That Melvoin Guy -- No, the Other One

 This will be of absolutely no interest to anyone who doesn't live in the West Los Angeles area of Southern California.  No matter, it's of great interest to me, and happily I have access to the keyboard.

As  you might know, there is a primary election in California tomorrow.  And this is about that.  But not about the contest that's gotten so much national attention for months.  It's not even about any of the important statewide elections, including the important U.S. Senate primary. For that matter, this isn't even about the small local races that no one pays attention to, because they don't know anything about them, like judges.  No, this is about a race that makes even those seem newsworthy by comparison.  It's about the race for the Democratic Party's Central Committee in Assembly District 50.

Say what??, I hear you cry.

Well, yes, I'm interested in this race, and if you live in the area, you should be, too.  That's because the son of a good friend of mine -- the oft-mentioned here, Jeff Melvoin -- is running for the position.  His name is Nick Melvoin, and he's one heck of a great person and candidate.

Nick Melvoin will also be running for the L.A. School Board in November, and I'll be writing him more then.  But for now, we're just focusing on the Central Committee ballot.  And I can't say enough good things about Nick.

Just a few things to note, since most people's eyes understandably glaze over for races like this one.  But Nick is a graduate of Harvard, and got his MBA in Urban Education from Loyola Marymount -- and he put his money where his mouth is when he went to teach seventh and eighth grade at an inner-city school in Watts as an English teacher...also coaching the soccer and baseball teams, while helping start the school newspaper.

Sorry, but that's not all.  Nick also has a law degree from NYU -- and worked in the Obama White House with the Domestic Policy Council...as well as the US Attorney’s office as a legal clerk, getting involved in civil rights investigations.

So, while I can be accused of bias for supporting the son of a friend, I think it';s fair to say that my bias is highly justified.  Central Committee races like this don't tend to get candidates of this quality.

And it's only a precursor for the School Board race in November.

Oddly, I think this will be a tougher race, because there's some cachet in being a Committeeman, rather than the more thankless job on the School Board.  As a result, there are some semi-familiar names in L.A. politics running tomorrow.  But Nick Melvoin is the best.  And whatever happens tomorrow, he's got a great future -- in politics starting November, or whatever he does,.

But if you do live in that area, check your ballot for "Assembly District 50" and the race for the Los Angeles County Central Committee for the Democratic Party.  The line that says "Nick Melvoin" on it is Line 33.
 
I was going to say you should do Nick a favor and consider him.  But I'll say instead that you should do yourself a favor, as well.  Besides, people usually say their vote doesn't matter.  In a race this small, your vote finally matters.

So, write yourself a note now while it';s on your mind, and clip it to your Voters Pamphlet.  And don't worry, I'll bring the good fellow up again in November...