THE BUZZ: PROXY BATTLE — Suburbs around Los Angeles have become ground zero in a fight over the direction of the California Democratic Party, as progressives try to curb the power of more business-friendly moderates who’ve long held sway there. Perhaps no other primary battleground this cycle epitomizes that struggle more than the surprisingly intense fight for retiring Democratic Rep. Grace Napolitano’s seat in the sleepy San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles. As Napolitano prepares to retire after 26 years on Capitol Hill, Dems are vying for the safe blue seat that they, too, might hold for a generation. The congressmember has endorsed a longtime politician who shares her even-keeled demeanor and centrist instincts: state Sen. Bob Archuleta. But the race has been dominated by a power struggle between two other Democratic candidates who represent vastly different positions within the party on progressive priorities such as climate policies and union-friendly protections. State Sen. Susan Rubio, a moderate Sacramento powerbroker whose campaign is heavily supported by corporate interests, has the backing of much of the business community. She’s duking it out with former Rep. Gil Cisneros, a Mega Millions lottery jackpot winner who formerly represented a mostly Orange County district in Congress. He's portraying himself as the most progressive and labor-friendly candidate in the race. “I have a record of standing for unions, for workers, for the environment,” Cisneros said during an interview at his campaign office in a nondescript strip mall in Covina. “I haven’t forgotten where I come from.” The race could be a crucial test of how liberal forces can make inroads in the vast LA suburbs like the San Gabriel Valley, which have seen an influx of people of color and working-class voters — many of whom left expensive urban centers in search of more affordable housing. Liberal activists think that could provide them with an opening to oust Rubio. They argue her more corporate-friendly stances on issues like oil drilling and labor protections are out of step with a district that’s increasingly left-leaning — a theory they’re hoping this election will confirm. Progressives have targeted Rubio and her sister Blanca, who’s running for reelection in the state Assembly (she faces a more progressive opponent in Brian Calderón Tabatabai, the mayor of West Covina). For months, they’ve hammered them for accepting hundreds of thousands in campaign expenditures from the oil, insurance and pharmaceutical industries. Labor icons like Dolores Huerta and Hilda Solis have hit the campaign trail in support of their Democratic challengers — and taken swipes at the Rubios in the process. “They forget the values of why we get in public service,” Solis, a former U.S. labor secretary and LA county supervisor, said at a fundraiser last fall. One of Cisneros’ TV ads has actors playing fat-cat lobbyists talking about how they’ve bought off Susan Rubio, calling her a “lobbyist’s best friend” as they clink champagne glasses and smoke cigars in a literal backroom. Rubio dismissed the attacks in an interview, saying that as a state lawmaker she has brought home funding for projects in the district like new parks and affordable housing. She said voters in the district aren’t fixated on ideological labels, adding, “I have always advocated for progressive values.” Meanwhile, she has pointed to her opponent’s money to paint herself as the underdog. One Facebook ad from Rubio's campaign features a cartoon of Cisneros holding a lotto ticket and sitting on bags of cash. The ad states, “Tell greedy Gil Cisneros that the San Gabriel Valley is NOT for sale.”
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