Francine Busby
{{Short description|American politician in California (born 1951)}}
File:Francine Busby (127966636) (1).jpg
Francine Pocino Busby (born March 3, 1951) is a former member of the school board in Cardiff, California and was the chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party.{{cite web|url=http://www.sddemocrats.org/executive_board.asp|title=Executive Board|work=San Diego County Democratic Party|accessdate=30 May 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917105328/http://www.sddemocrats.org/executive_board.asp|archivedate=17 September 2013}} She has four times been the Democratic candidate for Congress in California's 50th congressional district, in North San Diego County. In 2004, she ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Republican Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Before his term was up, Cunningham resigned due to his conviction on bribery charges, and Busby ran in the June 2006 special election to replace him; she lost to Republican Brian Bilbray, who again defeated her in the 2006 general election that November. She also ran unsuccessfully against Bilbray in 2010.
Personal
Busby was born in Los Angeles, California, to an Italian American family, and grew up in nearby Arcadia. She graduated with a BA in Humanities from UC Irvine. From 1974–1981, Busby was a travel manager and marketer for the Walt Disney Travel Company. She married her husband David Busby in 1978. They had two children, Maria and Michael, and Busby quit her job to raise them. In 1988 the family moved to Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}
Busby is fluent in Italian, and has written a book on Bosconero, the town of her ancestors on her mother's side.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}
She won $15K and cash and prizes over three days on $ale of the Century between December 24, 28, and 29th, 1987
Political
She ran two successful school bond campaigns in 1998 and 2000, became president of the Cardiff Education Foundation in 2000, was appointed to fill a vacancy to the Cardiff School Board, and, in 2002, was elected for a full school board term. In January 2013 she was chosen as chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party. She is also the executive director of Run Women Run, an organization that trains, mentors, and supports women candidates for elective office.{{cite news|url=http://www.sandiegocountynews.com/2013/01/17/busby-elected-san-diego-county-democratic-chair/|title=Busby Elected San Diego County Democratic Chair|date=January 17, 2013|work=San Diego County News|accessdate=31 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320221525/http://www.sandiegocountynews.com/2013/01/17/busby-elected-san-diego-county-democratic-chair/|archive-date=20 March 2016|url-status=dead}}
Electoral history
=2004 general election=
Busby ran against then-Rep. Duke Cunningham in the 2004 U.S. House election, receiving 36% of the vote to Cunningham's 58%. Cunningham later resigned on November 28, 2005, after pleading guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion.{{cite news|url=http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/politics/cunningham/20070214-9999-lz1n14time.html|title=Mileposts on the road to ruin|date=February 14, 2007|work=San Diego Union Tribune|accessdate=31 May 2013}}
=2006 special congressional election=
{{Main|California 50th congressional district special election, 2006}}
==Initial vote==
The initial vote in the special election was held on April 11, 2006. If a single candidate had won a simple majority, he or she would have served out the rest of Cunningham's term. Busby got the most votes, 43.75 percent, but fell short of the majority necessary to avoid a runoff race.{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/Special/cd50/elections_cd50results.htm |title=Special Primary Election - April 11, 2006 |work=California Secretary of State, archived in Wayback Machine |accessdate=31 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424024245/http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/Special/cd50/elections_cd50results.htm |archivedate=April 24, 2008 }} As no candidate won a simple majority, the top vote-getters in each party faced each other in a runoff on June 6, 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/Special/cd50/elections_cd50_genresults.htm |title=Special General Election - June 26, 2007 |work=California Secretary of State, archived via Wayback Machine |accessdate=31 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424024321/http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/Special/cd50/elections_cd50_genresults.htm |archivedate=April 24, 2008 }}
Because the 50th is considered to be a heavily Republican district, it would have been considered major news if Busby won.{{cite news |
title=Washington Whispers: GOP Fears in a Bellwether Race |
date=2006-06-05 |
publisher=U.S. News & World Report |
url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/whispers/articles/060605/5whisplead.htm
}}
"This is a biggie," said Carl Luna, a political science professor at San Diego Mesa College. "Everyone is going to be reading the tea leaves as a predictor of November."
{{cite news |
first=Tony|
last=Perry |
title=Key Race Is Seen as a Test of GOP's Vulnerability |
date=2006-05-30 |
work=Los Angeles Times |
url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-fifty30may30,1,295798.story?coll=la-news-politics-california
}}
For that reason, the National Republican Congressional Committee spent $5 million on this race.{{cite news
|title = Campaign: Spin on Special Election Begins
|date = 2006-06-08
|work = The Hill
|url = http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Campaign/060806.html
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060614195945/http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Campaign/060806.html
|archivedate = 2006-06-14
}}
On June 2, five days before the special congressional election, Busby was participating in a panel discussion with four other presenters who were addressing a largely Latino audience. She had been invited to explain her position in support of comprehensive immigration reform. The discussion was conducted in Spanish with some translation. During a discussion presented by a fellow panelist about ways to get involved in political action, a man from the back of the room addressed a question to Busby in Spanish. Busby said, "I didn't hear the entire question, but I understood that he wanted to help and said something about papers. I misspoke by saying he didn't need papers to vote. I meant that he didn't need papers to volunteer. This was not a discussion about my campaign." Her comments were recorded by a member of the Minutemen. "You can all help--you don't need papers to vote, and you don't need to be a registered voter to help." She made this comment in response to a question by a man who asked in Spanish, "I want to help, but I don't have papers."
