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This is a sampling of political writers Josh Richman and Lisa Vorderbrueggen’s blog, The Political Blotter. Read more and post comments at www.ibabuzz.com/politics.

Dec. 9

Tony Amador — the former U.S. marshal who’s seeking the Republican nomination to take on Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, in the 11th Congressional District next year — clearly is working his law enforcement ties for endorsements.

He sent out a news release today announcing the backing of Solano County Sheriff Gary Stanton, who said Amador “deserves our respect and admiration” for his work as a U.S. marshal, such as helping to create a fugitive task force that worked with state and local authorities and helping to dole out assets seized from criminals to local law enforcement.

Amador yesterday announced a similar endorsement from Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness, who called Amador a “proven leader who understands the need for cooperative relationships between federal, state and local governments and also knows when to stand tall.”

But neither Solano County nor Sacramento County falls within the 11th District. The latest numbers from the California secretary of state’s office show about 54 percent of the district’s registered voters are in San Joaquin County; about 24 percent are in Contra Costa County; about 15 percent are in Alameda County; and about

6 percent are in Santa Clara County. (If you’re looking only at registered Republicans, it’s almost 58 percent in San Joaquin, 24 percent in Contra Costa, 13 percent in Alameda County and 5 percent in Santa Clara County.)

San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore endorsed Republican Brad Goehring of Clements for the 11th district way back in September, saying the area “needs a congressman who knows the district, has lived in our district, and understands the needs of our district.” Amador recently moved to Lodi, in the district, after living in the Sacramento area for many years.

And Contra Costa County Sheriff Warren Rupf endorsed Goehring last month, calling him “a candidate that understands the nature of the law enforcement mission and the tools we need to accomplish it. I trust Brad to work with local law enforcement and to be a voice for fiscal sanity and job creation in Washington, D.C.”

UPDATE @ 3:22 P.M. THURSDAY: Today’s endorsement for Amador is from Sheriff Mark Pazin of Merced County — also entirely outside the 11th district.

“As U.S. marshal, Tony Amador was there to help the people in 34 of California’s 58 counties. It’s time for us to help a man we respect,” Pazin said.

— Josh Richman

Dec. 9

Some of the more than three dozen Bay Area residents who are headed to Gaza for a New Year’s Eve peace march will gather tonight in San Francisco to make banners and flags.

The Gaza Freedom March is being organized by the International Coalition to End the Illegal Siege of Gaza, with San Francisco activist Medea Benjamin of CodePink and Global Exchange on the organizing committee. The Bay Area contingent will fly to Cairo later this month, joining a 1,000-person delegation from 42 nations to enter Gaza for the march near the closed Erez checkpoint on the border with Israel; as many as 50,000 Palestinians are expected to attend.

The local contingent includes activists, UC Berkeley and UC Davis students, artists and at least one internationally known celebrity: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker, of Berkeley.

Local “solidarity actions” mirroring the march are planned in other cities around the world. In San Francisco, there’ll be a memorial vigil at 4 p.m. Dec. 27 in Union Square for Palestinians killed in an Israeli military operation in Gaza last year, and organizers have obtained a permit for a march across the Golden Gate Bridge at noon Dec. 31.

“The world needs to know that the situation in Palestine is not morally acceptable (or)legal under international law,” march participant and recent Cal Poly grad Marina Barakatt of San Francisco

said in a news release. “Human rights abuses, land expropriation, targeted assassinations, house demolitions, and increasing repression are part of the price Palestinians pay, framed as a just, nationalist fight.”

But San Francisco Voice for Israel activist Michael Harris said, “(T)he sad thing about this is that the groups promoting this event are really not interested in peace between a Jewish state of Israel and an Arab state of Palestine. They are supporting the Hamas regime, which vows to destroy not only Israel but targets all Jews worldwide.

“By continuing to promote an extremist agenda, and by supporting a regime that is not only anti-Semitic but also is homophobic and misogynistic, these groups are actually perpetuating Palestinian suffering,” he said. “Time and energy that could have been spent in building a Palestinian future has instead been devoted to trying to destroy Israel’s future.”

—Josh Richman