Monday, April 14, 2014

State Senator Ted Lieu Supports Accused Rather Than Police

California State Senator Ted Lieu (D - Westside) is running for Congress, hoping to replace retiring Congressman Henry Waxman.

Lieu's no libertarian. I'm sure he's taken many "progressive" positions. But he's currently sponsoring a bill that should please libertarians.

According to Gary Walker, writing for The Argonaut (April 2, 2014):


"Lieu's Senate Bill 980 would compel police departments to allow inmate defense teams to conduct DNA testing on biological case evidence and allow courts to act against law enforcement officials who destroy DNA evidence in violation of state code."


Especially noteworthy is the part I put in boldface. The article continues:
 

"Law enforcement agencies are currently allowed to destroy biological evidence six months after a conviction, but Lieu's proposal would extend the timeline to a full year. It would also mandate that DNA evidence be run through the FBI's Combined DNA Index System in cases where DNA evidence is found not to match a suspect or inmate.

" 'I think one of the greatest injustices that a government and a society can commit is to wrongly convict an innocent person,' said Lieu, a former Air Force Judge Advocate General prosecutor.

"Since 2000, there have been 244 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States, including eight in California, according to the California Innocence Project, which is co-sponsoring the bill with the Northern California Innocence Project."


You can read the full story here.

I don't know who I'll vote for in June, in California's current Top Two primary system. But Lieu's support of Senate Bill 980 is a consideration. Not just for the issue itself, but because it indicates his willingness to support the rights of the accused, in the interests of truth and justice.

Monday, April 07, 2014

California Libertarian Party Seeks 2014 Write-In Candidates

California LP activist Ted Brown has requested that libertarians "please forward this to all LP lists in California."

The Secretary of  State has posted the certified list of candidates for the June primary election:


There are only 6 Libertarian candidates:

Attorney General - Jonathan Jaech
CD 7 - Art Tuma
CD 25 - David Koster Bruce
CD 33 - Mark Matthew Herd
CD 51 - Michael Benoit
AD 8 - Janice Bonser


However, it turns out that there are 21 offices where only one candidate filed.  It is now easy to qualify and run as a write-in candidate.  Between April 7 and May 20, you just need to collect 40 valid signatures from any registered voter in the district, and you would become a certified write-in candidate.  There is no cost.  If you receive more write-in votes than any other write-in candidate, you become one of the "Top Two" and move on to the November election.  The Peace & Freedom Party qualified three candidates this way in 2012.  We tried it in two districts, but they were the same districts as P & F, and their candidates got more write-in votes.  

Anyway, here are the districts:

Board of Equalization, District 3 - most of Los Angeles County - Jose Castaneda is going to run for this one.

Congress, District 23 - Kevin McCarthy (R - House Majority Whip) - Kern, Tulare, and L. A. County (Lancaster)
Congress, District 44 - Janice Hahn (D) - Los Angeles County (San Pedro, Wilmington, Carson, Compton, Lynwood, South Gate, No. Long Beach)
(note:  Congressional candidates don't have to live in the district.)

State Senate, District 16 - Jean Fuller (R) - Kern, Tulare, San Bernardino County (rural)
State Senate, District 22 - Ed Hernandez (D) - Los Angeles County (Alhambra, Monterey Park, San Gabriel, Temple City, Arcadia, East Pasadena, Azusa, Covina, West Covina, La Puente)
State Senate, District 36 - Patricia Bates (R) - Orange County (Aliso Viejo, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point, San Clemente, Rancho Santa Margarita, Mission Viejo, Coto de Caza); and San Diego County (Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista, Encinitas)

State Assembly, District 5 - Frank Bigelow (R) - Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Madera, Mariposa, Mona, Tuolumne, Placer (Auburn & Newcastle)
State Assembly, District 14 - Susan Bonilla (D) - Contra Costa and Solano Counties
State Assembly, District 21 - Adam Gray (D) - Merced and Stanislaus Counties (Modesto, Newman, Patterson)
State Assembly, District 23 - Jim Patterson (R) - north part of Fresno, Clovis
State Assembly, District 26 - Rudy Mendoza (R) - Visalia, Tulare, Porterville, Sequoia Nat'l Park
State Assembly, District 31 - Henry Perea (D) - Fresno south and west, Selma
State Assembly, District 41 - Chris Holden (D) - Los Angeles County (Pasadena, So. Pasadena, Altadena, Sierra Madre, Monrovia, Claremont, San Dimas); Upland in San Bernardino Co.
State Assembly, District 51 - Jimmy Gomez (D) - Los Angeles (Eagle Rock, Highland Park, Mt. Washington, Silver Lake, Echo Park, East L. A.)
State Assembly, District 58 - Cristina Garcia (D) - Los Angeles County (Artesia, Bellflower, Bell Gardens, Cerritos, Commerce, Downey, Montebello, Pico Rivera, Norwalk)
State Assembly, District 59 - Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D) - Los Angeles (USC, South from I-10 to 95th Street, between Western and Alameda)
State Assembly, District 60 - Eric Linder (R) - Riverside County (Corona, Norco, Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, west end of Riverside)
State Assembly, District 67 - Melissa Melendez (R) - Riverside County (Murrieta, Wildomar, Menifee, Lake Elsinore)
State Assembly, District 75 - Maria Waldron (R) - Riverside County (Temecula); San Diego County (Escondido, Fallbrook, San Marcos)
State Assembly, District 76 - Rocky Chavez (R) - San Diego County (Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Vista)
State Assembly, District 79 - Shirley Weber (D) - San Diego County (various parts of City of San Diego - look at a map)
State Assembly, District 80 - Lorena Gonzalez (D) - San Diego County (National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, San Ysidro)

If you are interested in running for any of these offices, or know of someone who is interested, or if you have suggestions about who would be a good choice, please let me know.

For liberty,
Ted Brown