{{cite news
|first = Dani
|last = Dodge
|title = Busby on defense, says she misspoke
|date = 2006-06-03
|publisher = San Diego Union-Tribune
|url = http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/50thdistrict/20060603-9999-1mi3busby.html
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060614213434/http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/50thdistrict/20060603-9999-1mi3busby.html
|archivedate = 2006-06-14
}}
The recording was circulated over the Internet and on radio.[http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/50thdistrict/20060603-9999-1mi3busby.html SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Politics - Busby on defense, says she misspoke] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614213434/http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/50thdistrict/20060603-9999-1mi3busby.html |date=2006-06-14 }}
==Runoff results==
In the June 6 runoff, Busby faced the leading vote getter from the two other parties participating: Republican Brian Bilbray and Libertarian Paul King, as well as independent candidate William Griffith. Busby lost to Bilbray 49.3% to 45.5%. Bilbray thereby won the right to finish Cunningham's term, through January 2007.
=2006 general election=
June 6, 2006, was also the date of the primary for the November general election. Busby and Bilbray each captured their party's nomination (as did Libertarian Paul King and Peace and Freedom candidate Miriam E. Clark).
Bilbray, with the advantage of incumbency, took an early lead. Both the Cook Political Report and CQPolitics rated the race as Republican Favored. But Busby gained in October (a late October poll by SurveyUSA showed Busby trailing by just 3 points) for a number of reasons: the general political climate seen as disadvantageous to the GOP, Busby's outraising Bilbray, and Bilbray's low profile campaign, on Oct. 23, CQPolitics changed their rating to Leans Republican.{{cite news | title=Busby Rallying in Calif. 50 Months After Special Election Loss | author=Rachel Kapochunas | url=http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/10/busby_rallying_in_calif_50_mon.html | date=2006-10-23 | publisher=CQPolitics.com | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061027145353/http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/10/busby_rallying_in_calif_50_mon.html | archivedate=2006-10-27 }}
Despite these developments, Busby lost to Bilbray in the general election in November, receiving 43% (77,695 votes) to Bilbray's 53%
=2010 general election=
Busby formally announced her candidacy in the 2010 race for California's 50th Congressional District at a press conference April 16, 2009 in Encinitas.{{Cite web |url=http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/apr/14/1m14b2briefs234035-short-takes/ |title=Busby plans to run again for seat in 50th District |access-date=2009-04-16 |archive-date=2009-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417043052/http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/apr/14/1m14b2briefs234035-short-takes/ |url-status=dead }}
An incident at a Busby fundraiser in June 2009 created a furor. During a political fundraiser at a home in Cardiff, a neighbor called the San Diego County Sheriff's Department to complain about noise.{{cite news|url=http://www.760kfmb.com/Global/story.asp?S=11103877|title=911 audio reveals who called deputies on Francine Busby|date=September 9, 2009|work=KFMB-AM|accessdate=30 May 2013}} Deputy Marshall Abbott responded and entered the home; he wound up handcuffing and arresting the home's owner and another woman after the hostess refused to give the deputy her date of birth.{{cite news|url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2009/jun/27/bn27busby142247/|title=Hostess of Busby fundraiser arrested during melee|date=June 27, 2009|work=San Diego Union-Tribune|accessdate=30 May 2013}} Deputy Marshall Abbott used pepper spray on some of the guests and called for backup, which eventually included six police cars, a police dog, and a helicopter. No charges were filed against the women or the deputy.{{cite news|url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2009/aug/25/encinitas-8212-after-nearly-two-month-investigatio/|title=Dumanis takes a pass on the Busby fundraising imbroglio|last=Mannes|first=Tanya|date=August 25, 2009|work=San Diego Union Tribune|accessdate=30 May 2013}} The two women and six other people filed a federal suit against the County of San Diego claiming that their civil rights had been violated. Without admitting any wrongdoing, the county agreed to pay $1.2 million in an out of court settlement.{{cite news|url=http://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?S=13390502|title=SD County settles suit over political fundraiser|date=October 26, 2010|work=KFMB-TV|accessdate=30 May 2013}}
Busby won the Democratic primary against rival Tracy Emblem in June 2010 and became the Democratic congressional nominee for California's 50th district in the 2010 midterm elections.[http://www.busbyforcongress.com/ Official Campaign Website] She lost to Republican Brian Bilbray for the third time on November 2, 2010.[http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/voters/results/election.xml San Diego County Election Results]
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Wikinews|Congressman Cunningham admits taking bribes}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070516223334/http://www.newsmeat.com/campaign_contributions_to_politicians/donor_list.php?candidate_id=H4CA50055 List of contributors to Busby's campaigns]
- [http://www.tray.com/cgi-win/x_candpg.exe?DoFn=H4CA50055*2006 PAC donors, Indiv donors, Personal Financial Disclosures, Campaign Disbursements at PoliticalMoneyLine]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Busby, Francine}}
Category:Politicians from Los Angeles
Category:Writers from Los Angeles
Category:University of California, Irvine alumni
Category:Women in California politics
Category:School board members in California