Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/324279
ByJudyLin The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Withnodi- visive initiatives on the bal- lot Tuesday, the first state- wide election under Califor- nia's top-two system was not drawing much interest from voters despite some fiercely contested seats for Con- gress, the state Legislature and statewide offices. Two Republicans are vy- ing for the chance to chal- lenge Gov. Jerry Brown in November, with all statewide offices up for grabs, includ- ing intra-party fights in the races for secretary of state and superintendent of pub- lic instruction. Brown and his wife, Anne Gust Brown, voted in a fire- houseneartheirOaklandhills home Tuesday accompanied by their dog, Sutter. Brown, 76, said he's got a special op- portunity to serve in his un- precedented bid for a fourth term as California governor. "I have learned a lot, and I hope if the people give me another four years that I can deserve their confidence and trust and lead California in so many different ways," he told reporters after casting his ballot. Voter turnout has been trending downward in Cal- ifornia primaries over the last 20 years. Turnout Tues- day is expected to be low — perhaps matching the re- cord low of 28.2 percent in 2008, when California split its statewide primary and presidential election con- tests, said Paul Mitchell, vice president of consulting firm Political Data Inc. Some would-be voters weren't even aware of what was on the ballot. "What are we voting for today?" asked Tom Fugedi, 40, an actor in Venice and a registered Democrat. In the Republican guber- natorial primary, conser- vative state lawmaker, Tim Donnelly, faces Neel Kash- kari, a socially moderate in- vestment banker. Kashkari voted in Laguna Beach with his girlfriend, Christine Ong, and his two dogs, Newsome and Win- slow. He said he would like to challenge Brown on issues facing middle-class families. Kashkari said if he wins the primary, he'll hold Brown accountable when it comes to jobs, education and other issues facing mid- dle class families. ELECTION 2014 PRIMARY Despitetoughfights,fewvoterscastballots By Juliet Williams The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Gov. Jerry Brown easily advanced to the November general elec- tion Tuesday night as two Republicans were locked in a fight for second place in a gu- bernatorial primary that has become a proxy for the direc- tion of the California GOP. In the first statewide elec- tion under California's new top-two primary system, Assemblyman Tim Don- nelly and former U.S. Trea- sury official Neel Kashkari are each seeking GOP votes, as the anticipated low turn- out is expected to skew Re- publican, older and whiter than the overall electorate. Brown finished first based on early returns Tues- day night, which showed him with 55 percent of the vote. He addressed reporters out- side the historic governor's mansion in Sacramento, saying "I take nothing for granted" in November. "At this point, 40 years from the time I won my first primary for governor of Cal- ifornia, I'm ready to tackle problems, not on a partisan basis, but on the long-term basis of building California and making sure we're ready for the future," said Brown, who is 76. Voters are choosing be- tween competing visions for the GOP: Donnelly is a so- cial conservative who sup- ports expanding gun rights, restricting immigration and has worried some of the Re- publican establishment with his heated rhetoric; Kash- kari, a son of Indian immi- grants, emphasizes a prag- matic approach and could appeal to a broader elector- ate as a social libertarian and fiscal conservative. The governor's race is the most high-profile on Tues- day's primary ballot. But others are shaping up as opportunities for the GOP to make small gains in an overwhelmingly Democratic state. Tuesday also offers the first statewide test for the prospects of a nonpartisan candidate in a state where more than one in five voters is registered as not having a party preference. Independent Dan Schnur, a University of Southern Cal- ifornia lecturer, is running in a crowded field for secretary of state, the office that over- sees voting and campaign fi- nance. Republican Pete Pe- terson and two Democrats, Sen. Alex Padilla and gov- ernment reform advocate Derek Cressman, are the other candidates trying to win one of the top two spots. Tuesday's primary also will set the stage for what is expected to be several fiercely contested congres- sional races in the fall. ELECTION 2014 GOVERNOR Br ow n ea si ly a dv an ces t o November General Election THEASSOCIATEDPRESS California Gov. Jerry Brown walks home with his wife Anne Gust a er voting Tuesday. By Paul Elias The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO A re- s p e c t e d c h e m i s t famed for dusting off a decades-old recipe for the psyche- delic drug ecstasy has died. A l e x a n - der Shulgin died Monday at his Northern California home at the age of 88. His wife, Ann, says liver cancer was the cause. She says he was diagnosed about a year ago. Ann Shulgin says her husband was surrounded by family and friends when he died at "the farm," his sprawling residence and lab in a remote part of La- fayette, about 22 miles east of San Francisco. Shulgin created more than 200 chemical com- pounds for use in psycho- therapy, and tested them on himself, his wife and a small groupoffriendsandothersat his home, recording each ex- perienceinlabnotebooks.He didn't invent MDMA, better known as ecstasy, but redis- covered the compound cre- ated in 1912 some 65 years later and introduced it as a possible mental health