Barbara Lee

California ’22 Mid-Term: Historic Wave of Black Candidates Set to Win Election

A wave of Black candidates in California are expected to win after Tuesday’s general election. Among them are three candidates leading in their races to be elected to statewide constitutional offices.

Published

1 year ago

November 15, 2022

Oakland Post

State Rep. Mia Bonta (left) is the projected winner in California’s 18th District and Congresswoman Barbara Lee declared victory in the 12th U.S. District. Twitter photo from Sept. 2021.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media

Two African American candidates running for seats in the State Legislature are expected to win and become the two newest members of the California Legislative Black Caucus.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, Barbara Lee is projected to win a 12^th term to Congress, and in the state Assembly, incumbent Mis Bonta is expected to keep her seat in the 18^th District.

In Los Angeles, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA-13), who is running for mayor of California’s largest city, is still in a too-close-to-call, dead-heat race with billionaire developer Rick Caruso as the ballot count continues.

Three candidates — Dr. Shirley Weber for Secretary of State, Tony Thurmond for State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) and Malia Cohen for State Controller – are running for statewide office.

Weber and Thurmond have already been projected to win their races.

For the first time in California history, there is a chance that three Black state constitutional officers will be elected to serve in office at the same time.

In the legislative races, Assembly District 60 (Moreno Valley), Corey A Jackson is leading Republican small business owner Hector Diaz-Nava. And in the Senate race for Senate District 28 (Los Angeles) to replace Sydney Kamlager, two Black candidates are running for the same seat. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D) is in the lead over Cheryl C. Turner (D).

There are 40 State Senate seats. Twenty are being contested in this election.

While regular updates are being provided for the 165 California elections held to fill state and federal offices, as with every statewide election, no final ballot counts are available on election night. Election results are updated at 5:00 p.m. each day throughout the canvass as counties count the remaining ballots.

Vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service on or before Nov. 8 and received no later than Nov. 15 have to be counted.

The official certified results of the election will be posted by Dec. 16, 2022, at sos.ca.gov/elections.

The candidates on the general election ballot were the top two finishers from the June primary.

For some races, winners have been projected by the Associated Press (AP), which conducts a survey of the numbers posted by local election officials. AP projects winners using vote returns and other data.

California Black Media (CBM) is reporting that 27 African American candidates are running in 24 of the state or federal races on the general election ballot. That’s 14.5% of the races. Blacks make up 5.8% of California’s population.

Four Black candidates are running statewide. Three are Democrats and one is a Republican. The following are results available for statewide races.

Incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is projected to defeat state Sen. Brian Dahle (R). Incumbent Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis (D) is the projected winner over Black Republican candidate Angela Underwood Jacobs.

Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Newsom appointee, is the projected winner over her Republican opponent Rob Bernosky.

Incumbent State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond is the projected winner over Lance Ray Christensen. This is a non-partisan race.

For Controller, Democrat Malia Cohen leads Republican Lanhee Chen. Incumbent Treasurer Fiona Ma (D) leads Jack Guerrero (R).

Incumbent Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), a Newsom appointee, leads Nathan Hochman (R).

Incumbent Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara (D) leads Robert Howell (R).

For U.S. Senate (both full and partial term): incumbent Sen. Alex Padilla (D), a Newsom appointee, is the projected winner over Mark Meuser (D).

California has 52 Congressional seats. Nine African American candidates are running for eight House seats.

To represent the 12^th Congressional District that includes Oakland, Berkeley and part of San Leandro, incumbent Democrat Barbara Lee (D-CA-13) is projected to defeat Republican electrical engineer Stephen Slauson.

To represent the Third Congressional District, which covers the Eastern Sierra from Death Valley National Park to parts of Sacramento and Placer counties, Democratic candidate Kermit Jones is trailing Republican Kevin Kiley. This district leans Republican.

To represent the 25^th Congressional District that covers Imperial County and parts of San Bernadino and Riverside counties including Calexico, Banning and the Salton Sea incumbent Rep. Raul Ruiz (D) is leading Black Republican pastor and San Jacinto City Council member Brian E. Hawkins.

To represent the 36^th Congressional District that spans Beverly Hills and Santa Monica through coastal areas down to Rancho Palos Verdes in Los Angeles County, incumbent Rep. Ted Lieu (D) is projected to defeat Black Republican Navy Veteran and business owner Joe E. Collins III.

To represent the 37^th Congressional District located in Los Angeles County including Culver City, Leimert Park, Crenshaw and South LA, Democratic California State Senator Sydney Kamlager is leading Black Democrat former L.A. City Councilmember Jan C. Perry. Rep. Karen Bass (D) currently represents this district.

To represent 39^th Congressional District located in Riverside County including Moreno Valley and Perris, incumbent Rep. Mark Takano (D) is leading Black Republican Aja Smith, a civilian information technology specialist at March Air Reserve Base.

