Big News. Bill Simon is leaving the race for State Treasurer. The Sac Bee has the story here. He had money, name ID and a solid base. This leaves a gaping hole in the GOP Primary. Now, the two top candidates are Keith Richman and Claude Parrish.
Keith Richman is a state Assemblyman from the San Fernando Valley. He is way out of any type of GOP mainstream. He is the only Republican Lawmaker that won’t support Prop. 73. See more on that here.
On fiscal issues he voted for the Gray Davis budgets but not Arnold’s. Why? They didn’t have tax increases. Does the Republican Party want a fiscal liberal as its’ standard-bearer in this kind of race?
Claude Parrish is on the Board of Equalization representing Southern California. I guess now he is the conservative candidate. He has filled out pro-life questionnaires in the past and was endorsed by CRA in his BOE race. I question whether he can raise the kind of money necessary to run statewide.
Another candidate could fill the hole created by Bill Simon’s departure. My two favorite possibilities are out of the question. John Campbell is running for Congress and Orange County Treasurer John Moorlach is running for County Supervisor.
One name I’ve heard is Tom Campbell. Arnold’s Finance guru. He would destroy any chance of Richman winning, but would still leave a place for a strong conservative. This seat is wide open.
[See FR Publisher Jon Fleischman’s extensive Commentary on Simon’s dropping out.]