Blog: Luis Lopez Brings an Early Halloween

It seems that lately the Holidays just sneak up on us and now that I think about it, Christmas is just around the corner.

If you live in the new Assembly District 51, you might be celebrating Halloween two weeks earlier than expected. Luis Lopez, who came at a distant second place from first place winner Jimmy Gomez in the June 5th Primary, has decided to bring the lies, tricks but no candy to your mailbox this Halloween.

While Mr. Lopez might think it was a good idea, I think he is in for a trick himself. While negative campaigning motivates the base of support, it alienates centrist and undecided voters from the political process, reducing voter turnout and radicalizing politics.

While Mr. Lopez had hoped for a negative backlash against Jimmy with his mailer, and while not intended, he is urging Republican voters to vote for Jimmy. We have an open primary this year, which means that Republican voters can vote for anyone they want regardless of party affiliation.

The Lopez strategy is double sword-ed. While it might "trick" Democrats into thinking Jimmy is a Republican, he is still getting votes. However, it will not cost Jimmy Democratic votes because the California Democratic Party is working hard to elect Gomez—very risky campaign tactic from Luis Lopez.

Today, voters received a deceptive mailer from the Lopez campaign stating that Jimmy is associated with the National Rifle Association. Let me begin by stating  that the NRA would never endorse a Progressive Democrat for office, especially if the candidate is endorsed by Labor and the Democratic Party. In this case Jimmy Gomez would never be endorsed by NRA.

In fact, when checking their endorsements for AD 51, they list both Luis Lopez and Jimmy Gomez. Who got the NRA's endorsement? No one. The National Rifle Association did, however announce their endorsement of Mitt Romney for President. Elected Officials who support Jimmy Gomez, such as Senator Kevin De Leon, Congresswoman Janice Hahn,  received an "F" on NRA's score card.

Do you really think NRA supporters are going to support Jimmy Gomez for Assembly? I didn't think so either. One thing I can assure you, Luis Lopez is lying about Jimmy Gomez. A few days ago, Luis Lopez sent a mailer to district voters, asserting he was the “only democrat” in the race. This, too, is false. Jimmy Gomez is the officially endorsed candidate of the Democratic Party.

Jimmy Gomez, up until today, has run a very positive and issue-driven campaign for State Assembly. He has had over 15 community coffees around the District to talk about issues affecting the district. Jimmy is the only Democrat who is endorsed by the California Democratic Party and the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. (You can fact check it here, I don't lie).

Jimmy Gomez was the top vote getter in the June 5th primary (You can fact check it here, too) and is poised to become the next Assemblyman from the 51st Assembly District. Jimmy has also earned the endorsement from popular local elected officials, such as Senator De Leon, Councilmember Josè Huizar and Labor leader Dolores Huerta.

When someone goes negative, it shows you how desperate they are in winning this election at any cost. Don't we as voters deserve someone who cares about the issues, versus someone who wants to win by any means necessary? My family sent in our vote-by-mail ballots this week and we voted for the most experienced candidate—Jimmy Gomez! Please do not be tricked this Halloween season by Luis Lopez. After all, doesn't candy taste better?

PS: I'm a 10-plus years resident of El Sereno, former Neighborhood Council leader and a very proud endorser of Jimmy Gomez for Assembly.