To represent the 43^rd Congressional District that includes Compton, Inglewood, Gardena, parts of Torrance and Los Angeles International Airport, Democratic incumbent Rep. Maxine Waters is projected to defeat Republican business owner Omar Navarro.

There are 80 state Assembly seats on the ballot. Twelve Black candidates are running for 11 State Assembly seats. All of the Black candidates are Democrats and 10 are incumbents.

In addition to Jackson (mentioned earlier), the other Black candidates running for Assembly seats are:

Assembly District 18 (Oakland) – incumbent Democratic Assemblymember Mia Bonta is leading Republican Mindy Pechenuk.

Assembly District 6 (Sacramento) – incumbent Democratic Assemblymember Kevin McCarty is the vote leader over Republican retired airline pilot Cathy Cook.

Assembly District 11 (Vallejo) – incumbent Democratic Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson is the vote leader over Veterans Affairs consultant Jenny Leilani Callison.

Assembly District 41 (Pasadena) – incumbent Democratic Assemblymember Chris Holden is leading Republican Michael McMahon.

Assembly District 55 (Los Angeles) – incumbent Democratic Assemblymember Isaac G. Bryan is in the leading Republican software developer Keith Girolamo Cascio.

Assembly District 57 (Los Angeles) – incumbent Democratic Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer ran unopposed for re-election.

Assembly District 61 (Inglewood) – incumbent Democratic Assemblymember Tina Simone McKinnor is leading Democratic Mayor of Lawndale Robert Pullen-Miles, who is also Black.

Assembly District 65 (Compton) – incumbent Democratic Assemblymember Mike Anthony Gipson is leading Democratic public-school teacher Fatima Iqbal-Zubair, who is also Black.

Assembly District 69 (Long Beach) – Democratic Councilmember Al Austin II is running behind Democratic small business owner Josh Lowenthal. No incumbent was on the ballot.

Assembly District 79 (La Mesa) – incumbent Democratic Assemblymember Akilah Weber is leading Republican project manager Corbin Sabol.

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Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza 

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.

“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.

The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.

Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.

“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.

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Activism

Rep. Barbara Lee, CBC Members, Raise Concerns Over Layoffs of Black Tech Workersi2s

In 2015, the CBC launched Tech 2020 to ensure that Black Americans would be better represented in the industry by 2020. However, Lee says those tech companies that pledged to be more inclusive are falling short of their promise.

Published

4 months ago

December 26, 2023

Oakland Post

Rep. Barbara Lee

By Post Staff

Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee and several other Congressional Black Caucus members have written a letter to Julie Su, the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, addressing the disproportionate layoffs of Black tech employees.

“We write to express our concerns with recent reports highlighting the impacts of widespread layoffs within the tech industry and its disproportionate impacts on the African American community and women,” the letter stated.

“Tech companies who previously agreed to address bias and discrimination and create greater opportunities in the workforce are now quietly defunding diversity pledges,” the letter continued.

Lee told the Grio, “We’ve been fighting for justice and for economic parity and security as part of the mission of the CBC,” she said, “and so when we established Tech 2020, it was about equity and inclusion.”

“Now with all the Supreme Court decisions and with all of the backsliding, especially by Republicans, it’s very important that we be very assertive in our fight for equity and justice within the private sector and public sector,” she said.

According to the letter, since the beginning of 2023, more than 240,000 tech workers have been laid off, more than 50% increase from 2022.

Lee found that minorities and women make up most of the tech layoffs that have occurred this year.

“If you don’t have African Americans developing content,” Lee said, “then we’re going to have Black people, Brown people [and] women disproportionately impacted.”

“This country is supposed to be a representative democracy where you include people, and you don’t discriminate against them,” she added. “When you see the disproportionate numbers of people being laid off, then that is a red flag that it could be discrimination occurring against these workers and employees.”

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Congresswoman Lee Releases Statement on Vandalism of Lake Merritt Menorah

Published

5 months ago

December 15, 2023

Oakland Post

Chabad of Oakland’s menorah at Lake Merritt on Dec. 10, before it was vandalized (right) and graffiti left where the menorah stood before it was pulled down. (Photos/Courtesy Chabad of Oakland)

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) released the following statement on the destruction of the large Menorah on display at Lake Merritt in Oakland:

“I’m deeply saddened and disheartened that the Lake Merritt Menorah was destroyed earlier this week. My heart and prayers go out to the Jewish community in Oakland, and I strongly condemn this vile act of antisemitism.”

“Oaklanders salvaged the menorah and gathered together (Wednesday evening) to celebrate its re-lighting, spreading love and support in the way only Oakland does. I’m proud of my constituents. We will not let hate win.”