WHY I JUST DECIDED TO VOTE FOR FRANK QUINTERO FOR ASSEMBLYMAN (AD-43)

Today I was out walking in the Los Feliz Hills with my neighbor and she asked me if I had any strong feelings about the local Assembly race. I don't didn't. Our local guy, Dario Frommer has been term-limited out and I don't know either of the guys running in the primary. (There are virtually no Republicans in this part of the world and they rarely bother running anyone for anything.) Both my neighbor and I have been bombarded with literature in the last 2 weeks from the two candidates, Frank Quintero and Paul Krekorian. They both looked like decent Democrats but one of Krekorian's mailers convinced me that he was someone very committed to public education and I decided to vote for him.

Today I got a letter from far-and-away the best politician in Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, the President of the City Council, urging me to vote for Quintero. Well, Eric's reasoning was impeccable and he knows a lot more about these two guys than I do so I sent him an e-mail and asked him if Qunitero would really make a better Assemblyman. (I mean it could always be just some kind of political quid pro quo or something, right?) Eric was back with me in 10 minutes. And it was no quid pro anything.

He had only positive things to say about both men. But he seemed certain Quintero would be a stupendous choice. "Frank is a man of tremendous integrity and progressive ideals and actions-- he was out in front for gay rights in the 1970s, he has worked across ethnic lines for years bringing folks together, he stood up on health care and labor legislation above and beyond what he had to. And he is a super-nice guy. I think he would be a super Assemblymember to work with." That's good enough for me. And I asked Eric if he could set up a quick phone interview.

Quintero was on the phone with me within an hour. And, wow! was I blown away. I can't believed I totally missed the essence of this guy on all the media ads and in all those fliers. I should have remembered him as the guy who pushed proposed and pushed thru an anti-CAFTA resolution on the Glendale City Council. Every issue that came up, impressed me more and more about this guy. He proposed an anti-Patriot Act resolution of the Glendale City Council (which passed). And after a long discussion about what he did after he returned from the Vietnam War-- working first with homeless vets and later with school dropouts to get them onto career paths-- he got so excited talking about the importance of Net Neutrality that I started wondering if I was on the phone with Matt Stoller!

The letter that had come from Eric and an other local Assemblyman, Tom LaBonge, also a progressive (in fact the guy who introduced a totally unknown Barack Obama when he first came out here looking for support when no one thought he had a chance in the Illinois primary), emphasizes that Quintero opposes vouchers, is strongly pro-choice, very pro-environment, supports equality for gays, and, most important, is a man of high moral fiber. I'm so glad I paid attention and followed up. It's what every citizen should do in a democracy.

I trust Garcetti more than any other political figure I know. After hearing his thoughts and especially after talking with him myself, I'm more eager to vote get out and vote for Frank Quintero tomorrow than I am about almost any other race I can vote in!