This morning the office of Assembly Republican Leader-Elect Sam Blakeslee announced that his first official leadership team member is north state Assemblyman, and former State Senator, Jim Nielsen (pictured right). Nielson, who has been serving as the GOP’s point person on the Appropriations Committee will now occupy a positionthat Blakeslee is calling the "Chairman of Ways and Means" for Assembly Republicans — and in addition to being the Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Nielsen will also serve as Vice Chairman of the Budget Committee.
Not mentioned in Blakeslee’s release (he’s ever so tactful) is the significant shift of pulling out of Roger Niello from his coveted Budget Committee slot, in order to give it to Nielson. Niello, who is quite unapologetic about his decision to hit Californians with over $14 billion in higher taxes (and his attempt, with his support of 1A, to actually boost that figure to $30 billion) — for the "greater good" of the 
alleged spending cap that not one true independent economist said would cap spending. Nielson opposed proposition 1A, penning a column on that for this website.
So far it looks like Sam Blakeslee gets it. He has made it crystal clear that raising taxes will not be a part of any future budget plans, and unlike Villines or Niello — from whom hearing that strains credibility since they sang that song before, and then sided with all of Sacramento’s Democrats to pass taxes — Blakeslee has credibility. Even more so with this immediate, preemptive announcement — singnificantly the first announcement of his new team.
Democrats and members of the media should correctly see this for what it is — a strong message from Assembly Republicans — they heard the voters, and will not even consider a tax increase. Period.
(Roger Neillo’s backside is shown above to the left, where he and outgoing Assembly Leader Mike Villines are making left-wing Democrat Assembly Speaker laugh — sigh.)