Who should Californians send to the U.S. Senate, Steve Garvey or Adam Schiff? | Opinion

The race for the U.S. Senate seat once held by the late Dianne Feinstein pits Democrat Adam Schiff, a veteran lawmaker from Burbank, against Republican Steve Garvey, a former baseball great who played for the L.A. Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the 1970s and ‘80s.

In another state, this might be a tight race, but not in California, where there are nearly twice as many Democrats as Republicans.

Rep. Schiff, 64, leads in the polls and in fundraising. Absent some cataclysmic event, he will win the election.

That’s as it should be — and not just because Schiff belongs to the ruling party.

California needs a seasoned lawmaker who will fight for our state, not a 75-year-old rookie who has zero political experience.

Former athletes have made the transition to politics before — think former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger — but Steve Garvey is remarkably ill prepared to be a U.S. senator.

He does have some aspirational goals — strengthening the economy, making America safe and reforming immigration, to name a few — but he has no strategy for carrying those out. All we hear are the same tired, conservative talking points.

‘A badge of honor’

Schiff is among the most qualified Senate candidates in the nation.

A graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, he has spent his career in law and politics. He began as a prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, and was elected to the state Senate in 1996. He won a seat in the House of Representatives in 2000. Now in his 12th term, Schiff represents District 30, which includes Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank and Hollywood.

He became nationally prominent when he served as lead prosecutor in Donald Trump’s first Senate impeachment trial, when the former president was accused of allegedly soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election.

Schiff’s closing remarks were forceful, eloquent and flawlessly delivered, but his performance later led to his censure in the Republican-controlled House for “misleading the American public and for conduct unbecoming.”

Rep. Schiff called it a “badge of honor.”

In the House, Schiff has proven himself to be a smart, well-organized and reliable member who marshals all the facts before making a case.

He knows the problems facing California, and unlike his opponent, he has viable solutions.

Take health care in the Central Valley: “Rural hospitals are in free fall,” Schiff told the McClatchy California Editorial Boards. “We need to make sure we can reopen the hospital in Madera. People have already died because they can’t get to the hospitals on time. We need to change reimbursement rates so they’re not one day away from bankruptcy.”

He’s putting one of the most serious challenges of our time — climate change — front and center, describing it as an “existential threat.” Among other initiatives, he’s calling for an end to federal subsidies for fossil fuel production, setting a deadline for cutting carbon emissions in the aviation sector and investing in battery recycling.

Garvey, on the other hand, is a booster of fossil fuels. “We need to open up the spigots again,” he said in a interview with KBAK-KBFX Eyewitness News in Bakersfield. “Oil jobs — priority number one.”

Dirty tactics?

Schiff has been criticized for the strategy he used in the primary campaign, when he faced two other well-qualified Democrats: Rep. Barbara Lee and Rep. Katie Porter.

To unite conservatives behind Garvey, Schiff spent millions of advertising dollars to portray the former first baseman as a far-right threat — elevating Garvey in the eyes of the GOP faithful.

It worked. Garvey finished second behind Schiff and handily beat Porter, who had been running neck-and-neck with Schiff early on in the campaign.

A race between two strong Democrats would have been an interesting contest, and it’s disappointing that it didn’t happen.

But Schiff is a highly qualified candidate who will be a strong voice for California in the Senate.

.The McClatchy California Editorial Board strongly endorse Rep. Adam Schiff for the United States Senate.