AD 80th pits Perez and Pettis in primary pugulism

Meeting the voters: Manuel Perez, center, has a photo taken with Democrats of the DesertCATHEDRAL CITY – The 80th Assembly District promises an interesting Democratic primary here this June, as exemplified by the slight tensions on display last Saturday at a party gathering.

The Coachella Valley’s Democrats of the Desert held their April meeting Saturday morning at the new senior center in Cathedral City, where city councilman Greg Pettis came to discuss his primary run with the 60 or so attendees. Making an unscheduled appearance was his main primary rival, Coachella school member Manuel Perez, who had a campaign staffer in the audience.

At the two-hour meeting’s end, Perez gave a short speech, as did Pettis. Then they both worked the departing crowd.

The 80th Assembly District has two-thirds of its voters in Riverside County and one-third in Imperial County in a 10,000-square mile total area stretching to the U.S.-Mexico border. The moderate GOP incumbent Bonnie Garcia is termed out this year and is supporting Republican and ex-Palm Springs police chief Gary Jeandron.

Jeandron has no GOP primary challengers but it is a four-way fight to win this June’s Democratic primary. Pettis and Perez and their precinct-walking/phone-banking volunteers are competing most visibly, followed by two lesser-known Imperial County candidates, Wells Fargo executive Rick Gonzales of El Centro and Calexico orthodontist Richard Gutierrez. With three Hispanics and one white candidate, Perez could lose enough votes to his two Hispanic rivals to see Pettis win.

Greg PettisBut can a gay Cathedral City politician such as Pettis pick up enough Imperial County votes in the general election to beat the GOP’s straight-out-of-central-casting Jeandron? Pettis pointed to Palm Springs’ gay, African-American, ex-mayor Ron Oden winning Imperial County in the 80th’s ‘06 primary. However Oden did not secure enough Riverside County votes to beat primary winner Steve Clute, whom Garcia defeated.

The district votes conservatively but has more registered Democrats, with Perez banking on a bilingual push.

“Bonnie (Garcia) would go out and deliver her message in both languages,” he said. “I can deliver the message in both languages.”

Pettis lost in the 2002 primary. He does not accept his three rivals' logic that thanks to Bonnie Garcia’s surname, the 80th permanently is Hispanic.

“They’re trying to say that this is a Latino seat and only a Latino can win it,” Pettis said, adding that his city council race was won in a Cathedral City which is now 53% Hispanic. “My strongest precincts have always been the Hispanic precincts.”