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Gilmore in crosshairs of Florez, Democrats
| Thursday, May 29 2008 8:37 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, May 29 2008 8:41 PM
A guy who two years ago vowed never to run again in fact, he dumped $8,000 worth of campaign signs into a landfill now finds himself at the epicenter of a political earthquake.
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Danny Gilmore, the retired California Highway Patrol commander who narrowly lost in 2006 to incumbent Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, is the Republican candidate in what most political observers predict will be the hardest fought, most costly state legislative race in November.
Democrats are ramping up a fight to hold onto the sole Democrat-held seat that is competitive this year. With Parra termed out and unable to run for re-election, Gilmore faces Democrat Fran Florez, a member of the Shafter City Council and mother of state Sen. Dean Florez, for the 30th Assembly District seat in November.
Why is Gilmore running again after swearing off politics? The political stars have realigned. He says he has been encouraged to run. (A March campaign kickoff event at the Kings County Fairgrounds in Gilmore's home town of Hanford was sold out.) And with Parra now out of the way, he has a real shot at winning.
Although outspent 4 to 1 by Parra in 2006, Gilmore won in three of the district's four counties Fresno, Kings and Tulare. It was his trouncing in Kern, where Parra grew up and her father, Pete, once served on the Kern County Board of Supervisors, that led to Gilmore's narrow defeat. (Districtwide, Parra received 51.6 percent of the vote to Gilmore's 48.4.)
Gilmore has one more powerful thing going for him the support of the woman who defeated him in 2006. While falling short of outright endorsing Gilmore, Parra has told reporters her former challenger is better suited to serve the district than his Democratic opponent, Fran Florez.
No doubt Parra's support stems from her family's longstanding feud with Sen. Dean Florez.
And while Parra has only given Gilmore kind words, her father, Pete, is giving him some serious political help.
Gilmore credits the clean campaign he ran in 2006 against Nicole Parra and his post-election contact with the assemblywoman for the Parra family's good feelings.
"The 2006 race was tough. There were days I would come home and find my wife sitting on the couch crying about something they had said about me," Gilmore said. "But when it was over, I conceded and I called Nicole. I told her, 'My wife and I prayed for you every day of the race and we will continue praying for you.'
"I think Pete and the rest of the family appreciated the fact that I called after the race. It meant something to them. That didn't happen in previous races."
Apparently it pays to be a gentleman and a gracious loser. Pete Parra is returning the favor, opening many Kern County doors.
As an example, Gilmore and his wife, Cindi, were Pete Parra's guests at the recent Mexican American Opportunity Foundation's Aztec Awards dinner in Bakersfield.
"I can't say enough good about Pete," Gilmore said when I called him this week. "He has introduced me to a lot of people I would never have had access to."
Gilmore said he is receiving support from individuals and groups that shunned him in 2006 because of their loyalty to Parra and her family. He is spending hours mining this support, especially from local elected officials, such as Delano City Councilman Ruben Hill, a Pete Parra friend, and Delano political consultant Angel Diaz.
Gilmore is going to need all the friends and help he can get in his face-off with the politically powerful Florez family and the state Democratic Party.
"We are going to be out there in full force behind Fran Florez," Assembly Speaker Karen Bass told The Sacramento Bee. She said keeping the 30th District seat in Democratic hands is her top November election priority.
More is at stake for Democrats than simply "holding" a seat. As a result of term limits, openings exist in several Assembly districts drawn to favor Democrats, but held by Republicans. Democrats dream of winning six of these "competitive" seats enough to give them the two-thirds majority necessary to override Republican objections to legislation, including spending.
For that dream to come true, Democrats must hold on to Parra's 30th District seat.
E-mail Dianne Hardisty at dhardisty@bakersfield.com.