Senate candidates court Bay Area voters
U.S. Senate candidates Adam Schiff and Katie Porter visited the Bay Area on Saturday, mingling with voters in the final weeks before the California primary while enjoying the weekend’s sunny skies and cultural opportunities.
Rep. Porter, D-Irvine, held a meet and greet Saturday morning at the National Union of Healthcare Workers headquarters in Emeryville, while Rep. Schiff, DBurbank, participated in the Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco in the evening.
Porter was joined at the union headquarters by state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco, Assembly Member Buffy Wicks of Oakland, and the presidents of the health care workers, flight attendants and school employees unions, all of whom have endorsed her campaign.
Supporters wearing red union shirts, orange Katie Porter shirts and navy blue “I Love Oversight” shirts mingled over meatballs on the sunny afternoon in Emeryville before the remarks.
Joined onstage by her children, Wicks spoke about how she believes Porter, another working mother, will fight for workingclass families.
“She’s not just going to vote the right way, she’s going to fight the right way, she’s going to lead the right way,” she said. “Never underestimate Katie Porter.”
Wiener spoke about Porter’s support for issues he has worked on at the state level, such as increasing access to mental health care, housing and transportation. He said Porter, known for viral confrontations in Congress, will push to make things happen.
“It’s so easy to get stuck in the ways we were doing things,” he said. “Katie understands that that doesn’t work.”
In an energetic speech, Porter stressed that she has never taken money from corporate political action committees and that the race is about the future of Democratic Party.
“If we are going to rebuild trust in our democracy, it’s going to come from doing Washington differently,” she said to applause. “My colleagues in this race are amazing, and they have done amazing things. But this is a race about what we will do, not what we have done.”
Porter’s biggest rival in the race is Schiff, who rode in the Chinese New Year Parade in a blue Mustang convertible alongside San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, who has endorsed his campaign. When their car arrived at the end of the parade route on Kearny Street between Washington and Jackson streets, Chan introduced Schiff to a cheering crowd of parade spectators. Schiff wished everyone a “prosperous new year” and gestured toward a grandstand where his wife, Eve, was watching the festivities.
“Yes, we are Adam and Eve,” Schiff joked. He also praised Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who was watching the parade from the same grandstand. Schiff called her “the greatest speaker of all time.”
“I want to be a senator for all of California and every community. I want to be present and be a part of such joyful celebrations. I think it’s an important part of being a good representative,” Schiff told the Chronicle as he walked while onlookers waved.
“I spent a lot of my growing up years in the Bay Area. I love this area, and I would love to represent everyone here,” he said.
In a statement, Chan said she supported Schiff as California’s next senator because “he has the leadership and ability to bring resources back to San Francisco and to California, helping our great city to get back on track as a world class city and ensuring that California remains a thriving economy, as one of the largest economies in the world.”
“This is why I welcome Congressman Schiff to this year’s Lunar New Year Parade, because he recognizes and honors the traditions of our AAPI community and he appreciates the value of our community’s contributions to both San Francisco and the State,” Chan said in her statement.
Senate candidate Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, who attended the Sonoma County Democratic Party’s crab feed Friday night in Santa Rosa, spent Saturday afternoon at a Black Expo in Sacramento before heading to Bakersfield for a campaign rally in the evening. She was to return to the Bay Area on Sunday to visit Greater St. Paul Church in Oakland and Third Baptist Church San Francisco, then will hold a Monday night rally in Oakland.
Steve Garvey, the former Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star making his first run for office and the lone Republican in the race, planned no Bay Area events over the weekend.
The four candidates held their final debate Tuesday before the March 5 primary. Schiff is leading in both polling and fundraising, while Porter and Garvey are battling for second place to advance to the November general election. Lee has trailed in polls in the race for the seat long held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died in September.
Sen. Laphonza Butler, appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October to fill out Feinstein’s term, is not running.