Family feud for the 30th district

Published online on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

If the Florez and Parra families didn't hate each other so much, next year's legislative elections in the San Joaquin Valley would be boring. But now the chief instigators in the feud, state Sen. Dean Florez and former Assembly Member Nicole Parra, are dragging their parents into the ruckus.

Florez's mother will be challenged by Parra's father for the Democratic nomination in 30th Assembly District, which was Parra's old seat. The dream matchup between Dean Florez and Nicole Parra never materialized in an actual election so they are throwing their mommy and daddy into the political fire.

The mature thing would be to tell the Florez and Parra families to grow up, and settle their dispute so we all don't have to watch the train wreck. I've been in that camp until recently. But that's not going to happen so we might as well accept the Jerry Springer Show quality of the Florez/Parra relationship.

The 30th Assembly District race for the Democratic nomination will be the excuse for one more grudge match between these longtime Kern County political families.

Their feud has turned into one big predictable cliche. Formerly political allies, they are now enemies, with each clawing to get the upper hand. They just couldn't help getting their parents involved. Now we're in the senior division of this cage fight.

At some point I can picture Fran Florez and Pete Parra going across the table after each other in the middle of a candidates forum in Hanford. The body guards will jump in to hold them back while they "struggle" to get at their opponents. "You want a piece of me?" they'll yell at each other. Their children will be very proud.

And of course, the crowd will cheer. This faux-fight will make the front pages of California's newspapers. The good-government folks will sigh over another sign of the lack of civility in politics. The rest of us will anxiously await the next encounter, hoping for more fireworks.

Pete Parra and Fran Florez are already saying they will run on the issues and their campaigns aren't about a family feud. That's what politicians always say. The truth is this soap opera will never end until the last one of them gets termed out.

Overshadowed in all this bluster is the incumbent, Republican Danny Gilmore. After defeating Fran Florez in 2008 to win the 30th District seat, Gilmore has had enough of the dysfunction in the Legislature, and it appears he'll not even run for re-election. That makes him the smartest guy in Sacramento. But even Gilmore plays a bit part in the Florez/Parra feud.

To understand the depth of the feud, let's rewind to the days when Pete Parra was on the Kern County Board of Supervisors. Just to show Nicole Parra that he was in charge of Democratic politics in Kern County, Dean Florez ran a legislative staffer against Pete Parra and knocked him out of his supervisorial seat.

Now Dean Florez was taking food off the Parra table, and that racheted up the beef. Nicole Parra had to leave her Assembly post because of term limits and Fran Florez was expected to win the seat. But Nicole Parra sided with Gilmore and helped the Republican win.

The Florez/Parra political machine could have had it all by being allies. Instead Pete Parra lost his seat and Fran Florez didn't get to go to the Assembly. They were collateral damage.

Now Fran Florez is back running for the Gilmore seat and surprise, she has an opponent in the Democratic primary, and his name is Pete Parra.

I think this would make a great TV reality show. They could call it "Family Feud." Wait a minute. Isn't that title already taken? Then let's call it "Stupid Politician Tricks."