Region’s Working Families at the Top of the Polls with Huge Election Night Wins

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By Evan McLaughlin

Working families came out ahead in Tuesday’s election as voters chose at least 69 candidates and propositions endorsed by the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council.

From Barack Obama all the way down the ticket, Labor candidates came away as winners.

Highlighted wins include Marty Block and Manuel Perez for the State Assembly; Sherri Lightner, Todd Gloria and Marti Emerald for San Diego City Council; Steve Castaneda for Chula Vista City Council; and the failure of Proposition B.

The Labor Council is confident Pamela Bensoussan, who is trailing by approximately 50 votes as of Friday, November 14, will ultimately win the other Chula Vista City Council seat once all the ballots are counted.

The biggest gains occurred on the San Diego City Council.  The Labor-endorsed candidate won all three seats which were on the ballot.  The wins mean that the Council will have six of eight members who were endorsed by Labor.  The new council takes office on December 8.

Adding Lightner, Gloria and Emerald to the Council gives working families a six to two advantage, which will balance worker protections with Mayor Jerry Sanders’ continued push for the contracting out of city services.

The massive failure of Proposition B, which would have allowed a private developer to build a deck on top of the 10th Avenue Marine Terminal, was another key win for working families.  More than 70 percent of voters opposed the deceptive initiative, ensuring that the terminal will remain an important part of our economy.

Doing the heavy lifting against Proposition B were the 179 Longshoremen who hit the streets and phone lines to let voters know how it would eliminate their jobs if passed.

At the state level, wins by Marty Block in the 78th Assembly District and Manuel Perez in the 80th Assembly District helped push the state legislature closer to a pro-labor super majority. 

While we didn’t pick up enough seats throughout the state to be able to pass a budget, we’re at least headed in the right direction.

A full list of Labor’s election wins can be found at www.unionyes.org/endorsements.