Almost from the start, it seemed an uphill battle as Cabaldon had the audacity in January of 2007, weeks after Lois Wolk officially took office for her third and final term as Assemblywoman, there he stood in Yamada’s home town with two of her colleagues, two members of the Davis City Council, two members of his own city council, and the Mayor of Woodland (and to boot Jeff Monroe was in uniform that day, but attended the event to show support for Cabaldon).
It seemed before Mariko Yamada even announced she was way behind and she never caught up (or so we thought).
To make matters worse, Yamada had turned off a large portion of her base in the Spring and Summer of 2007 with an ill-advised support (or at least non-opposition) to study areas on the Davis periphery. Large numbers of people who had been supporters of Yamada turned on her. There was talk of recall. A hundred people showed up for the County Supervisors meeting in July. Even the divided Davis City Council spoke with one voice.
In the winter of 2008, Cabaldon had engineered a seemingly easy victory for the party’s endorsement. Even a few controversies at the pre-endorsement conference faded away to a resounding victory at the party convention.
Later that same week sitting Assemblywoman Lois Wolk broke her official neutrality to back Christopher Cabaldon. He stood in Suisun City with his three predecessors Lois Wolk, Helen Thomson, and Tom Hannigan. It was the perfect photo-op.
You had dueling headquarter openings–a packed houses for Cabaldon’s openning while at the same time, Yamada had about 30 people for an envelope stuffing party.
Nearly every major elected official backed Cabaldon. Mayors, Yamada’s own colleagues, Supervisors, School Board Members, past members of the legislature, the Democratic Party, everyone except for most of the major unions. But judging from the efforts of the unions at the party convention, that would not be a big deal.
But something happened to change all of this. If there was a villain in this stage it was EdVoice. There was a moment at the party convention that was almost a portent. After Cabaldon received a resounding victory in the 8th AD Caucus at the convention, the Yamada folks had a few hours to garner signatures to pull the nomination once again off of consent. But a group of people in orange shirts showed up and were very coy about who they were and they shadowed the Yamada people trying to dissuade delegates from signing up. It was a very creepy moment in the election.
By April, the citizens of the 8th Assembly District were deluged with mailers. One a day for weeks. Three weeks out, we were starting to hear from people who had been Cabaldon supporters. They were complaining about too much material. Some were environmentalists concerned with the waste of paper. Others were becoming uncomfortable with the big money and corporate backing.
And yet, even at this point, it seemed a formality. The Yamada campaign was still struggling to gain traction, seizing on minors issues such as the booting of Cabaldon’s car.
In fact, the first counterattacks by Yamada’s IEs focused on the car booting, Wal Mart, the WRONG achronym, things like that. And again, it seemed they were desperate and grasping for straws.
EdVoice was relentless. But now the union IEs were starting to match them piece for piece. EdVoice struck back. Three viscious and largely unfounded attacks. First, the pay increase, which was dubious at best particularly since the pay raises were tied to judicial salaries and not under the control of the board directly. Second, the Latte piece which called a $91,000 jobs programs for the disabled wasteful. Finally, an desparate and untrue attempt to link Yamada to the embattled Yolo County Housing Authority and the blatant lie that suggested a linkage between that organization and foreclosures.
Cabaldon’s well-financed and well-organized machine proved no match for the larger and better organized labor machine that worked relentlessly the last week to turn out supporters across the district. By the time it was over, Yamada had engineered a stunner. When absentee ballots were reported and Yamada had the lead, everyone knew that it was over. The lead held throughout the night.
This is probably the second most stunning victory that I had seen. The only one more stunning was almost 15 years ago when a largely unknown College Professor Walter Capps beat the party’s handpicked choice for a Congressional nomination. Professor Capps stunned everyone by defeating that individual. So much so that the Republican nominee had to change her victory speech.
Mariko Yamada’s victory in a heavily democratic district means almost certainly the third straight election of a Davis-based Assemblywoman. However, she is of a different ilk. For the first time in 12 years, Craig Reynolds will not be Chief of Staff in this District.
