While State Senate candidates Mark Leno and Carole Migden duke it out in San Francisco for the June 3rd primary, ex-Marin Assemblyman Joe Nation has the race to himself in the northern half of the district. But two progressive donors in Marin County are trying to change that, and have pooled their resources to print a piece highlighting Nation’s record – which hit 61,000 mailboxes in the North Bay this week. Jonathan Frieman of San Rafael and Douglas Kerr of Larkspur have done this 3 times before – when they felt that local candidates did not reflect Marin County’s liberal values. They have a perfect track record so far, including their successful effort in 2006 targeting Joe Nation’s record on health care. But Nation is getting help from another independent expenditure – the Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC), a pro-business PAC funded by pharmaceutical companies and oil companies.

The Frieman-Kerr mail piece – which cost $24,000 to produce – highlights Nation’s record on health care (including his opposition to single-payer and his contributions from the insurance lobby), his position on the Iraq War, his efforts to scuttle State Senator Jackie Speier’s landmark privacy bill and his contributions from real estate developers. The mailing did not, however, criticize Nation’s environmental record – such as his support in 1999 for bottling the water of Mount Tamalpais.



Unlike other independent expenditures that frequently target such races, Frieman and Kerr have been very upfront about who they are – including sending out a press release. “Joe’s an affable guy,” said Frieman, “but he’s not the right representative for North Bay voters. He would be great in a conservative district, but not Marin and Sonoma County.”

Nation has complained about this independent mailer, telling yesterday’s Marin Independent-Journal that Frieman had assured him that he would not get involved in the State Senate race. Frieman does not dispute his prior commitment to Nation, but says that he changed his mind when he noticed how much Nation was getting from real estate developers.

Frieman’s independent efforts have helped sink Joe Nation’s chances before. In June 2006, when Nation challenged Lynne Woolsey for Congress, he sent out a mailing to Marin voters calling Nation “the health insurance industry’s mouthpiece.” In 2006, he also targeted Cynthia Murray’s campaign for State Assembly – and in 2007 went after Bob Marcucci’s run for the San Rafael City Council. Each time, Frieman says that he did this because the candidates were too conservative for Marin County.

But this mailer against Joe Nation is not even the first independent expenditure to be waged in this closely fought race. The Civil Justice Association of California has confirmed that they are conducting their own effort on Nation’s behalf, and FPPC reports show that they have already spent $100,000 – more than four times what Frieman and Kerr have spent for their mailing.

According to sources, CJAC (which gets money from the insurance industry) has done a mailing praising Joe Nation’s work on health care. Unlike most Sacramento Democrats, Nation has been a vocal critic of single payer health care – and in his prior runs for Assembly collected more than $200,000 from the private health insurance industry.

On its website, CJAC calls itself a non-profit, member-supported coalition that “works to reduce excessive and unwarranted litigation that increases business expenses, discourages innovation, and drives up the cost of goods and services for all Californians.” Their crowning accomplishment is California’s Proposition 64 – which eliminated private lawsuits for unfair business practices.

Prop 64, which passed in November 2004, has been especially harmful for public interest plaintiffs who challenge corporate abuse – because it limited “unfair business practice” suits to government entities. For example, the SF City Attorney’s current lawsuit against Skyline Realty cannot be brought by a private tenant attorney – because private third parties can no longer sue for unfair business practices.

But Prop 64 has been most devastating to environmental lawsuits against polluters – where finding plaintiffs with standing to sue is the most challenging. Ironically, Nation has used his environmental credentials as the hallmark of his State Senate campaign, while he’s getting help from the group that pushed Prop 64.

Frieman and Kerr admits that thier $24,000 effort against Nation will be “kind of small potatoes” compared with other independent expenditures that will be waged in this tight Senate race. And CJAC’s $100,000 mailing proves the accuracy of their assessment. In a very low turnout election where a few votes could make a decisive impact, expect more mailings to show up between now and June 3rd.

EDITOR’S NOTE: As a private citizen, Paul Hogarth has endorsed Mark Leno for State Senate. He plays no advisory role on the Leno campaign, nor did anyone in the campaign provide this story to him as a “tip.”