A lawfirm with ties to the California Republican Party is asking a judge to block Democratic congressional candidate Jose Hernandez from listing “astronaut” as part of his job description on the June primary ballot.
Hernandez’s career as an astronaut is integral to his life story. Born to a farmworker family, Hernandez flew aboard the shuttle Discovery in 2009 and left NASA in January 2011. The lawsuit alleges that using the description “astronaut/scientist/engineer” violates a provision in the Election Code that requires that a ballot reflect a current profession or one held during the previous calendar year.
The law firm, Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, has previously done work for campaign of freshman Rep. Jeff Denham, who Hernandez seeks to challenge. The lawyers filing the case have strong connections to the California GOP establishment. As the Fresno Bee reports: “Attorney Charles Bell Jr., one of two lawyers named on the lawsuit, is general counsel to the California Republican Party. The other attorney listed on the lawsuit, Brian Hildreth, has worked for former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson.”
