AD-43: Gatto Is #1!

In yesterday's special election to replace Paul Krekorian in the 43rd Assembkly District, MadProfessah-endorsed Mike Gatto not only placed first among the three Democrats, he received the most votes over all:

As of Date: 04/13/2010 Time: 23:04                            Votes  Percent
                                                                         
STATE ASSEMBLY               43RD TERM ENDS 11/10                          
                                                                         
 MIKE GATTO             DEM                                10,584    32.34
 SUNDER   RAMANI        REP                                10,403    31.79
 NAYIRI NAHABEDIAN      DEM                                 7,298    22.30
 CHAHE KEUROGHELIAN     DEM                                 4,444    13.58
                                                                         
TOTAL PRECINCTS        225            PRECINCTS REPORTING       225   100.00
REGISTRATION       201,352  

This means that on June 8, Mike will face the Republican candidate in the run-off to fill the rest of Krekorian's term through November 2010. He will also probably be the favorite to win the Democratic nomination (against Nahabedian) in the primary election which happens on the same day.

So, basically you will need to vote for Mike twice on that day.

AD-43: One Week Until Election Day

Hans Johnson, president of Progressive Victory; Mike Gatto, Democratic Party-endorsed candidate for California's 43rd Assembly seat; Luis Lopez, president of HONOR PAC; and Jimmie Woods Gray, UTLA and former chair of the L.A. County Democratic Party

It's one week until the special primary election in the 43rd Assembly district to replace Paul Krekorian. The two main candidates are Mike Gatto (who MadProfessah and the CA Democratic Party has endorsed) and Nayiri Nahabedian (who the Stonewall Democratic Club has endorsed).

The above picture was taken at an event (in the district) at the site of The Black Cat, a gay bar in Silverlake steeped in Los Angeles pre-Stonewall gay history which now houses Le Barcito.

Hans Johnson was one of the primary organizers for an LGBT fundraiser for Mike Gatto which raised over $4000 for the candidate. Luis Lopez, president of the leading Latino LGBT political organization in the state is Johnson's domestic partner and Jimmie Woods Gray is with the United Teachers of Los Angeles.

The picture demonstrates that teachers and "teh gays" are supporting Mike in the race to fill the 43rd Assembly District. If you live in Glendale, Burbank, Silverlake, Atwater Village, you should too!

AD-43: Shock! Nayiri Wins Stonewall Dems Nod

Nahabedian	Gatto

In a shock to most political insiders, Nayiri Nahabedian, Glendale School board members and AD-43 candidate, won the endorsement of the Stonewall Democratic Club, one of the oldest and most prominent LGBT democratic clubs in the country, despite the fact that her main opponent Mike Gatto, has been a longtime paid member of the club for well over a decade and a strong LGBT ally.

MadProfessah is a Stonewall Democratic Club board member (technically, elected Steering Committee member) of Stonewall, and although I have participated in other endorsement panel hearings, I was not on the committee that recommended an endorsement for Gatto by a vote of 4-3. However, at the meeting of the membership on Monday March 22nd, the vote was 23-10 to endorse Nahabedian, which observers chalked up to an impassioned speech by former Assemblyperson Jackie Goldberg, who is openly lesbian and best well-known for the primary author of AB 205, California's Comprehensive Domestic Partnership Act. Stonewall does not allow candidates to speak at a club meeting in which their race is being considered by the membership, but allows 3 people to speak in favor and in opposition to motions on the floor.

Gatto has been endorsed by yours truly, but more importantly he has been endorsed by the California Democratic Party. This surprising result at the Stonewall Democratic Club is the second time that Nahabedian has mobilized (some would say "packed") a Democratic club meeting to overturn the recommendation of a club's endorsement committee for Gatto. DPSFV (Democratic Party of San Fernando Valley) had recommended Gatto but the endorsement was changed to open endorsement by a vote of the membership.

The special primary election will be help on April 13th to see who will replace Paul Krekorian and then on June 8th the Democratic primary will be held for who gets the nomination for the November election to represent the 43rd Assembly district in January 2011.

FOOD REVIEW: Palate Restaurant (Glendale, CA)

Mad Professah and The Other Half went to Palate Restauarant (818-662-9463, 933 South Brand Boulevard) a newly opened restaurant which has already received glowing buzz from The Los Angeles Times.

Here are some pictures of what we ate that night.

salmon rilette (l) and pickled zucchini
butter with amazing warm fresh bread.
cream of broccoli soup
heirloom tomato salad
skirt steak fillet with grilled lettuce
wild seabass with calamari and scallop
chocolate pudding
panna cotta with strawberry

The food was excellent and the service was attentive. The atmosphere at 7pm on a Thursday was a but noisy, and that was with the place not completely full. The 15 (20?) foot ceilings are impressive but are definitely not conducive to a quiet atmosphere. Of course, this is probably a conscious choice but I disapprove of eating in the presence of a din.

It's very exciting to have such a high-quality (and not overly expensive) in NELA (North East Los Angeles). The food was almost uniformly outstanding, with some exceptions. The cream of broccoli soup was a bit bland and the salmon rillette was so cold it was almost too hard to spread. Particularly excellent were the delightfully warm and fresh bread, the extremely tenderness of the beef, the subtle flavors in the fish dish and the overwhelmingly smoothness of the chocolate pudding.

A four course meal (appetizer, soup or salad, entree and dessert) for two (plus drinks) was under $100.

MadProfessah will be back!

AMBIANCE: B.
SERVICE: A-.
VALUE: A.
FOOD: A.