June 3 is an important date for Californians as voters will go to their polling places to vote in the Statewide Direct Primary Election.
Registered voters will be able to vote for top California posts such as Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Controller, Treasurer, Attorney General, Insurance Commissioner, US Representative, State Assembly Member, as well as county officials and state measures included in the ballot. The top two finishers in the primary advance to the general election in November, regardless of their party affiliation.
There are 15 names in the ballot for Governor for the State of California, led by incumbent Edmund “Jerry” Brown, who has consistently ranked first in polling conducted by several organizations includng The Field Poll and the Public Policy Institute of Califoria. Republican Tim Donnelly, who is married to a Filipino American, has placed a distant second in those polls.
Also running for California Governor are Republicans Glenn Champ, Neel Kashkari, Richard William Aguirre, Alma Marie Winston, Andrew Blount; Democrat Akinyemi Agbede; Peace & Freedom’s Cindy Sheehan, Green Party candidate Luis Rodriguez; and Bogdan Ambrozewicz, Robert Newman, Joe Leicht, Janel Hyeshia Buycks and Rakesh Kumar Christian who have no party preferences.
Current Lieutenant Governor and Democrat Gavin Newsom is running for reelection. Others running for Lieutenant Govenor include Democrat Eric Korevaar; Republicans Ron Nehring, George Yang, David Fennell; the Green Party’s Jena Goodman; Americans Elect’s Alan Reynolds; and Peace and Freedom’s Amos Johnson.
Contenders for Secretary of State include Democrats Alex Padilla, Jeffrey Drobman, Derek Cressman; Republicans Roy Allmond and Pete Peterson; the Green Party’s David Curtis; and Dan Schnur who has no party preference.
For Controller, the candidates include Democrat and California State Assembly Speaker John Perez, Republican David Evans, Republican Ashley Swearengin, Democrat Betty Yee, the Green Party’s Laura Wells and Democrat Tammy Blair.
Names in the ballot for Treasurer include Democrat John Chiang, Republican Greg Conlon and Green Party’s Ellen Brown.
For Attorney General, incumbent Kamala Harris, a Democrat, is running for reelection. Others running for Attorney General are Republicans Phil Wyman, David King, John Haggerty and Ronald Gold; Libertarian Jonathan Jaech; and Orly Taitz (no party preference).
For Insurance Commissioner, incumbent Dave Jones, a Democrat, is running for reelection. Other contenders are Republican Ted Gaines and Peace and Freedom’s Nathalie Hrizi.
Aside from top posts in California, there are offices in the county level that are being contested.
A Filipino-American is running for one of those positions—Daly City Councilman Ray Buenaventura is a candidate for Judge of the Superior Court, Office No. 6. If elected, he will become the first superior court judge of Filipino ancestry in San Mateo County.
Buenaventura, who is an attorney with over 20 years of experience, has served as Daly City Councilmember for the past few years. Buenaventura believes that his experience both as an attorney and as a public servant will help him if he gets elected to the post.
His endorsements include US Congresspersons Jackie Speier and Mike Honda; State Senators Mark Leno and Jerry Hill; State Assemblymen Phil Ting, Kevin Mullin and Rich Gordon; State Commissioner Ray Satorre; Judges Elizabeth Lee (San Mateo County Superior Court), Delbert Gee (Alameda County Superior Court), and Ronald Quidachay (San Francisco County Superior Court); San Mateo County Board Supervisors David Pine, Don Horsley, Warren Slocum, and Adrienne Tissier; Councilmembers David Canepa & Carol Klatt of Daly City; Councilmember Joanne del Rosario of Colma; Councilmember Ken Ibarra of San Bruno; Councilmembers Jim Navarro and Pat Gacoscos of Union City; Daly City Commissioner Perla Ibarrientos; Daly City Library Board of Trustees’ Erlinda Galleon and Dorie Paniza; and organizations and individuals like the Filipino Bar Association of Northern California, Alice Bulos, the San Mateo County Democratic Central Committee, KAYA-Filipinos for Progress, Filipino-American Democratic Club of San Mateo County and the San Mateo County Bail Association.
“I’ve always looked at judges as a very noble profession…someone who is honorable and full of integrity, and is very wise. And I’ve always aspired to be a judge ever since I was a young lawyer,” Councilmember Buenaventura told the Asian Journal last April. “When an opportunity came up because a judge in San Mateo County decided not to seek reelection and it became an open seat, I decided to put my name on the ballot.”
If elected, Buenaventura says his presence will increase diversity in the bench in San Mateo County. Currently, there is only one Asian American judge among the 25 judges in the county.
Also, he would bring a unique experience to the position having been an attorney for the past 20 years, and more recently as Mayor, Vice Mayor and Councilmember in Daly City. “I have that public service experience and public service record of commitment I think I am the only one with those extensive ties,” Buenaventura expounded, while adding that the courtroom has been his second home his entire life where he has handled a variety of cases, from shoplifting to murder cases.
“I can offer a diverse lens when I look at issues because I am Asian American, but also see things from the community side, from government, from leadership due to my public service, and from being a professor and a trial lawyer,” the Daly City Councilmember further stated.
Buenaventura told the Asian Journal that it would be historic if he gets elected to the post and might serve as an inspiration for others. “If we are successful, I may become the first but certainly I will not be the only one. This may even prove to be a path for other Filipino lawyers to aspire to, and I would encourage my fellow kababayans to vote in the June 3 elections,” Buenaventura said.
[For more information and a complete list of endorsements for Ray Buenaventura for Judge, visit www.buenaventuraforjudge.com.]
(www.asianjournal.com)
(San Francisco May 30 – June 5, 2014 Sec A pg.1)
