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Once Solis Goes to Washington, Who Will Take Her Seat?
Possible replacements for Solis include: Gloria Romero, Gil Cedillo, Ed Hernandez, Charles Calderon, or Ron Calderon...to name a few
President-elect Barack Obama has asked local congresswoman Hilda Solis, the Democrat who represents the 32nd District, which includes parts of Los Angeles, East LA and the cities of Azusa, Baldwin Park, Covina, Duarte, El Monte, Irwindale, Monterey Park, Rosemead, South El Monte, and West Covina. Now speculation has begun regarding who will take her place.
It's a crowded pool; according to the Sacramento Bee, "Democratic state Sens. Gil Cedillo and Gloria Romero say they're exploring running," politico siblings Assemblyman Charles and state Senator Ron Calderon could also "be contenders," and "also mentioned as possible contenders are Assemblyman Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina; Judy Chu, chairwoman of the state Board of Equalization; and her husband Assemblyman Mike Eng, D-Monterey Park."
Romero, who is the Democratic Rep. for District 24, may have the most support at this stage of the game, as indicated by thoughts expressed today on Calitics, who
would give Romero the edge because it's actually her district - Cedillo serves a contiguous district. Romero would be a rare voice for prison reform in Washington, and while her advocacy proved fruitless in Sacramento, ultimately she will be proven right if we see mass releases in the next few months, and having her on the national stage would be very helpful to the prison reform movement. For Cedillo it's the same, only on immigration reform.
Having spouses Chu and Eng in the battle would indeed "make for an interesting primary."One more person who thinks Romero can--and should--take it? Romero herself. The Bee reports that as Cedillo, the Democratic Rep. for District 22, voiced his interest to reporters this week, Romero walked by and announced "I can beat them all" then walked away.
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Who will win? We'll know fairly soon. "Once Solis is named as labor secretary, a special election for her replacement must take place within 140 days."
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