Primary grumblings

People treat elections like team sports. I’ve seen that a bit over the past couple of weeks, especially since this newspaper made its endorsements. Mostly, I’ve heard grumblings behind the scenes—particularly on social media, where people tend to lose their filter.

One person called the CN&R an “establishment paper,” which really gave me a chuckle. Another sent a letter to the editor that begins with—I kid you not—“Shame on you.” Evidently, because Chico nativism didn’t factor into our decision—that is, we didn’t endorse the hometown congressional candidate—we are The Man.

In reality, we picked the person we believe to be the best person for the job—taking into account education, background, positions on the issues and viability in the general election. Over many months, we wrote several stories about the upcoming election, attended candidate forums and did our research. Voters didn’t agree with us—and that’s called democracy.

Fortunately for the local favorite, Audrey Denney, who ended up as one of the top two vote-getters, we won’t hold her responsible for the delusional narrative of her fervid supporters. We can all agree on at least one thing: Rep. Doug LaMalfa is in Washington to enrich himself and his kind, not to serve the interests of his lowly constituents.

Denney will have to step things up to dethrone LaMalfa in what is largely considered one of the safest seats in California. Still, GOP support is eroding at quite a clip in the Golden State—in fact, according to just-released statistics, there are now more voters identified as “no party preference” (NPP) than registered Republicans.

However, in District 1, at least for now, LaMalfa enjoys an advantage—there are about 44,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats. One indication that he’s not sweating things is the fact that he didn’t file a paid candidate statement—at least not with the Butte County Elections Office.

The big question: How will the 79,000 NPPs in this district vote in November?

Speaking of endorsements, it’s only in hindsight we realized all of them were for women. Granted, we didn’t make picks for everything on the ballot. Had we done so, there likely would have been men on our list, too.

Thing is, there’s a lot of catching up to do, especially at the federal level. As of the last election cycle, women accounted for 21 percent and 19 percent of the Senate and House, respectively, according to the Pew Research Center. Here in District 1, it was heartening to see three women among the cast of seven candidates.

In nonpolitical news I’m now counting down the days till fall. You sun worshipers may be happy that summer arrived early, but I’m in a funk.

Indeed, I recently returned from an amazing coastal getaway. For a few days thereafter, I fantasized about picking up and moving there. I doubled down on that idea when my air-conditioner went on the fritz last weekend—the first triple-digit days of the year. It’s fixed now, so don’t get too excited. I’m here to stay.