If there was a villain in all of this, it was EdVoice. Their excesses opened the door for this victory. Their mail barrage turned people off and their unfair attacks were the coup de grace for the election.
Independent Expenditures are in many ways a real problem. Campaigns lose control of their messages. They are largely unregulated and unaccountable to anyone. And yet they can drop hundreds of thousands and change the dynamics of a race. That is what happened here. EdVoice likely the culprit here and labor likely the hero on behalf of a Yamada Campaign that had previously been outspent and out-organized.
For Cabaldon it is a major setback for a talented and still young politician. People were tounting him as a potential future speaker. Now, he is left searching for his future.
For Yamada it is the beginning of a Sacramento career. She has wounds to heal still and fences to mend both with her opponent’s former supporters and her own.
—Doug Paul Davis reporting
Maybe Yamada had deeper local roots and a longer political history?
Maybe a smaller turnout favored that?
I voted for Yamada. I saw the endorsements for Cabaldon and wondered who he was and why I hadn’t heard of him before. I didn’t have any problem with Yamada, and prefered her because of her local service and experience.
Maybe Yamada had deeper local roots and a longer political history?
Maybe a smaller turnout favored that?
I voted for Yamada. I saw the endorsements for Cabaldon and wondered who he was and why I hadn’t heard of him before. I didn’t have any problem with Yamada, and prefered her because of her local service and experience.
Maybe Yamada had deeper local roots and a longer political history?
Maybe a smaller turnout favored that?
I voted for Yamada. I saw the endorsements for Cabaldon and wondered who he was and why I hadn’t heard of him before. I didn’t have any problem with Yamada, and prefered her because of her local service and experience.
Maybe Yamada had deeper local roots and a longer political history?
Maybe a smaller turnout favored that?
I voted for Yamada. I saw the endorsements for Cabaldon and wondered who he was and why I hadn’t heard of him before. I didn’t have any problem with Yamada, and prefered her because of her local service and experience.
You are dead-on correct on this! A politician who had endorsed Calbaldon told me they changed their mind and voted for Yamada because of the excess paper-waste and mud-slinging. It’s too bad these campaigns had to resort so low….
You are dead-on correct on this! A politician who had endorsed Calbaldon told me they changed their mind and voted for Yamada because of the excess paper-waste and mud-slinging. It’s too bad these campaigns had to resort so low….
You are dead-on correct on this! A politician who had endorsed Calbaldon told me they changed their mind and voted for Yamada because of the excess paper-waste and mud-slinging. It’s too bad these campaigns had to resort so low….
You are dead-on correct on this! A politician who had endorsed Calbaldon told me they changed their mind and voted for Yamada because of the excess paper-waste and mud-slinging. It’s too bad these campaigns had to resort so low….
I have a somewhat different take on this upset victory for Mariko. Yamada was behind from the beginning for several reasons. Helen Thompson and Lois Wolk deserted Mariko early on, in favor of Cabaldon, which seemed to be a surprise to Yamada. Her faithful “friends” Thompson and Wolk, whom she had counted on for support, were not so faithful. Why is the big question?
Mariko herself made a huge misstep by seeming to support peripheral development on the borders of Davis. When faced with stiff opposition to development on the Davis periphery, she was very disrespectful of the Davis opposition from the dais, as was Helen Thompson. Both appeared arrogant in the extreme towards Davisites – a constituency they were both supposed to be representing as County Board members.
It also made one wonder if Yamada was depending too much on the support of a so-called friend (Thompson) in making some questionable decisions. Suddenly Mariko found herself on the outside looking in, and her campaign in a shambles.
In a desperate bid, Yamada latched on to Cabaldon’s car boot issue. For some, it was a non-issue. For others, it was the first chink in the Cabaldon armor. Some of us felt Cabaldon’s failure to pay parking tickets and taxes was indicative of someone who didn’t think the law applied to him, or at the very least he did not pay attention to his everyday responsibilities. Mariko looked desperate, but Cabaldon didn’t come off looking too good either.
