Kate Schwartz fights the odds in 75th AD

November 21, 2019

Other items in this column include:
* Tips for addicts during the holidays
* Jewish professionals
* Sports
* Political bytes

By Donald H. Harrison

Donald H. Harrison
Kate Schwartz

SAN DIEGO – Kate Schwartz is one of those candidates whose optimism and pluck you have to admire, whether you favor her Democratic candidacy in the 75th Assembly District or not.

Here are some statistics.  In the 2010 U.S. Census, the town of Fallbrook where Schwartz lives and presumably is best known had a population of 30,534.  The city of Escondido, where the Republican incumbent, Marie Waldron, previously served as a city councilwoman had 143,911 residents.

Here is another statistic that might have daunted others considering running as a Democrat in the 75th Assembly District, which covers much of northern San Diego County and a southern portion of Riverside County. The latest registration figures show Republicans outnumber Democrats by 97,861 to 77,390.  Furthermore, Waldron, who now is the Assembly Minority Leader – that is, the top-ranking  Republican in the state Assembly – won her last three elections overwhelmingly.  She gathered 56.4 percent of the vote in 2018 against Democrat Alan Geraci; 62 percent in 2016 against Democrat Andrew Masiel Sr., and was able to get 99 percent of the vote in 2014, when she was opposed only by two write-in candidates.  She has had little difficulty fundraising.

Ordinarily, this would be considered as safe a Republican seat as safe seats get.  Yet with U.S. President Donald Trump possibly being impeached, and Democrats winning elections across the nation that no one expected them to win, Schwartz’s backers have reason to hope that she can defy the odds.

Although Waldron has been winning election after election, the Democrats might point out that her winning percentage has been steadily declining.  And furthermore, Republicans and Democrats are not the only voters who will troop to the polls.  There are currently 71,164 voters who list no party preference,  as well as another 16,713 voters registered in minor parties.  There are any number of possible scenarios that Schwartz’s backers might conjure in which she could win.  Disillusioned Republicans might stay home while energized Democrats might vote in higher percentages than ever before.  Non-partisan and third-party voters might swell Democratic ranks.

Or, just the reverse could occur.  The Republicans might be energized and the Democrats disillusioned depending on the outcome of the impeachment process and which candidate emerges from the early Democratic presidential primary contests.

If Schwartz does not win her election, there still is the kovod she would receive as her party’s nominee. As the Democratic party nominee for the 75th Assembly District, she would automatically become a member of the Democratic State Central Committee and would have the right to appoint five additional members.

So who is Kate Schwartz, and what does she stand for?  In a phone interview, she told me that she grew up in the Sacramento area, the daughter of a Jewish father and a Catholic mother.  After graduating with a BA from Cal State Sacramento, an MS from Columbia University in New York City, she decided to convert to Judaism.  After two years of postgraduate training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, she moved to San Diego when her child was ready to go to kindergarten.

Schwartz is the candidate’s maiden name.  After marrying Donald Frates, she took the hyphenated last name of Schwartz-Frates, but has been using Schwartz throughout this campaign.  Her late husband, a language arts teacher, died in 2005.

Schwartz’s graduate degree was in psychiatric social work, which is now called clinical social work.  For 34 years she has toiled in the mental health field, and in addition to her work at a clinic and in private practice, she serves as one of five members of the elected Fallbrook Regional Health District Board.  In the last election, she was both the only Democrat elected and the largest vote-getter.

Not surprisingly, Schwartz says that if she is elected to the state Assembly, she would like to serve on its health committee.  In addition, with Assembly members typically serving on three committees, she also would like to serve on the education committee, and the housing and community development committee.

She announced her legislative goals on her website: “Together, let’s work on creating a California healthcare system that is accessible and affordable for us all.  It’s time to create affordable housing for North County San Diego.  It is time to address the infrastructure improvements needed in our transportation systems, improving public transit and creating a mass transit system for our future.  it is time to support our Veterans and prioritize homelessness, and it is time to preserve our green spaces and combat climate change.  It is time to fully support our public education system, pre-K through Community College and take care of our children.”

