I just got off of the phone with State Senator George Runner who called to confirm that he is, in fact, going to run for the State Board of Equalization seat currently occupied by Bill Leonard, who faces term limits in 2010.

Runner told me that it is extremely important to have a proven friend of taxpayers in that seat…

"The Board of Equalization is on the front-lines of setting tax collection policy, and is a place where an advocate of the taxpayer can truly make a difference," Runner told me. "It goes to the basic philosophy about whether you see yourself as being there to protect taxpayers — which I have been doing in the State Legislature, and would continue to do on the Board of Equalization."

Runner said that he is in the process of opening up a campaign committee, and is already putting together the beginnings of a campaign, including contacting slate mail vendors (a key strategy for building name I.D. in such a vast district).

So now there are three… Read More

“When it rains, it pours,” as they say. Today it is “raining” Republican candidates for the State Board of Equalization.

Earlier today I blogged on how Tom McClintock’s decision to run for Congress would immediately set up a GOP donnybrook for Bill Leonard’s BOE seat (which is up in 2010).

See my post below for the field so far – Alby, Runner (George), Nakanishi…

Well, add another name to the list. Apparently for a few months, term limited State Senator Roy Ashburn has been running for this seat, with a brief break when it looked like McClintock was running for BOE (Ashburn would have backed him).

Ashburn is busy making fundraising calls, with an Ashburn for BOE event this Monday. Very busy making calls.

I learned about Asbhurn’s activities when the Senator called me a few minutes ago. He also told me, “The Board of Equalization is California’s tax board. This key position gives taxpayers a voice and an advocate in the process.”

So, now add Ashburn to the mix. Oh, I should add that I heard from the Nakanishi campaign that he has been… Read More

I’m not sure whether to dub this "Who’s on First?" or the "Chicken or the Egg," but I see where it’s going.

Steve Francis: "Those were my ideas, thanks for using them."

Jerry Sanders: "I was working on them before you announced them as part of your plan."

Francis: "No you weren’t, you stole them from me."

Sanders: "No I didn’t."

Francis: "Yes you did."

Sanders: "Did not."

Francis: "Did too."

Whatever….here’s the Francis press release:

Steve Francis Pleased Mayor Sanders Adopts his Taxpayer Protection Plan San Diego — Steve Francis, candidate for Mayor, released the following statement today in response to Mayor Jerry Sanders’ press conference today announcing his support of Steve’s Taxpayer Protection Plan:

"I was pleased to learn that Jerry Sanders held a press conference today and announced his public support for two components… Read More

Just when you think that the legislature doesn’t know how to trim the fat they come up with this kind of bill. AB 2352 (Fuentes) would expand Child Abuse laws to allow courts to take away kids from their parents if they are too fat.

No. I’m not making this up! Your Fatty Patty eats too many Ding Dongs and presto they are with a foster family. The bill doesn’t increase the reimbursement rate foster families need for thethe caloric intakethat these jumbo juveniles crave.

As a result this bill will lead to more abuse. Kids used to eating Cheetos and playing video games could be locked in rooms with treadmills and celery. It isn’t funny. It could get that bad.

One has to wonder how this bill will be enforced. Will teachers be mandatory reporters of poor Obese Clarisse as she waddles down her high school hall?

What happens if Burley Hurley gets rounded up and sent to a prison for the plump, but still keeps the weight on? Will the counselors and other be arrested for the “abuse” inflicted on him?

Hopefully, the Assembly will realize that real child abuse… Read More

As we start out a new week, the 120 members of the California legislature are back at work, as is Governor Schwarzenegger. I think that it is important to start off this Monday morning, frankly, right where we left off before the weekend. This year’s budget debate started out on such a positive note. Well, as positive as a budget could be if you consider that without any changes, it would be over $15 BILLION in the red.

When I say starting out on a positive note, I mean that the Governor charged hard out of the gate with a very important, and very accurate message: we have an over-spending problem. The Governor was unequivocal — that he would not raise taxes and make California taxpayers shoulder the burden for over-spending in the Capitol. He then proposed a budget that would have shaved off 10% from what might otherwise have been introduced. From our perspective, given the spending increases, this is actually a modest proposal. Yet, the yells and screams from lefties in the Capitol could be heard by dairy cows in Yolo County. Here at the FlashReport, we devoted some serious editorial space to praising our Republican Governor… Read More

After reading Jon’s post about the Legislative Analyst I was compelled to disagree in writing on several points.

You aren’t going to hear anything from me that encourages tax increases. It would be my preference to eliminate large sections of the state government. Despite this preferred course of action the comments Jon made about the role of the LAO and their budget proposal should not go unchallenged.

The budget proposal from the Governor that Jon praises is the easy way out. It makes 10% cuts to most all state programs. This assumes that all state programs are of equal value to the people of California. That is clearly not the case. It also makes it easy to grow all of those programs back to full-size when revenues increase.

Some people may be looking at revenue shortages as a problem. They should be looked at as opportunities to restructure… Read More

As we start out a new week, the 120 members of the California legislature are back at work, as is Governor Schwarzenegger. I think that it is important to start off this Monday morning, frankly, right where we left off before the weekend. This year’s budget debate started out on such a positive note. Well, as positive as a budget could be if you consider that without any changes, it would be over $15 BILLION in the red.

When I say starting out on a positive note, I mean that the Governor charged hard out of the gate with a very important, and very accurate message: we have an over-spending problem. The Governor was unequivocal — that he would not raise taxes and make California taxpayers shoulder the burden for over-spending in the Capitol. He then proposed a budget that would have shaved off 10% from what might otherwise have been introduced. From our perspective, given the spending increases, this is actually a modest proposal. Yet, the yells and screams from lefties in the Capitol could be heard by dairy cows in Yolo County. Here at the FlashReport, we devoted some serious editorial space to praising our Republican Governor… Read More

On this quiet Sunday, I’ll give you some recommended reading!

Cold Water on "Global Warming" by Thomas Sowell

Does the Left Value Truth? by Dennis Prager

Economics and Property Rights by Walter Williams

For those who take a more considered look at the conservative movement, and whether the "Reagan Coalition" is seeing its final days, this article (from the libertarian perspective) is quite thought provoking…

The End of Republican ‘Fusionism’? by Robert Tracinski

OK – For those with a bit more time, and the willingness to take in some… Read More