Blakeslee wins 15th District State Senate race

Posted: Aug 18, 2010 9:25 AM by Bill Halter
Updated: Aug 18, 2010 9:32 AM

Blakeslee wins 15th Dist. State Senate race

Republican Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee is the winner in the 15th State Senate District race. It was a special election to fill the seat left vacant when Abel Maldonado took the Lieutenant Governor position this past spring. Blakeslee walked away with 49 percent of the vote to Democrat John Laird's 44 percent. Independent Jim Fitzgerald received five percent of the votes, while Libertarian Mark Hinkle received two percent.

Governor Schwarzenegger made the decision to decide the 15th Senate District seat with a special election, rather than waiting until the general election in November. Democrat John Laird says that cost him the election. "It's clear that if this were a November election, I'd be sworn in next week as Senator," said Laird. "and so that's a big difference, is trying to get people out in the middle of the summer election that was designed for people not to come out."

The district has more registered democrats than republicans. If Laird would have won, the democrats would have been within one vote of a two-thirds majority in the state senate. A two-thirds majority is needed to pass budgets, tax cuts and override vetoes.

"There are certain forces and groups that wanted the two-thirds majority in the legislature because with that comes cart blanche control over every decision in Sacramento," said Blakeslee. "In my opinion, bipartisanship and compromise is important to get the good answers."

Blakeslee will join the senate immediately and says he first thing he wants to do is work to balance the budget and bring jobs back to the state. Blakeslee says small business tax credits are a way to do that. "As we raise taxes and we increase regulation on regulation we keep driving prosperity away," said Blakeslee.

Blakeslee's 33rd District Assembly seat will remain open until the winner of the November assembly election takes office in December. That candidates for that position are Republican Katcho Ackadjian and Democrat Hilda Zacarias.