Independent group forms to take on Joe Nation

With the June 3 primary just three weeks away an independent campaign called the North Bay Progressive Alliance has been launched targeting District 3 state Senate candidate Joe Nation on his home turf.

Jonathan Frieman, a North Bay-based political activist, and Dan Mullen, a local political consultant, are heading up the effort.

Frieman said this weekend the organization had sent out mailers to 61,000 voters living in the North Bay, including the Marin and Sonoma areas. The mailers, which were made available to the press late Friday afternoon, take Nation, a former Marin state assemblyman, to task for what the North Bay Progressive Alliance says is his record on everything from single-payer healthcare to Iraq to consumer privacy. They also target Nation for taking contributions from developers. "Joe's an affable guy, but he is not the right representative for North Bay voters. He would be great in a conservative district, but not Marin and Sonoma County," said Frieman in a statement.

The launch of the independent expenditure comes as Nation, who is facing off against incumbent state Senator Carole Migden and State Assemblyman Mark Leno, and trying to solidify his Marin base and extend his sphere of support into the San Francisco-area.

Jim Ross, a Nation adviser, said the mailers missed the mark. "Here's a guy who supports universal health care, who supports gay marriage, who is a leader in the fight on global warming. Just because Joe is a guy who can go into a situation with an open mind doesn't make him a conservative or liberal. It makes him a candidate who is willing to get things done."

As an independent expenditure, the Alliance is allowed to advocate for or against any candidate of its choosing, though election laws prohibit it from coordinating with a specific campaign. In an interview, Frieman told PolitickerCA.com that he is remaining neutral in the race and indicated that the operation was intended to target Nation.

The North Bay Progressive Alliance is not the first independent expenditure campaign to enter the contest. A spokeswoman for the Civil Justice Association of California confirmed that the organization was working on behalf of Nation, though she declined to detail the group's efforts. Sources say CJAC has distributed a mailer praising Nation for his work on health care.

One question surrounding the effort is whether it has sufficient funding to make a dent in the race. Frieman said that he had provided $12,500 toward the campaign with Doug Kerr, an organizational consultant from Larksburg kicking in another $12,500. Frieman said the funding was enough for the Alliance to "set the table and help frame the discussion" in the race.

Frieman, who has previously launched independent expenditure campaigns against San Rafael City Council candidate Bob Marcucci and Assembly candidate Cynthia Murray, says he met with Nation earlier on in the campaign and told him he would not run an independent effort against him. But Frieman changed his mind after noticing, he said, that Nation was leaning heavily on developers for campaign contributions. Frieman said that virtually guaranteed that Nation would be close with the development community if he returned to Sacramento - something Marin didn't need.

"It shows his true colors," said Frieman.