Senator Diane Feinstein is running for re-election this year in California. Feinstein has been a U.S. Senator since 1992. She was also the first and, to date, the only woman Mayor in San Francisco. In the polls she is drastically ahead of her competition Richard Mountjoy in the Democratic leaning state.
Feinstein has had a major impact in politics and has a very impressive resume to prove it. She was elected by former California Governor Pat Brown to serve as a member of the California Women Parole Board. In 1969 she won a position on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She remained on that board for 9 nine years becoming its first female president. In 1984 she proposed banning handguns in San Francisco and became subject to a recall attempt organized by the White Panther Party. In 1985 she talked publicly about the hunt for the “Night Stalker” however in doing so angered detectives by giving away too much information therefore impeding their investigation. In 1987 City and State Magazine named her the nation’s “Most Effective Mayor”. She is also credited in the Grammy award winning documentary, “The Times of Harvey Milk”.
Bet on the Senate Race at Bodog
Dianne Feinstein (DEM): 1/14
Richard Mountjoy (REP): 15/2
Field (Any Other Candidate): 25/1
Feinstein also made an unsuccessful bid for Governor of California in 1990, losing to Republican Senator Pete Wilson who vacated his seat in the Senate to assume the governorship. In 1992 she was fined $190,000 for failure to properly report campaign contributions and expenditures associated with that campaign. She won a special election to fill the Senate seat that Wilson occupied and has been in that position ever since.
Richard Mountjoy has never held a statewide elected position but has been a state Senator for many years. He will need to gain many voters’ trust in order to surpass Feinstein in the polls otherwise he does not have a chance with her impressive background. Mountjoy served as the Mayor of Monrovia, CA from 1968-1976. He served in the California State Assembly from 1978-1995 and while there he introduced California Proposition 187, which denied government services to illegal immigrants. He also served in the California State Senate from 1995-2000. His political platform fits with that of a conservative wing of the Republican Party: he is pro-life, opposes same sex marriages, and supports both the war in Iraq and possible military intervention in Iran.
Mountjoy is only expected to get a third of the votes against Feinstein. Many are upset with him because he has never voted for a state budget, he has claimed that he would jail doctors who perform abortions, and he states that he would eliminate laws regulating military style “assault weapons”. He supports allowing anyone not convicted of a felony to carry a loaded, unconcealed weapon-something eliminated let’s say back in the 19th century. Many believe that Mountjoy has a 19th century philosophy in the 21st century and feel that he does not belong in office for that reason. So far the polls are portraying realistic results.
