After only endorsing Republicans for years, the Los Angeles Times stopped giving endorsements from 1973 until 2008, when they decided to back the “Hope and Change” candidate in Senator Barack Obama. Since then, as part of the “homegrown team,” the publication has pretty much backed the Democrat Party candidate, no matter who was running.

I wouldn’t call this “hell freezing over,” but it did get a significant chill.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Voters will pick a new controller this year because Betty Yee, the current controller, is termed out after eight years on the job. Californians have several smart candidates to choose from on the June 7 ballot, including Democrats Ron Galperin, controller for the city of Los Angeles; Malia Cohen, a Board of Equalization member from San Francisco; Steve Glazer, a state senator from the Bay Area city of Orinda; and Republican Lanhee Chen, a public policy expert who teaches at Stanford University.

Among this strong field, we believe Chen is the best choice for this position. Why? Because he is a sharp thinker with experience analyzing large financial systems, and because the controller should be as independent from the party in power as possible.

Ahh, they just said the quiet part out loud. The L.A. Times is automatically assuming that Gavin Newsom will maintain the governorship for another four years and that the Democrat Supermajority in the Legislature will continue apace. So, throwing a sop to the Republican candidate is an act of kindness. Like giving ice cream to the disabled kid next door.

The fish wrap of record really doesn’t believe a word of what they wrote to endorse Lanhee Chen for California Comptroller. They are simply trying to split the baby, because they know anyone else with a D behind their name will just be more of the same.

Typical.

Democrats control state government and we support their priorities to combat climate change, preserve abortion rights and advance economic and racial justice. But California’s governance is falling short of its ideals. And that’s despite several years of strong revenue that have pumped billions more into education, healthcare and alleviating homelessness. Yet too few students can read at grade level, too many Medi-Cal patients can’t see a doctor and too many people sleep on the streets.

All of these concerns they outline are directly linked to this Democrat control of California governance. Tone deaf, much, L.A. Times?

It wouldn’t be the L.A. Times if they couldn’t take a dig at Donald J. Trump in particular, and the Republican Party in general. But they justify their endorsement of Chen as a way to promote “the good Republicans” and help restore sanity to the party.

Thanks?

However, it’s time for a fresh lens. Chen’s impressive resume includes degrees from Harvard in law and political science, as well as work in government, politics, academia and business. Chen was nominated to the Social Security Advisory Board by President Obama, and served on it for four years. He was policy director for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. He now leads the board of directors of a nonprofit healthcare system in the Bay Area, teaches public policy at Stanford, advises businesses and government clients as a consultant, and invests in early-stage companies.

Many Californians will balk at the idea of voting for a Republican. That’s understandable because the conspiracy-fueled wing of the GOP has grown too powerful under the influence of former President Trump and his litany of lies. But one way to restore some sanity to the GOP is to elevate Republicans, like Chen, who operate in the world of facts.

Chen’s credentials are quite impressive, and he doesn’t display the price tag on his forehead and beholden to the party chains like his opponents, Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin or San Francisco Board of Equalization’s Malia Cohen do.

Chen’s campaign website has some good things to say about honoring the taxpayer over the party, and with California businesses dying faster than drive-by shooting victims, his focus on working with entrepreneurs and helping businesses start up, is a ray of hope.

Chen’s campaign video is also quite impressive.

From Chen’s website:

“For too long, the Controller has been a Sacramento insider, valuing partisanship over competence. The Controller has been beholden to other politicians, defending THEM, instead of fighting for and protecting YOU.

“That won’t be me. I’m not part of the one-party monopoly that has controlled Sacramento for too long. We aren’t going to change California by recycling the same old tired politicians from one job to another.”

If Chen remains consistent in his messaging and Newsom keeps encouraging California’s downhill slide into fiscal malfeasance, Chen just might have a fighting chance at winning this race. Despite its double-minded disingenuousness, the L.A. Times endorsement could go far in putting him over the top.