Lt. Governor pick Maldonado faces uphill battle

It took almost eight years, but California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger finally recognized the one state senator who has been at his side throughout his tenor, Senator Abel Maldonado. Nominating Maldonado to finish the Lt. Governor’s term vacated when John Garamendi was elected to Congress this November, is a good selection, but one that is making political leaders on both sides very uncomfortable. The key will be for Maldonado to receive confirmation from his colleagues in the Senate and Assembly who share his “maverick” philosophy.

Maldonado is a 42-year old Republican Senator representing the 15th State Senate District, which is comprised of San Luis Obispo County, parts of northern Santa Barbara County, western Monterey County, southeastern Santa Cruz County and southern Santa Clara County. The young political prodigy was first elected to the Santa Maria city council at age 26 and at age 28 won his bid for Mayor, defeating the incumbent Mayor and stunning many area political leaders. Two years later, he was elected to represent the 33rd Assembly District, receiving an incredible 60 percent of the vote. His reelection bids in 2000 and 2002 garnered 65 and 63 percent of the vote, respectively. Maldonado’s closest race was for State Senate, which the Democrats could reclaim if he were to be confirmed as Lt. Governor, where he managed to receive 53 percent of the vote.

In 2000, Maldonado made American history after delivering a speech entirely in Spanish at the 2000 Republican National Convention, catching the eye of many Latinos nationwide. So, it was only fitting that his nomination by Schwarzenegger be announced to a national audience through the Jay Leno Show.

The son of a Mexican immigrant, Maldonado’s family has worked the land, growing a small strawberry farm from a half-acre, that today spans 6,000 acres and employs over 250 workers. Now as the nominee for Lt. Governor, he will be first Latino GOP member to hold a statewide elected office.

“Like the governor, I learned the values of hard work, dedication and personal responsibility at a young age and place a high priority on reforming California’s broken government so that it is more responsive to and reflective of California’s diverse population,” said Maldonado in the governor’s press release.

Putting Californian’s first has been a priority for Maldonado, who has paved his own road by breaking ranks with his conservative GOP colleagues to resolve the state’s gargantuan budget problems. Siding earlier this year with Schwarzenegger for a temporary tax increase as part of the state's spending plan drew the ire of many Republicans. But, as a condition of his support, there needed to be a proposition placed in the June 2010 ballot that would open primary elections to all voters, a move that could dramatically change the partisan politics of California. The proposition is reflective of Maldonado’s maverick approaches to government.

"He is a terrific, loyal man that has worked very hard in public service." Schwarzenegger told Jay Leno and an audience of millions. "But he's also into bipartisanship and post-partisanship, so he can cross the aisle. He makes decisions based on what's best for the people rather than what's best for the party."

Maldonado’s nomination immediately drew criticism from Democratic leaders and Republican conservatives, setting up an uphill battle for the young Latino Senator to attain confirmation. Democrats control both houses of the legislature and have one candidate (Senator Dean Florez, who is also Latino) running for Lt. Governor. They feel the Lt. Gov. position should remain vacant until the 2010 general election. The Republicans have two candidates, Senator Jeff Denham and Senator Sam Aanestad, who have been campaigning for the seat since this past summer, in addition, party leaders are still unhappy with Maldonado’s decision to break ranks on the state’s budget. In addition, both parties feel that confirming Maldonado’s appointment would give him the edge of being elected as Lt. Governor, if he opted to run for the position in 2010.

"It may be both fiscally and politically prudent to permit the people to make their own selection for this state office next year to avoid the expense of a costly special election," said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said in a written statement, referring to the estimated $2 million expense to conduct a special election for Maldonado’s Senate seat.

It has been 130 years since a Latino Republican has held a statewide office in California.  Maldonado is very much qualified to serve as Lt. Governor and his appointment would rectify this millennium-old deficiency.  Unfortunately, the historical aspect and his qualifications are not an issue to a body that has continuously demonstrated partisan politics in its decision-making, which may provide another reason for voters to support open primaries.