Torie Osborn Gets Endorsement at Assembly Candidates Forum

won the endorsement of the Malibu Democratic Club, which hosted a Sunday for the three Democrats competing to represent the .

Redistricting has placed Beverly Hills in AD50 for the November 2012 election.

A political veteran, Torie Osborn beat out Assemblywoman  and Santa Monica Mayor  to get the club's endorsement. 

Check out what happened during the forum in the updates below, which were originally posted on out sister site .

1:55 p.m. The endorsement went to Osborn, who got 41 votes. She was followed by "No Endorsement" with 13 votes. Butler received 5 and Boom received 0. 

1:37 p.m. The concluding statements have been made. Next up is the counting of ballots for the club endorsement.

1:35 p.m. The candidates are making their concluding statements. Be sure to read the article on this forum that will appear on various Patch sites by Monday morning.

1:20 p.m. The candidates were asked what they feel about the death penalty. Osborn and Butler say they support abolition. Bloom says he supports death penalty reform, but supports its use in some cases, including when mass murder is committed.

1:15 p.m. The next question is about the . Butler says she believes in science. She says, "I want to commit a lot of time to find out which answer is the best." She says she has heard conflicting information: "I am not a scientist, but I will check with the people who do know." 

Bloom, who is the chair of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission, which is involved in the project, says he supports it. He says he understands some people disagree, but that at some point you have to move on. He notes several environmental groups who support the project and that a superior court judge rejected a lawsuit against it. Several people booed after the statement. Malibu Democratic Club President Jean Goodman says people need to be respectful.

Osborn says the science on the project is old and it is not clear what the budget for it is. She says the project is not transparent. She says she will be standing in the way if the bulldozers come to start the project in June.

1:10 p.m. The next question is to comment on the Malibu Pier. Everybody loves the pier. There are a few rolling eyes in the room about these vague questions. There are about 80 people in the room.

1:08 p.m.  Butler says more of a sheriff's presence is needed on the highway. She says, "it takes a lot of money" to slow PCH, and she is an advocate of that. Bloom says PCH has some safety issues and that the most important thing for safety is to slow the highway down: "You have to have political will to make these things happen."

1:07 p.m. The question up now is "Would you please comment on the Pacific Coast Highway?" Lots of laughter about the vague question.

1:02 p.m. Butler says education is a priority, but cuts have to be made if the budget decreases. Bloom says cuts are unacceptable, but there is not enough revenue in the state. He says money is needed to support education and to create jobs for the parents of the students who are in poverty. Osborn says "we need fiscal sanity" and people must support at least some of the tax measures that could appear on the ballot in November. She says education will be her No. 1 priority, specifically higher education.

1 p.m. Questions are about to begin. The first question is whether candidates support cuts for K-12 or higher education.

12:45 p.m. The candidates are doing their introductions.

12:35 p.m. There is already controversy before the forum has begun. Malibu City Councilwoman Pamela Conley Ulich says many Malibu residents will not be able to vote on the endorsement because they did not pay dues as club members at least 30 days before today, which is required by the bylaws. She said many of the people who will be voting today are not Malibu residents. She believes they are mostly from Santa Monica.

She asked Malibu residents to raise their hands; only about half the people in the room raised their hands.

"This will not be a Malibu endorsement, it's a Santa Monica endorsement," she told Malibu Patch during the break.

12:25 p.m. Malibu Democratic Club President Jean Goodman is going over the ground rules for the forum. It will last one hour. All questions will be presented to the three candidates, so each person will get a chance to answer. Club members will vote on an endorsement following the forum. It will begin at about 12:35 p.m.

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