California Election Results

The special election for Assembly District 51 came and went, with Steve Bradford winning with 52% of the vote. This race was needed to fill Curren Price's old seat, which he vacated during his successful run for State Senate District 26.

California bikers were on the sidelines for this race. According to conventional wisdom, it just wasn't worth the effort. Bradford was a shoo-in, after all. Even if bikers had contacted him, he probably wouldn't have been the kind of candidate we could support.

But here are some things to think about before we can conclude that this race was a waste of time.

1. Special elections have very low voter turnout.
It's typically only around 10%. The winning campaign is the one that's best at "getting out the vote." And that takes volunteers. Whoever helps win the race will have a place at the table when legislation is on the menu.

2. Candidates are listening before the election.
Candidates look for opportunities to connect -- to voters as well as organizations. But once in office, they can ignore everyone ... except their friends, of course. And their friends are the people that helped them get elected.

3. Candidates want to avoid a costly run-off.
Candidates must win a primary by 50% or more to take office. Otherwise it's on to a general election. Bradford passed the 50% mark with fewer than 1,000 votes. A dozen biker volunteers could have forced a runoff.

4. How to win: Practice makes perfect.
Suppose it was a close race after all. Would we have been ready to act? Or would we have been caught flat-footed? We can't wait for a perfect world. Winning takes effort, and seasoned vets are always more effective than rookies.

The good news is that special elections always pop up, year after year. According to the California Secretary of State website, there have been 9 special elections for legislative seats since 2005, counting primaries as well as general elections. That's about 2 per year, so the opportunities will keep coming.

It's also worth noting that 2010 is an election year for the whole state. Half of the state senate seats, and ALL of the assembly seats will be up for grabs. Many of these races will be very close. And of these, some will be head-to-head contests between candidates on opposite sides of the helmet law.

Will California bikers be ready?

That's entirely up to us, and "us" includes you. Become an ABATE member. If you haven't already, subscribe to our Legislative Alerts by clicking on the red Subscribe tab at the top of B4BS.NET and get connected. If you are already are connected, help spread the word, and get other biker activists involved in campaign work. And the most important thing you can do is talk to the candidates before they get elected!

As always, feel free to comment right here, or shoot me an email at BikersGOTVibes@gmail.com.