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California Democratic Convention wrap-up: Endorsements, Brown gets heckled, O'Malley suggests a presidential run
California Democratic Party chairman John Burton speaks at the California Democrats State Convention on Friday, March 7, 2014, in Los Angeles. Even in an election year that appears favorable for national Republicans, California Democrats are confident they will retain their iron grip on state leadership and possibly enrich their share of House seats in Washington. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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The California Democratic Party wrapped up its 2014 convention in Los Angeles Sunday afternoon without endorsing a statewide candidate in the race for Controller or Secretary of State. No candidate was able to muster the 60 percent of votes required for the party nod.
The party did vote to endorse a number of candidates on the local level, including Redlands mayor Pete Aguilar, who will be running for the newly opened 31st District, which encompasses a stretch of the Inland Empire. The seat was held most recently by Republican Gary Miller, who announced in February he wouldn't run.
California Senator Ted Lieu also received an endorsement in his campaign for the 33rd Congressional District, held by Henry Waxman, which includes much of L.A.'s West side. In January, Waxman announced that he would retire at the end of his term.
You can see a full listing of the party's endorsed candidates below.
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Brown gets boos
Governor Jerry Brown shook off hecklers Saturday as he delivered a defense of his policies and called for unity on an energy policy that includes conservation and tapping multiple resources.
He responded to chants of "no fracking" from those opposed to the petroleum mining technique, telling the audience: "I got it."
"All you guys who like to make noise, listen a moment," he said to his detractors. "Californians — and most of you included — are driving over 330 billion miles a year...."
Brown dove into a spirited defense of his energy policy:
"The challenge here is gigantic and solving climate change, which is a catastrophe for every living human being — and we got to something about it — It's not one thing. It's a whole series of things. And California's not only leading the way, we're signing pacts with China, with Canada, with British Columbia, with other states. You can be sure that everything that needs to be done to fight climate change that we can accomplish, we'll do it."
You can watch the full video here. The heckling begins at 9:15:
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Watch: Brown's speech at the Calif. Democratic Convention
O'Malley suggest he might go for a 2016 run
Martin O'Malley, Maryland's governor, may have had walked away with the winning speech, delivering a blunt broadside against the Tea Party movement, and what he called a "small view" of the U.S. that relies on cynicism.
According to the Associated Press:
[O'Malley] singled out Tea Party Republicans for espousing "a small view" of America that he compared to the "trickle-down economics" of the Reagan era.
"We call it selling America short," said O'Malley, who received a standing ovation after the speech.
"How much less do we believe would be good for the country?" he asked. "How much less education would make our children smarter?
"We will not solve our problems, my friends, by doing less. We must do more."
The Democratic governor has said he's considering entering the 2016 contest. Early polls have shown Democrats favoring a run by Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has not said if she will enter the race. She carried California in the 2008 presidential primary.
Watch: Martin O'Malley address the California Democratic Convention
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