For a guy whom I assume is not Jewish, Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado sure seems to have a lot of chutzpah. On Monday, he showed up at a campaign rally for his opponent, Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco.
Kind of like Mike Stoker, Maldonado's always been a guy I liked personally although I seldom agree with him politically.15 years ago, when I was a Superior Court Commissioner in Santa Maria, Maldonado was the mayor there. If you think he looks youthful now, back then he didn't look old enough to make it past the attendant to get on the Autopia ride at Disneyland. But I remember how highly everyone thought of him.
I tried hard to get his endorsement when I ran for Superior Court Judge in 1996. But with Santa Maria's Barbara Beck in the race, it wasn't happening.
So was that a smart political move on Maldonado's part to show up at at Newsom's event? You'll never get me to second guess the guy. After all, 15 years after he was the mayor and I was the commissioner, he's now the Lieutenant Governor and I'm writing a blog.
© 2010 by Craig Smith and www.craigsmithsblog.com
