Feb. 15 Set for Special Election to Fill Oropeza's Seat

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a Feb. 15 special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of state Sen. Jenny Oropeza, who was posthumously re-elected.

Candidates have until Jan. 3 to file nomination papers with the county if they want to appear on the ballot.

Former state Assemblyman Ted Lieu in November announced that he plans to run for the vacant seat and has been posting Twitter updates on his campaign. Lieu formerly represented the 53rd Assembly District, which overlaps with the 28th state Senate District, but was forced out of his South Bay district by term limits. 

Democrat Oropeza died Oct. 20 from complications of an abdominal blood clot, but was re-elected in November. The state Senate's 28th District includes Marina del Rey, Venice, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and other areas.

The special election will be the first under the provisions of Proposition 14, the primary law passed by voters in June that goes into effect Jan. 1. Under the new rules, if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, then the top two finishers in the primary (or in this case special) election will face each other in an April 19 general election, even if they are from the same party. 

Legal challenges have been waged against Proposition 14 and against a companion bill in the state Senate, which also goes into effect Jan. 1. 

Gautam Dutta, lead attorney in a lawsuit challenging portions of Proposition 14, said it censors candidates and disenfranchises voters who want to add a write-in candidate.

The new rules stipulate that candidates identify themselves as members of one of six parties; they will no longer be able to declare themselves as independents, Dutta said Friday. If a candidate is not a member of one of those six parties he or she would be described on the ballot as having "no party preference," Dutta said, even if the candidate is a member of the tea party or another group that is not listed on the ballot. 

Dutta's lawsuit also is challenging a portion of the proposition that does not allow write-in candidates during the runoff election.

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday, Dec. 15 declined to hear Dutta's challenge without comment. However, an appeal remains active in the San Francisco Court of Appeal with opening briefs due Jan. 10, Dutta said.

"The election is going to happen Feb. 15 and it does matter that people vote," Dutta said. "The more people who hear about it, the better, regardless of how they feel about Proposition 14, our lawsuit or anything else. These elections historically have had really low turnout."

There are 465,278 registered voters in the 28th District with 48.11 percent registered as Democrats, 24.99 percent Republicans, 2.1 percent American Independents, 0.62 percent Green , 0.58 percent Libertarian, 0.39 percent Peace and Freedom and 22.2 percent declining to state, according to information from the California Secretary of State's office.