treat- ment. He and his wife pub- lished two seminal books on chemical compounds. His work earned him the title 'Godfather of Ecstacy.' Shulgin said he was inter- estedonlyinMDMA'spoten- tial use in therapy and was unhappy to see its abuse as a recreational drug. Shulgin was born in Berkeley and dropped out of Harvard University to serve in the U.S. Navy dur- ing World War II. He later earned a doctorate in bio- chemistry at the Univer- sity of California, Berkeley, and worked for Dow Chem- ical Co. for many years. At Dow, Shulgin created sev- eral top-selling biodegrad- able pesticides and the com- pany allowed him to open a personallaboratoryandpur- sue research of his choosing. He chose to explore psycho- active compounds. He left Dow in 1965 and began teaching at univer- sities around the San Fran- ciscoBayAreawhilecontinu- ing to research psychoactive compounds. His wife said he was introduced to MDMA in 1976 and worked out a way to easily synthesize the com- pound. Ann, a "lay" psychol- ogisthelpedexploreMDMA's use in therapy. 1925-2014 'Godfather of ecstasy' dies at 88 Shulgin By Julie Watson The Associated Press SAN DIEGO A former Blue Angels commander toler- ated inappropriate sex- ual comments and porno- graphic images in the work- place — including photos of naked women in the cock- pits of the precision flying team's planes — during his time as its leader, the Navy said Tuesday. Capt. Gregory Mc- Wherter was found guilty of violating two articles un- der the military's code of jus- tice during nonjudicial pro- ceedings convened Monday in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The articles were failure to obey an order or regulation and conduct unbecoming of an officer by fostering a hos- tile command climate and failing to stop "obvious and repeated instances of sex- ual harassment, condoning widespread lewd practices within the squadron and en- gaging in inappropriate and unprofessional discussions with his junior officers," the Navy said in a statement. He will be given a letter of reprimand that will go in McWherter's permanent file and is widely seen as a career-ender in the service. McWherter told Navy offi- cials he did not wish to speak to the media, said Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, a spokes- man at Naval Air Forces. The Navy said his com- mand had explicit pornog- raphy, including photos of naked women, in aircraft cockpits; the painting of male genitalia on the roof of the center point trailer at the Blue Angels' winter training facilities in El Centro; and "sexually charged, raunchy, and homophobic humor" on maps and itineraries. McWherter was relieved in April from his duty as ex- ecutive officer of Naval Base Coronado in California amid the allegations during his second stint as the Blue An- gels' leader from May 2011 to November 2012. The Navy said it did not find problems during his first stint as the flying team's commanding officer from 2008 to 2010. "The investigation con- cluded that McWherter wit- nessed, condoned, and en- couraged behavior that, while juvenile and sopho- moric in the beginning, ul- timately and in the aggre- gate, became destructive, toxic and hostile," the Navy said in a statement. MISCONDUCT Naked photos, lewd conduct earn Blue Angel a reprimand By Don Thompson The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Demo- crats are trying to main- tain their supermajorities in both houses of the Legis- lature but will have a par- ticularly difficult time in the Senate, where three Demo- crats were suspended this year after being charged with serious crimes. Tuesday's primary elec- tion sets the stage for No- vember general election battles in two cornerstone Senate districts that are likely to determine if Dem- ocrats regain their unilat- eral power to raise taxes, pass emergency legislation, put measures on the ballot and override gubernatorial vetoes. Democrats are backing former Assemblyman Jose Solorio in Senate District 34, while Republican lead- ers are promoting Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen. Republicans also are counting on Sen. Andy Vi- dak to repeat his victory in the Democratic-leaning Senate District 14 in the San Joaquin Valley, which includes Fresno and Ba- kersfield. The Democrats' chal- lenge in the 40-member Senate is complicated by two significant shifts as election maps were re- drawn after the 2010 cen- sus. Republicans are fa- vored to pick up a newly drawn seat in Riverside County, while Democrats will lose a corresponding district currently held by disgraced Sen. Leland Yee of San Francisco. Democrats nominally hold 28 Senate seats, but the suspensionofYee,Sen.Ron- ald Calderon of Montebello and Sen. Roderick Wright of Los Angeles County dropped them below the 27 votes they need for a work- ing supermajority. The state's new top-two primary system means the top vote-getters in each race will advance to the No- vember election, no matter if they are from the same political party. That could several more monthsintrapartyacrimony in several legislative cam- paigns, including Senate District 10 in Alameda and SantaClaracounties.There, former Democratic Assem- blywoman Mary Hayashi is hoping that voters forget that she is still on probation forshopliftingnearly$2,500 worth of clothing from Nei- man Marcus in 2011. Her Democratic oppo- nent, Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, did his best to remind voters by posting a two-minute clip of Hayas- hi's surveillance tape at MugShotMary.com. She fought back with two at- tack websites, Bob-The- Bully.com and BobProtect- edRapists.com. 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