McClintock Won’t Endorse Former Aide Walker for Assembly

Since Simi Valley school board President Norm Walker is running for the Assembly seat being vacated by his old boss, conservative firebrand Tom McClintock, you’d think there would be at least one endorsement Walker could count on.

Think again.

McClintock is refusing to endorse any of the candidates vying for the GOP primary nomination for the 38th Assembly District, which includes Simi Valley and Fillmore. Some Republicans speculate that McClintock is angry with Walker for running after promising to help McClintock in his own race, for the state Senate seat being vacated by Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley).

Not so, according to McClintock. He says he simply does not want to take sides in a contested primary, even if that means passing over his old aide.

“I have my own race to run,� McClintock said. “It’s no secret, I am very fond of Norm. I have a very high opinion of him.�

Though he says it did not influence his decision not to endorse in the race, McClintock acknowledged that he thought he and Walker had reached an understanding when Walker joined his staff that Walker would not use the job as a political springboard.

“I never gave him any advice on whether to run,� McClintock said. “What I told him was, you can’t run for the Assembly and be on my staff. He decided to join me as my chief of staff. But later, he decided to heed the call.�

Whatever the case, Walker is now lagging badly in the race for high-profile endorsements.

Keith Richman, a San Fernando Valley doctor and city redevelopment commissioner who has served as a health care advisor to Republicans in Congress, has locked up endorsements from nearly every prominent public official in the area. That includes L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan, Rep. Howard “Buck� McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), L.A. Councilman Hal Bernson, Ventura County Supervisor Judy Mikels, and the entire Simi Valley City Council.

Oh, and Richman also has the endorsement of Wright, who, incidentally, is refusing to endorse McClintock, an old party foe, for her seat.

“I would not endorse Tom McClintock if he was the last man on Earth,� Wright said.

Walker has won the endorsements of Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks and McClintock’s predecessor, former Assemblywoman Paula Boland. But he said he is not concerned about McClintock’s failure to embrace him.

“I’d love to have Tom’s endorsement, but I know that I do have his support,� Walker said. “As far as the issues are concerned, we fall right down the line.

“Endorsements matter in raising money, so they matter in getting your message out,� Walker added. “But I don’t think, in the final analysis, that voters are too concerned about that.