new business helping authors self-publish their books and market them on Amazon. The card mentions as a “fun fact” that Sandi turned down an opportunity to meet the Queen of England to sleep over at her best friends’ house. That was when Sandi was 10 years old, and unaware that chances to meet Queen Elizabeth II personally at a reception in San Diego would come but once in a lifetime! At the time, Don Harrison was serving as communications director to San Diego’s Acting Mayor Bill Cleator and he was put in charge of coordinating media arrangements for the queen’s visit to San Diego in 1983.
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Recommended reading
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Television script writer Martin Kent, the child of a Holocaust Survivor and a Gentile man who protected her, writes in The Jerusalem Post of his experiences visiting Auschwitz and other locales in Poland. [Thank you, Marsha Sutton]
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com