SAN FRANCISCO_Labor leader Rusty Hicks was elected the next chairman of the California Democratic Party on Saturday, a win cemented by support from many elected officials and most major labor organizations in the state, who hope he can steer the party out of an internal crisis in time for the 2020 elections.
Hicks, president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, bested Bay Area activist Kimberly Ellis, who finished in second place, to succeed former party chairman Eric Bauman, who resigned last year following a series of sexual harassment allegations.
With 3,162 votes counted, Hicks dominated with 57% of the vote. Ellis, who lost to Bauman by just a few dozen votes in 2017, received 36% of votes and Daraka Larimore-Hall, the party's current vice chair, trailed with just 6%.
"There's a deep breath of relief from Democrats who are happy that the party is going to be in good hands and have a strong chair that can help fulfill the party duties," said Doug Herman, a Democratic consultant who was supporting Hicks. "It's a direct reflection of the fact that Rusty represented stability and the course that the party delegates were looking for and that the party needs."
But supporters of Ellis, who would have been the first woman to lead the state party in more than 30 years and the first black woman to chair the organization, say the vote represents a missed opportunity for the party to show it takes new voices and issues of representation seriously.
"Kimberly has proven that she's operational and can fundraise," said former San Francisco County Supervisor Jane Kim, who had endorsed Ellis. "I would prefer to see a woman and a person of color leading the Democratic Party and I actually can't remember the last time we've seen that in the Democratic Party leadership."
