Newsom faces pressure to fill Harris seat with woman of color instead of presumed favorite

[Paul Politerude]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Politico

By CARLA MARINUCCI 11/22/2020 10:32 PM EST

OAKLAND, Calif. — As speculation grows that Gov. Gavin Newsom is leaning toward California elections chief Alex Padilla to fill the U.S. Senate seat of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, a crowd of top Democratic donors and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown are launching an aggressive campaign to argue that another woman of color should fill that seat instead.

Brown, the former longtime speaker of the California Assembly, said he's launching a drive Monday to organize Black churches, pastors, civic leaders, fraternal organizations and prominent members of the Black press statewide to urge Newsom to consider leading Black women for the seat. Among the leading choices, he said, are Reps. Barbara Lee, Karen Bass and Maxine Waters; San Francisco Mayor London Breed; and state Sen. Holly Mitchell.

"There's no way that Gavin Newsom should allow anyone other than a Black woman to fill the seat of Harris, who's only the second Black woman in the history of the U.S. Senate," Brown told POLITICO on Sunday. "There should be no contest."

Brown's campaign comes as some 150 of the state's top female Democratic donors on Monday will publish full-page newspaper ads with an open letter urging Newsom to pick a woman of color, Vox reported Sunday.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/11/22/newsom-faces-new-pressure-to-fill-harris-seat-with-woman-of-color-instead-of-presumed-favorite-1337700

[cloudythescribbler]

1. maxine waters or barbara lee wd be great!

don't know enough about Newsom to have any idea how far left he wd go.

at some point it becomes urgent to push for PROGRESSIVE senators who will support programs sufficient to adequately address climate

[FBaggins]

12. It isn't a SCOTUS seat... but still...

One is 82 and the other is 74.

How about someone who will hold the seat for a couple of terms and build up some seniority for CA?

[mpcamb]

19. Good point.

[PatSeg]

28. Agreed

That was my first reaction as well.

[SunSeeker]

2. I'm sure he will. The only question is which one? Hope it's London Breed. nt

[Mawspam2]

3. It's no longer my call...

...since I moved out four years ago, but I could get behind Bass or even Lee, just not Waters. While a bit on the old side, Newsom might also consider Cruz Bustamante or Antonio Villaraigosa.

I've already stated Katie Porter should replace DiFi.

[brush]

4. Xavier Becerra would also be a good choice.

[oasis]

14. +1

[Stand and Fight]

7. WTF is this?

"willie brown used to date kamala harris and appointed her to jobs nt"

What do you mean by this, msongs?

[Hekate]

8. Speak plainly. What is your point?

[pfitz59]

6. Padilla would be a fine choice

gender and race should be irrelevant. Age should be a factor if the nominee was expected to stay in the Senate for a few terms and gain seniority. Lee is 74 and Waters 82. Its a serious political calculation.

[still_one]

10. Yup. I will rely on my Governor to choose a very qualified person

[TeamPooka]

9. I would like Katie Porter but that's just me.

[IronLionZion]

22. Katie Porter would be fantastic

California has a deep bench of qualified candidates

[xxqqqzme]

35. My choice as well

No lips mitch deserves a thorn in his side.

[BlueStater]

11. Let Newsom pick who he wants.

I don’t know anything about Alex Padilla, but him being white and a male are not good reasons for why he shouldn’t be a senator. 🙄

[Auggie]

13. Lee, Bass & Waters have earned their way to the top. Should be one of them.

[oldsoftie]

31. They've had plenty of cycles to actually run for the seat.

If they wanted it, they would've done it.

[Auggie]

33. Against Feinstein, Boxer, or Harris? They would have lost.

Padilla, Bacerra or Breed can run for Feinstein's seat.

[oldsoftie]

34. Harris ran & won it in '16. Why didnt they run then? The seat "belongs" to no one.

Its silly to demand that it does.

[brooklynite]

15. Waters is 82 years old...

[whistler162]

16. A maximum of two years left

before that seat is up for election. I would say Maxine Waters IF she was thinking of retiring from the government would be a good choice as a placeholder until the people of California decide who should serve in that office. Might be fun to see Willie Brown serve as a placeholder Senator.

[bucolic_frolic]

17. Positions of power are not owned by race, ethnicity, religion, ideology, party

There's ebb and flow. Excellent choices abound.

[oldsoftie]

32. I agree. I'm surprised this is even "a thing".

Harris WON the seat by running for it. The seat belongs to no group. A woman of color can run for it again when its up in 2 yrs.

[onetexan]

18. So who is the presumed favorite?

[FM123]

20. California has never had a Hispanic U.S. Senator before, a Latina would make history too.

[Hekate]

21. So would Xavier Becerra, current California AG, former US House of Reps & Chair of Dem Caucus

Aside from Becerra, we have some really exceptional possibilities available, and the nation saw a bunch of the male possibilities during the Impeachment hearings: Swallwell, Schiff, and Lieu.

Speaking of representation, it has been pointed out by the LA Times that it’s about time we had someone from Southern California, after this very long stretch of Bay Area Senators. While Boxer, Feinstein, and Harris have all been excellent, So Cal and Nor Cal are really vastly different regions, so that might also be taken into consideration.

There’s a lot for Gov Newsom to consider. As I’ve said before, personally I’ll be pleased with just about anyone in the pool, regardless of gender or ethnicity.

[IronLionZion]

23. People should persuade Feinstein to retire also

[Yavin4]

24. Best to appoint a placeholder and let the voters decide in 2022.

Avoid any serious conflict that may arise from the appointment.

[mr_lebowski]

25. What would be wrong with a black man?

CA hasn't had a male Senator since what ... 94-ish? Is there a permanent moratorium on males being Senator in CA?

And IIRC there's very few (or 0 I forget) black male democratic Senators (though we've tried elsewhere of course, recently in fact!).

Also think a Latino man would be great too.

[llashram]

26. I hope he does the right thing...

given the importance of these times in doing so

[ConstanceCee]

27. Who Would?

Who would Vice President-Elect Harris pick?

[karin_sj]

29. I think Feinstein should retire

And Katie Porter should take her place. We really need Katie in the Senate! And with her ridiculous comments about the Coney-Barrett hearings being so wonderful, not wearing a mask, etc., Dianne has proven herself to be useless and way past her expiration date. I wish Barbara Boxer would have stayed and Feinstein left instead of the reverse.

[Mz Pip]

30. Brown should stay out of it.

Newsom gets to pick Harris’s successor, not him.

[Omaha Steve]

36. After a review by forum hosts....LOCKING

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