As the campaign to replace Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald moves full steam ahead, political operatives, union leaders and interested candidates are gearing up for the possibility of a special election in the 55th State Assembly District.
 
Due to the overwhelming Democratic registration in the 37th Congressional District, most political pundits expect a win by Richardson…which would open up her Assembly seat.  The Assembly seat covers portions of Long Beach, Lakewood, Carson and Wilmington.
 
Possible candidates include- Carson Mayor Jim Dear, Carson Councilmember Mike Gipson and Warren Furutani, who ran against Richardson in the last election and lost.
 
Most expect Water Replenishment District Director Lilian Kawasaki to pass if Furutani is in, and so far no other Long Beach Councilmember has expressed an interest.
 
This leaves Al Austin as the only possible candidate from Long Beach.
 
In my opinion, Austin would be a formidable candidate.  Despite a close loss in his 6th District Council campaign, he still has deep roots with labor and has strong support from party leaders and local elected officials.
 
Of course there is also the possibility that Austin will run for the 6th District seat again in the next election cycle.
 
This of course is all speculation….Richardson would still need to be elected to Congress in November for the 55th seat to open up.
 
So did I miss any possible candidates?