Joe Simitian, outgoing Assemblyman in the 21st district, is the heavy favorite to win the 11th state Senate and succeed the outgoing distinguished Senator Byron Sher. But as uneventful as Simitian’s race is, the opposite is true of the 21st Assembly contest between Steve Poizner and Ira Ruskin.
As with the Bush-Kerry presidential race, the 21st Assembly is a virtual deadheat between Poizner, the Republican candidate, and Ruskin, the Democrat. And nearly as contentious.
Just recently, Poizner’s camp fought off allegations from the Ruskin crew that the high-tech multimillionaire betrays his moderate front by contributing to extreme conservative causes.
They produced a letter addressed to Ruskin from Rick L. Callender, president of the San Jose-Silicon Valley Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), taking Ruskin to task for supporting “race-baiting, gay-baiting” communications. Letters put out by the Democratic Party noted that Poizner, by contributing to the Bush campaign, undermines his pro-choice stance and even infers his support for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. However, Poizner contributed an equal amount, $2,000, to the Kerry campaign.
Such shenanigans underscore the intensity of the race for a district deemed vital for the Republicans to capture in November. The 21st Assembly, which includes Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, is about 60-40, Democrats to Republicans.
Poizner, of Los Gatos, hopes to translate his success as a technology executive into politics. In response to his district’s Democratic leanings, Poizner has positioned himself as a fiscally conservative, socially progressive moderate Republican in the style of Tom Campbell and Ed Zschau.
In preparation for his foray into the Assembly race, Poizner served as a White House fellow in 2001, then as a history teacher at Mount Pleasant High School in East San Jose. His two major issues are bettering the state’s economic climate to attract more jobs and overhauling the state’s education system.
“Public schools are in decline,” Poizner said. “Fifty percent of fourth graders can’t pass reading proficiency (tests).” He’s strongly in favor of more local control of school district funding.
Ruskin, a Redwood City councilman since 1995, is a communications consultant. Issues important to Ruskin include improving public education and services for families, protecting the environment, creating more affordable housing, promoting economic prosperity and defending women’s rights. Among his accomplishments, he was the chairman of the Committee for Regional Water Reliability and led its efforts for a bill mandating the repair of the Hetch Hetchy system.
“One fundamental difference (between us) is experience,” Ruskin said. “I have passed the test of public service.”
Simitian, whose mantle either Poizner or Ruskin will inherit, seems supportive of both, depending on whom you talk with. He is listed by Ruskin as a supporter, yet joined with Poizner at a press conference to partner in something called Taxpayers for School Improvement. The group is pushing for an initiative in 2006 allowing for school district parcel taxes only needing 55 percent of the vote to pass.
For more on Poizner, logon to www.joinsteve.com.
For more on Ruskin, logon to www.iraruskin.org.