However, it was Cabaldon’s own owl ad that began his swift descent into oblivion. He came off sounding like a whining brat, complaining that he was misunderstood. Completely ignored by him were rumblings and rumors of developer connections, much of which was clearly evidenced by scads of new housing in his district of West Sac. It made Cabaldon look disingenous at best, and downright dishonest at worst. His squeaky clean image took a huge hit.
Then he and/or his supporters went after Mariko on two issues he was decidedly ignorant about. Cabaldon supporters should have gotten their facts straight. The $91,000 spent on the coffee cart program was money that had to be spent by law on programs for the mentally disabled, which is exactly what the program did. It showed the ignorance of Cabaldon as a candidate, who did not disavow the coffee cart attack ad.
To ad insult to injury, Cabaldon supporters got the accusations of salary increases for Yamada wrong, again due to ignorance. Caboldon began to look not only dishonest, but stupid – much too insular and unaware of what was going on in his own county. Cabaldon is also known for his connection to the mayor of San Francisco, and identified with issues going on there – but not issues in his own backyard.
Cabaldon lost, IMHO not because of EdVoice or IE tactics per se, but because his mask slipped. He had painted himself as a competent leader, who was above board and capable. Instead, as time went on, he looked dishonest and ignorant of the issues. I suspect his political career is doomed, in so far as higher office. I doubt very much that the Democratic machine will back him again. They know a loser when they see one.
Mariko Yamada won because she stayed in it for the long haul, and capitalized on her opponent’s mistakes better. She made plenty of errors too. Whether she will make a good Assemblyperson remains to be seen. However, it is nice to see her main detractor, Helen Thompson, get a good swift kick in the proverbial you know what. Yamada should steer clear of “supporters” like Helen Thompson. With friends like that, who needs enemies!
I have a somewhat different take on this upset victory for Mariko. Yamada was behind from the beginning for several reasons. Helen Thompson and Lois Wolk deserted Mariko early on, in favor of Cabaldon, which seemed to be a surprise to Yamada. Her faithful “friends” Thompson and Wolk, whom she had counted on for support, were not so faithful. Why is the big question?
Mariko herself made a huge misstep by seeming to support peripheral development on the borders of Davis. When faced with stiff opposition to development on the Davis periphery, she was very disrespectful of the Davis opposition from the dais, as was Helen Thompson. Both appeared arrogant in the extreme towards Davisites – a constituency they were both supposed to be representing as County Board members.
It also made one wonder if Yamada was depending too much on the support of a so-called friend (Thompson) in making some questionable decisions. Suddenly Mariko found herself on the outside looking in, and her campaign in a shambles.
In a desperate bid, Yamada latched on to Cabaldon’s car boot issue. For some, it was a non-issue. For others, it was the first chink in the Cabaldon armor. Some of us felt Cabaldon’s failure to pay parking tickets and taxes was indicative of someone who didn’t think the law applied to him, or at the very least he did not pay attention to his everyday responsibilities. Mariko looked desperate, but Cabaldon didn’t come off looking too good either.
However, it was Cabaldon’s own owl ad that began his swift descent into oblivion. He came off sounding like a whining brat, complaining that he was misunderstood. Completely ignored by him were rumblings and rumors of developer connections, much of which was clearly evidenced by scads of new housing in his district of West Sac. It made Cabaldon look disingenous at best, and downright dishonest at worst. His squeaky clean image took a huge hit.
Then he and/or his supporters went after Mariko on two issues he was decidedly ignorant about. Cabaldon supporters should have gotten their facts straight. The $91,000 spent on the coffee cart program was money that had to be spent by law on programs for the mentally disabled, which is exactly what the program did. It showed the ignorance of Cabaldon as a candidate, who did not disavow the coffee cart attack ad.
