Smear-job alert
The California Democratic Party seems to have concluded that it can’t defeat Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-San Ramon, on the merits. So it’s gone to desperate means to distort the voting record of a Republican legislator who has regularly broken with the party line with her stands for gun control, climate action and equal pay for women.
Voters who receive the slick mailers misrepresenting Baker’s position on those issues should promptly do the right thing, for the environment and for honesty in politics: Drop them in the recycle bin. They’re garbage.
On climate change, we quote Gov. Jerry Brown’s assessment of Baker’s votes for SB32 (extending the climate-change law) and the final passage of SB350 (raising renewable energy goals): She was “one brave Republican ... rejecting the brazen deception of the oil lobby.” Her opposition was to amendments that would have weakened SB350.
On gun control, no Republican and few Democrats have a better record of support for common-sense restrictions. Among many examples: She co-authored legislation to lift the ban on firearms research, voted to strengthen the assaultweapons ban, voted to require background checks on ammunition and voted to require that gun owners report gun thefts.
On equal pay, Baker voted for SB358, the equal pay bill that Brown signed into law in October. It’s important to note that the equal pay bill cited in a Democratic mailer (AB1354, which she opposed) was also rejected by the Democratic governor. In his veto message, Brown said the bill was simply not necessary because the state already was requiring contractors to submit proof of their nondiscrimination programs.
When we interviewed Baker and challenger Cheryl Cook-Kallio before the primary, the contrast could not be greater. As we indicated in our endorsement editorial, Cook-Kallio was fuzzy on her answers and “demonstrated little sign of being ready for Sacramento.” Baker the legislator has proved to be “independent, pragmatic, serious and focused on issues that matter” to her East Bay district.”
Ignore the smear campaign. Re-elect Catharine Baker.