Bonnie Garcia

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -California Republicans have uniformly said this week that they're focused for now on helping U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) win the presidency with the state's help.

But that's not to say that the delegation attending this week's Republican National Convention isn't also looking both internally and ahead, for the top up-and-coming party members who could someday be the party's representative in the governor's house or the U.S. Senate.

When asked, here are some of the names party insiders mention as possible future GOP stalwarts from California:

A Southern California college teacher has filed suit against Assembly candidate Manuel Perez over Perez's description of himself as an educator in his ballot description on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Emil Fischer, an adjunct faculty member of the College of the Desert in Palm Desert, filed suit last week in Sacramento County Superior Court over Perez's ballot designation, noting that Perez hasn't worked as an educator in some time, though he is a school board member.

Assemblywoman Bonnie GarciaAvoiding a scheduled government hearing today to allow the eventual creation of a new Coachella Valley utility company, Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia on Tuesday hammered out a deal with her 80th District’s power provider, the Imperial Irrigation District.

Just as water is critical for much of California, power bills are a central concern to Inland Empire and desert voters who must endure long, very hot summers and this high air-conditioning bills. Power in Garcia’s district is covered by either the IID or California Edison depending on where one lives and it’s a thorny political issue in Garcia’s stronghold, the Coachella Valley.

CATHEDRAL 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.

Former Palm Beach Police Chief Gary Jeandron is the GOP candidate for the open State Assembly seat in California's 80th A.D.
Assembly District 80 is a sprawling desert region encompassing the wealth of Palm Springs and the vastness of the Imperial Valley, Joshua Tree National Park, the Salton Sea and other sunbaked lands. Moderate Republican Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia is termed out of this 10,000-square mile landscape this fall, leaving a succession fight between a moderate Republican and one of four Democrats.

“The district has more registered Democrats but they tend to vote on a conservative ticket,” said former Palm Springs police chief Gary Jeandron, Garcia’s anointed successor. With no primary opposition, he reportedly has $150,000 in campaign funds.

But the June 3rd Democratic primary has four contenders including Jeandron’s political neighbor, Cathedral City council member Greg Pettis. The Desert Sun in Palm Springs reported late last month that Pettis raised about $55,000 through mid-March.

The three other Democratic contenders are community development activist Rick Gonzales from Imperial County, Calexico orthodontist Richard Gutierrez and Coachella Valley Unified School Board member Manuel Perez. An early April poll by San Francisco-based David Binder Research have Perez and Pettis almost tied, with close polling numbers too when either of them is matched against Jeandron.

The race for State Assembly in 80th district (Palm Springs) features two competitive primaries and a hotly contested general election. The incumbent, Bonnie Garcia, the Legislature’s only Latina Republican, is term-limited. Democrats view this as a strong pickup opportunity.