Screw loyalty

Democratic Assembly candidate Stuart Waldman did everything right. A veteran who came home and went to law school. He worked for two Assemblymembers and, instead of running for Assembly 6 years ago when a seat became open - stood aside when the party leadership anointed another and told him "next time, you're the guy". He became chief of staff to the eventual winner, Lloyd Levine, who endorsed Stuart as LL began his own campaign for State Senate. But the fabled machine of powerful Congressmen Henry Waxman and Howard Berman decided that Howard's COS, Bob Blumenfield, should get the nod.

The Waxman-Berman machine (as it is known) went to Levine and promised their support if he would fire Waldman, renounce his previous endorsement of his own COS and endorse Blumenfield. Spineless to the core, that's exactly what Levine did. Waldman continues in the race and his fundraising and endorsements have out-paced Blumenfield's, but the June primary is still 10 weeks away so it's anyone's ballgame. The Democratic nomination is the whole enchilada in this race and if Waldman wins, look for him to take no prisoners, possibly even supporting a Latino candidate (State Senator Alex Padilla) in a primary challenge to Berman.