Local Democratic Club Controversially Backs Osborn for State Assembly

Political veteran on Sunday of the Malibu Democratic Club in the campaign for the , which includes Beverly Hills.

Opponent , who currently represents another district in the Assembly, said Osborn gained the backing unfairly because her campaign recruited people to join the club so they could vote for her.

Club members made the selection at Malibu City Hall following a one-hour forum, which was the first of the campaign featuring the three Democratic candidates. Republican hopeful Brad Torgan was not invited to the event.

Osborn received 42 votes. Thirteen favored making no endorsement, five selected Butler and nobody backed Santa Monica Mayor/California Coastal Commissioner .

"I'm over the moon," Osborn said in an interview with Patch after receiving the endorsement. "It's my first one [from a local Democratic club]. I was decisive and it feels like a dry run for the whole campaign."

She said she was not involved in recruiting club members, but admitted her campaign "organized some people to either re-up [their memberships] or join."

"It's a pretty common practice to use the candidates forums to do recruitment drives," Osborn said.

Butler said she heard Osborn got 42 people to join the club prior to the deadline to be an eligible voter—which was 30 days before the event—and that one person paid for the memberships with a single check. 

Club President Jean Goodman wrote in an email to Patch, "We received a $1,000 contribution for payment of dues for a group of Torie Osborn supporters [with each membership costing $25] ...  as to the name of the contributor, we will disclose that in our next report to the Secretary of State."

Malibu City Councilwoman Pamela Conley Ulich said the club voting rules prevented several Malibu residents from being able to participate. She said they were not aware they had to pay the membership fee 30 days prior to the session. When Conley Ulich asked people to raise their hands if they were Malibu residents, only about half the attendees did it.

Bloom said he was not bothered about receiving zero votes.

"This was an accurate reflection of who was in the room," Bloom said when asked about the meaning of the results.

Bloom noted a study done by the polling and research firm Lauer Johnson Research, which was hired by his campaign, that determined he had the most support and name recognition in the district.

He said he was also not concerned that Osborn and Butler have received most of the prominent endorsements.

"I think they've spent more time in the endorsement process," Bloom said. "I'm really happy with the endorsements I have. But I'm very focused with running for office and doing my job as the mayor of Santa Monica. So I'm focusing in on the core responsibility of campaigning, and that's reaching out to voters and the people who are ultimately going to be casting those ballots."

The three candidates are liberal Democrats, so there was little disagreement on major issues that were discussed during the forum. They all said education spending should be a priority. Osborn and Butler said they oppose the death penalty. Bloom said he only supports it in "exceptional cases," including "mass murder where there is an admission and the evidence is crystal clear."

The next forum, hosted by the Pacific Palisades Democratic Club, will take place Jan. 15 from 2-4 p.m. at the Palisades Woman's Club. The Santa Monica Democratic Club will host a forum Jan. 17 from 6:30-9 p.m. at Santa Monica's main library.

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