Well, we did all we could for Ciro. The netroots responded and despite coming up short, we played a big role. I hope now we can shift that same focus and intensity to a winnable House race. A race for a seat that we can turn from red to blue. CA-50 has been in the news most recently because the former holder of that seat, convicted Republican felon Randy "Duke" Cunningham, betrayed the trust of his constituents and accepted massive bribes from a defense contractor. Well the "Duke-stir" is gonna be "vacationing" for the next eight years or so and there is going to be a special election held on April 11 to fill this seat.
In this Republican leaning district there are a large number of Republicans fighting it out for the wingnut vote. There is however, just one well-funded Democratic candidate who according to Superribbie has greater name recognition than any of her GOP opponents. That candidate is Francine Busby.
Francine's bio:
A dynamic public official and innovative community leader, Francine Busby has built an impressive record of public service. As a school board member, she handled fiscal crises and worked to make Cardiff Schools among the most fiscally and academically sound in the state. She managed the campaigns to mobilize her community around school bond measures because she believes every child deserves a quality education. Francine has experience in both business and non-profit ventures. She has a reputation for listening to people and getting things done.
Francine's work includes serving as:
-Current elected trustee of the Cardiff School District
Board
-Past President of the Cardiff Education Foundation where
she lead the effort to raise $450,000 for Cardiff Schools
to improve technology in the classroom and hire
educational specialists.
-Founding President of the Casa Theresa Central Guild to
provide assistance to pregnant women.
-Board Member of Friends of the Cardiff Library, Board
Member of Cardiff Soccer Club, Past President of the
Parent Staff Organization of the Cardiff School District
and Scout Leader of Girl Scouts.
-Active participant in organizations including Cardiff
Chamber of Commerce, San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy, League
of Women Voters, San Diego Alliance for Drug Free Youth,
California School Board Association and California
Elected Women's Association for Education and Research.
Francine's professional experience reflects her varied interests and skills.
-Francine enjoyed a career in international and domestic
tourism and marketing as the group travel manager at the
Walt Disney Travel Company.
-She expanded her knowledge of San Diego's diverse
education community and provided science enrichment
programs to schools throughout the county as program
representative for Science Adventures.
-Francine is currently an adjunct Professor of Women's
Studies at California State University, San Marcos.
Although we're all hoping that she is victorious on April 11th, Francine may not win the special election that day. However, if that happens, the top vote-getter of each party then goes to a run-off. This is where a number of factors can play into Francine's favor. First, the stench of the Republican culture of corruption thanks to the crooked Duke Cunningham is fresh in people minds as he was just sentenced to federal prison just last week. Second, Francine is the most successful fundraiser of all candidates in the race (she just recently announced that she has surpassed over $1 million in contributions). Third, as mentioned above, her name recognition is better than that of any of her potential GOP candidates. Fourth, Busby's internal polling indicates that she would beat any of the GOP candidates in a runoff election.
Let's help turn CA-50 blue. You can contribute to Francine's campaign and make sure that she has the funds available to GOTV and fend off the GOP attacks that we know are coming. Also, if you live in the area, I'm sure that the campaign can use volunteers to help on the ground.
Contribute and let's turn CA-50 blue. It takes just a couple of minutes and makes a big difference.