Written and Submitted by: Mary Anne
On January 24, 2019, CA State Assemblyman Brian Maienschein announced he was changing parties from Republican to Democrat.
This caught most people by surprise. Throughout a long campaign, Sen. Maienschein assured his
volunteers and his voters that he would remain a strong Republican voice in Sacramento. That promise
lasted for a mere 49 days after the certification of his razor-thin victory over his Democratic opponent
on Dec. 6, 2018. This was rightly seen as a betrayal of no small order. Hundreds of Republican
volunteers spent thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars to help him win his race
before he simply turned his back on them.
Why? On Feb. 6, the San Diego Union Tribune published Maienschein’s explanation for the switch.
After the obligatory blaming of President Trump, he stated: “As the Republican Party has drifted further
right, I — and my votes — have shifted.” This was disingenuous at best. The CA Republican Party
platform had not changed in some time, and it was relaxing many of its stands on social issues. The rest
of his article sounded like a Democrat hit piece – this just days after he’d run as a Republican. Why?
Maienschein first won recognition for organizing recovery centers for the 2004 Cedar and 2077 Witch
Creek Fires. He then ran as a local hero in a heavily Republican district first for San Diego City Council
and then the CA Assembly. Nevertheless, within the Assembly he was known as something of a
lightweight. According to a Voice of San Diego article by Jesse Marx (“Democrats Are Quietly Gunning
for Brian Maienschein”, dtd 8/21/2018), he “carved out a niche in Sacramento for pushing bills that
focus on pets and animal shelters as well as regulatory tweaks to trusts and estates.” He was also
known for jumping sides on tough votes – so much so that Toni Atkins refused to endorse his last
Democrat opponent. He was not and never had been a sure vote for the Republican Party in
Sacramento.
Still, throughout 2018, he promised his Republican voters that he was a Republican and would stand for
their Republican values. After all, he had, for the most part, done so for several years…
…However, there was another consideration. As in much of CA the demographics were changing in his
district. His once solid-Republican constituency was veering left. In each successive race he won by
fewer votes, and that last one was a real squeaker – 607 vote difference out of 199,153 votes cast.
(SDVote.com). In earlier races his Democrat friends had pretty much let him ride as he could sometimes
be convinced to vote with them, but in the 2018 contest they actively worked against him (excepting
Toni Atkins, of course). We’ll never know how long they’d been working on him to change parties, and
how they used their opposition in the 2018 race to punish his earlier complacency. However they
managed it, they turned him.
Turned him hard left – the following liberal organizations now rate him as follows:
California Labor Federation – 100% California Teachers Association – 89%
California Environmental Voters – 86% Planned Parenthood – 100%
Consider these ratings. Voters must beware. This man has chosen to link himself to the CA Democratic
Party and the Unions and the policies that have virtually destroyed our once beautiful state. He is not
the moderate he pretends to be, and we know the value of his promises.
CA deserves better than that. Kick him out. Vote for Kristi Bruce-Lane for the 76 th Assembly District.
Sources:
Brian Maienschein | California Legislator Tracker (calmatters.org)
2020_legislative_scorecard_-_final.pdf (plannedparenthoodaction.org)
Brian Maienschein quits Republican Party, joins Democrats in surprise move – The San Diego
Union-Tribune (sandiegouniontribune.com)
Commentary: Maienschein: Why I switched from GOP to Democratic Party – The San Diego
Union-Tribune (sandiegouniontribune.com)
Democrats Are Quietly Gunning for Brian Maienschein | Voice of San Diego
