June 2010 Vol. 13 No. 6

A good night for friends of the Carpenters

Election night brought good news for Carpenter-supported candidates up and down the ballot. Some candidates won outright, but many others won the right to fight on in preparation for the general election in November.

Several statewide candidates were in contested elections in the Democratic primary. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom won the nomination for lieutenant governor, easily defeating LA Councilmember Janice Hahn. Sacra-mento Assemblymember Dave Jones won the battle for state insurance commissioner, and now waits to find out who he will face, as the Republican nomination is still too close to call.

The toughest campaign of the night was for state superintendent of public instruction. Tom Torlakson, a longtime friend of the Carpenters and a strong advocate for career technical education and apprenticeship, was in a three-way battle for the win. Torlakson took second place with 18 percent, less than 1 percent behind Larry Aceves, a retired school superintendent. Torlakson will be on the November ballot in a runoff, and the Carpenters will be there for him again.

There were also key local races all over the Council. While there are too many to list, we’ll mention a few. Jack Duran was elected as a member of the Placer County Board of Supervisors.

"This was a big deal for us," says Local 46 Field Representative Dennis Dean. "This tips the balance of the whole board, and for the first time, we have a majority who support Carpenters’ issues."

While the outcome was not as clear cut in Fresno, it looks like two candidates made it into runoffs in November. Oliver Baines, running for Fresno City Council, and Cynthia Sterling, a candidate for the Fresno Board of Supervisors, were both waiting for the final tallies to be announced. "These are both important campaigns for us," said Local 701 Field Representative Eddie Clement. "We’ve got our fingers crossed as we wait for the results, and we’re looking forward to fighting on to victory in November."

Throughout Northern California, in races from school board to sheriff to supervisor, the Carpenters were active supporting candidates who support our issues—creating jobs and putting people to work with good wages and benefits.

We can take a moment to enjoy our victories, but soon it will be time to gear up again. From local races to the race for governor, November is shaping up to be a big battle, and the Carpenters will once again be on the front lines.

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