In transit

Democrat Lori Saldaña is busy campaigning for reelection to her third term in the state assembly, representing the 76th District, which covers such San Diego neighborhoods as Point Loma, Pacific Beach, and Clairemont. With GOP Log Cabin club member Ralph Denney on the ballot against her in the safe Democratic district, she’s regarded as a sure winner, even given the slow meltdown in Sacramento over the stalled state budget. Reflecting Saldaña’s confidence is the fact that her campaign website, lorisaldana.com (“I believe people want a clean world to live in. We want a clean coastline. Clean water. Clean Air. And, of course, we want our government to be clean”) hasn’t been updated since her campaign of two years ago. But term limits prevent Saldaña from running a fourth time, and like most elected officials who apparently have nothing better to do than maintain an iron grip on elective office, she’s already on the hunt for a new gig. So even before the November results are in, Saldaña has set up a new campaign committee, “Lori Saldaña for California,” with the goal of winning in 2010 the District Three seat on the state Board of Equalization now held by Republican Michelle Steel of Orange County, who was elected in 2006, beating fringe Democrat Mary Christian-Heising of La Jolla. Steel bills herself as “the country’s highest ranking Korean-American officeholder and California’s highest ranking Republican woman.” Saldaña’s move was disclosed in a filing with the California secretary of state dated September 7. Questions lodged at Saldaña’s office were not responded to by press time.