That message has resonated with the California Democratic party, which endorsed her at its recent convention, and with the Run Women Run organization, which among other issues considers abortion rights a priority.
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Tips for addicts during the holidays
Behavioral health consultant Scott Silverman recently was interviewed on KUSI News about how recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, as well as their families, can navigate the “cocktails, parties and good times” of the upcoming holiday season.  He offered five suggestions: 1) Keep stress under control.  Meditate.  Go for a walk.  Breathe.  2) Lean on your support system: family, friends, recovery engagement.  3) Spend time with family and friends. Put your phones down.  Talk to each other. Listen to each other.  4) Don’t be afraid to ask for help and/or support. If feeling overwhelmed, talk about it.  5) When listening, try such feedback phrases as “I hear you” and “Tell me more.”  Don’t be judgmental.
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Jewish professionals
Coastal Roots Farm at Leichtag Commons in Encinitas has announced some new additions to their staff.  Eli Steinberg and Josh Raser “are our newest community farmers” and Denise Naylor is the finance and administration manager.  “You will find Eli and Josh in the vegetable fields, Food Forest, and compost operation, and Denise in the office up a the Hive.”

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Sports
Bob Breitbard was a great lover of San Diego sports, who once presided over the now defunct Hall of Champions in Balboa Park.  An important exhibit at the museum was the Breitbard Hall of Fame, which honored not only athletes who played for San Diego teams, but also San Diegans who made their marks elsewhere, as for example Ted Williams who played for the Boston Red Sox.  Even after Breitbard’s death, the San Diego Sports Association continued the tradition of honoring outstanding athletes and contributors to sports.  This year, the late Padres broadcaster Jerry Coleman was selected along with All Pro running back Reggie Bush and surfer Rob Machado.  They will be honored at a ceremony Feb. 12, and their plaques will be on display thereafter in the Western Metal Supply Co. Building at Petco Park.
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Political bytes
* Former San Diego Port Commissioner Laurie Black has been hosting a round of political get-togethers. She had U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Cory Booker in last Sunday and City Council candidate Marni von WIlpert last night for Taco Night. And she will be hosting Gov. John Hickenlooper Dec. 11th “for a luncheon to flip Colorado Blue.”

* Attorney Joe Leventhal has been endorsed in the 5th City Council District by former City Councilman Carl DeMaio, who formerly held that seat and now is running for Congress against incumbent Duncan Hunter.

*U.S. Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego) voted in the majority in the House Energy and Commerce Committee for legislation to create at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, a permanent site for the storage of nuclear waste, including that now at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.  Whereas the San Onofre site is on a military base, fewer than 100 feet from the ocean and nine miles from an earthquake fault, Yucca Mountain is preferable “based on seismology, geological acceptability, and a suitable buffer from groundwater,” Peters said.

*Rabbi Laurie Coskey, who now serves as executive director of the San Diego Continuing Education Foundation, will join MaryAnne Pintar, chief of staff to Congressman Scott Peters, at a party to be financed from Peters’ personal funds Nov. 22 at the Educational Cultural Complex at 4343 Ocean View Boulevard.  About 50 students of the San Diego Gateway to College and Career will enjoy a Thanksgiving meal at 12:30 p.m.

*Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Halpern, in a brief, said Devin Burstein, an attorney for Congressman Duncan Hunter, did not accurately represent the Grand Jury proceedings in his brief concerning whether Hunter should be represented by former District Attorney Paul Pfingst in his trial on charges of misappropriation of campaign funds. One of Pfingst’s law partners in the large firm of Higgs, Fletcher & Mack represented three witnesses whom Burstein said tended to buttress Hunter’s case, rather than conflict with it.  However, Halpern said Burstein “ignores the entirety of the testimony that proves inconvenient and does not try to address the numerous examples of adverse testimony set forth in the government’s motion.”  The matter goes to U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Whelan on Monday, reports Ken Stone of the Times of San Diego in his continuing coverage of the case.

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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com