To ad insult to injury, Cabaldon supporters got the accusations of salary increases for Yamada wrong, again due to ignorance. Caboldon began to look not only dishonest, but stupid – much too insular and unaware of what was going on in his own county. Cabaldon is also known for his connection to the mayor of San Francisco, and identified with issues going on there – but not issues in his own backyard.
Cabaldon lost, IMHO not because of EdVoice or IE tactics per se, but because his mask slipped. He had painted himself as a competent leader, who was above board and capable. Instead, as time went on, he looked dishonest and ignorant of the issues. I suspect his political career is doomed, in so far as higher office. I doubt very much that the Democratic machine will back him again. They know a loser when they see one.
Mariko Yamada won because she stayed in it for the long haul, and capitalized on her opponent’s mistakes better. She made plenty of errors too. Whether she will make a good Assemblyperson remains to be seen. However, it is nice to see her main detractor, Helen Thompson, get a good swift kick in the proverbial you know what. Yamada should steer clear of “supporters” like Helen Thompson. With friends like that, who needs enemies!
I have a somewhat different take on this upset victory for Mariko. Yamada was behind from the beginning for several reasons. Helen Thompson and Lois Wolk deserted Mariko early on, in favor of Cabaldon, which seemed to be a surprise to Yamada. Her faithful “friends” Thompson and Wolk, whom she had counted on for support, were not so faithful. Why is the big question?
Mariko herself made a huge misstep by seeming to support peripheral development on the borders of Davis. When faced with stiff opposition to development on the Davis periphery, she was very disrespectful of the Davis opposition from the dais, as was Helen Thompson. Both appeared arrogant in the extreme towards Davisites – a constituency they were both supposed to be representing as County Board members.
It also made one wonder if Yamada was depending too much on the support of a so-called friend (Thompson) in making some questionable decisions. Suddenly Mariko found herself on the outside looking in, and her campaign in a shambles.
In a desperate bid, Yamada latched on to Cabaldon’s car boot issue. For some, it was a non-issue. For others, it was the first chink in the Cabaldon armor. Some of us felt Cabaldon’s failure to pay parking tickets and taxes was indicative of someone who didn’t think the law applied to him, or at the very least he did not pay attention to his everyday responsibilities. Mariko looked desperate, but Cabaldon didn’t come off looking too good either.
However, it was Cabaldon’s own owl ad that began his swift descent into oblivion. He came off sounding like a whining brat, complaining that he was misunderstood. Completely ignored by him were rumblings and rumors of developer connections, much of which was clearly evidenced by scads of new housing in his district of West Sac. It made Cabaldon look disingenous at best, and downright dishonest at worst. His squeaky clean image took a huge hit.
Then he and/or his supporters went after Mariko on two issues he was decidedly ignorant about. Cabaldon supporters should have gotten their facts straight. The $91,000 spent on the coffee cart program was money that had to be spent by law on programs for the mentally disabled, which is exactly what the program did. It showed the ignorance of Cabaldon as a candidate, who did not disavow the coffee cart attack ad.
To ad insult to injury, Cabaldon supporters got the accusations of salary increases for Yamada wrong, again due to ignorance. Caboldon began to look not only dishonest, but stupid – much too insular and unaware of what was going on in his own county. Cabaldon is also known for his connection to the mayor of San Francisco, and identified with issues going on there – but not issues in his own backyard.
Cabaldon lost, IMHO not because of EdVoice or IE tactics per se, but because his mask slipped. He had painted himself as a competent leader, who was above board and capable. Instead, as time went on, he looked dishonest and ignorant of the issues. I suspect his political career is doomed, in so far as higher office. I doubt very much that the Democratic machine will back him again. They know a loser when they see one.
