Debra Bowen for California Secretary of State - Bowen beats McPherson in secretary of state race

Bowen beats McPherson in secretary of state race

San Francisco Chronicle
Nov 09, 2006
By Jim Doyle Debra Bowen, a Democratic state senator from Southern California, won her battle with appointed GOP incumbent Bruce McPherson in a hard-fought race for California secretary of state. With all precincts reporting, Bowen had 48.5 percent of the vote, with 44.7 percent going to McPherson. Bowen, 51, of Marina del Rey (Los Angeles County), ran a campaign that stressed the need for election reform, including close scrutiny of the reliability of electronic voting machines. McPherson, 62, a Republican from Santa Cruz, charged that Bowen had been snookered by conspiracy theories about the untrustworthiness of electronic voting. McPherson argued that he had restored integrity to an office in turmoil. Democrat Kevin Shelley resigned from the office last year after being accused of using it for partisan political purposes. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed McPherson, who had served 11 years in the state Legislature, to replace Shelley in March 2005. "It's been an issue-driven campaign about people's concerns about voting systems we use," Bowen said before the election. McPherson had previously served three years as a state assemblyman and eight years as a state senator, representing Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. Bowen, a state senator finishing her second term, represents the 28th Senate District in Southern California. She previously served for six years in the 53rd Assembly District seat. A campaign debate in front of The Chronicle editorial board identified electronic voting as a key issue between the two. Bowen favors more stringent testing of electronic voting machines and public disclosure of test results. She also wants to improve ballot security and auditing to make certain elections are fair and accurate. McPherson insists that he has established the nation's toughest standards for electronic voting. "I'm hearing from voters that they really like the new systems," he said, "and a key component of this is that those voters who are blind or disabled are able to vote independently for this first time." McPherson stressed that he has overseen two virtually flawless state elections, and has successfully implemented a federally mandated voter-registration database that consolidated the voter rolls from the state's 58 counties. Bowen accused McPherson's office of failing to place 26,000 people on the voter rolls in Los Angeles County in the June primary because of a computer glitch, resulting in their not receiving sample ballots or instructions on where to vote -- and fewer ballots cast. "Nobody has been disenfranchised or kept from voting who wanted to vote in an election," McPherson said, stressing that there was no evidence that any of the voting machines certified by him had been manipulated. McPherson characterized his opponent's style as too aggressive, saying his temperament was better suited for maintaining cordial relations with county voter registrars. Bowen stressed her record as a tenacious advocate for consumer protection, privacy rights, open government and environmental conservation. McPherson said that, if elected, he wanted to require 24-hour reporting of all political contributions and to make the secretary of state a nonpartisan office. McPherson outspent Bowen by about 2-1. Bowen raised more than $1 million in contributions, spending much of the money on radio ads and glossy mailers. McPherson raised more than $2 million, most of which was spent on television ads and mailers. Link to article

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