Mariko Yamada won because she stayed in it for the long haul, and capitalized on her opponent’s mistakes better. She made plenty of errors too. Whether she will make a good Assemblyperson remains to be seen. However, it is nice to see her main detractor, Helen Thompson, get a good swift kick in the proverbial you know what. Yamada should steer clear of “supporters” like Helen Thompson. With friends like that, who needs enemies!
I have a somewhat different take on this upset victory for Mariko. Yamada was behind from the beginning for several reasons. Helen Thompson and Lois Wolk deserted Mariko early on, in favor of Cabaldon, which seemed to be a surprise to Yamada. Her faithful “friends” Thompson and Wolk, whom she had counted on for support, were not so faithful. Why is the big question?
Mariko herself made a huge misstep by seeming to support peripheral development on the borders of Davis. When faced with stiff opposition to development on the Davis periphery, she was very disrespectful of the Davis opposition from the dais, as was Helen Thompson. Both appeared arrogant in the extreme towards Davisites – a constituency they were both supposed to be representing as County Board members.
It also made one wonder if Yamada was depending too much on the support of a so-called friend (Thompson) in making some questionable decisions. Suddenly Mariko found herself on the outside looking in, and her campaign in a shambles.
In a desperate bid, Yamada latched on to Cabaldon’s car boot issue. For some, it was a non-issue. For others, it was the first chink in the Cabaldon armor. Some of us felt Cabaldon’s failure to pay parking tickets and taxes was indicative of someone who didn’t think the law applied to him, or at the very least he did not pay attention to his everyday responsibilities. Mariko looked desperate, but Cabaldon didn’t come off looking too good either.
However, it was Cabaldon’s own owl ad that began his swift descent into oblivion. He came off sounding like a whining brat, complaining that he was misunderstood. Completely ignored by him were rumblings and rumors of developer connections, much of which was clearly evidenced by scads of new housing in his district of West Sac. It made Cabaldon look disingenous at best, and downright dishonest at worst. His squeaky clean image took a huge hit.
Then he and/or his supporters went after Mariko on two issues he was decidedly ignorant about. Cabaldon supporters should have gotten their facts straight. The $91,000 spent on the coffee cart program was money that had to be spent by law on programs for the mentally disabled, which is exactly what the program did. It showed the ignorance of Cabaldon as a candidate, who did not disavow the coffee cart attack ad.
To ad insult to injury, Cabaldon supporters got the accusations of salary increases for Yamada wrong, again due to ignorance. Caboldon began to look not only dishonest, but stupid – much too insular and unaware of what was going on in his own county. Cabaldon is also known for his connection to the mayor of San Francisco, and identified with issues going on there – but not issues in his own backyard.
Cabaldon lost, IMHO not because of EdVoice or IE tactics per se, but because his mask slipped. He had painted himself as a competent leader, who was above board and capable. Instead, as time went on, he looked dishonest and ignorant of the issues. I suspect his political career is doomed, in so far as higher office. I doubt very much that the Democratic machine will back him again. They know a loser when they see one.
Mariko Yamada won because she stayed in it for the long haul, and capitalized on her opponent’s mistakes better. She made plenty of errors too. Whether she will make a good Assemblyperson remains to be seen. However, it is nice to see her main detractor, Helen Thompson, get a good swift kick in the proverbial you know what. Yamada should steer clear of “supporters” like Helen Thompson. With friends like that, who needs enemies!
Yamada won’t be the same quality of leader that Wolk has been, on issues of water, land use, and the environment. She simply isn’t interested in those issues. She cares more for social services issues, which is fine to a degree, but since Yolo County and the rest of AD8 are so intertwined with land use, water (the Delta), and other environmental issues, it will be like we don’t even have a rep who will champion these issues.
Plus, the reason so many of her colleagues abandoned her is she is so hard to work with. This will mean she won’t be effective in the legislature.
So in the end, be sure to watch her legislative accomplishments, and see if she does as much for the district as our previous Assemblywomen did. I doubt she will. In fact, please name her greatest accomplishments on the Yolo Board of Supervisors to get an idea of what I mean.