When we pulled together the main page this morning, we missed this outstanding commentary from our own FR State Capitol Correspondent — Senator Jim Battin.

The editorial below ran in the Riverside Press-Enterprise today.

Budget Denial

As deficits ramp up, Democrats need to quit ducking touch choices By SENATOR JIM BATTIN

I know in polite society we aren’t supposed to say "I told you so," but listening to the latest budget news out of Sacramento, I couldn’t help but think it.

The state’s nonpartisan legislative analyst, Elizabeth Hill, announced this month that California’s budget situation has "deteriorated" by almost $6 billion since the budget was signed in late August. As a result, next year’s budget deficit is conservatively estimated at $10 billion, up from about $3 billion this year. I say conservatively because state revenues are in… Read More

When the Orange County Lincoln Club endorsed the CalCounts Initiative, you knew it was only a matter of days before the big shoe would drop – a major contribution towards qualification. This is because the Lincoln Club has a long tradition of not just talking, but DOING. If you look back over the history of the Orange County Lincoln Club, you will see that they have spent a generation being at the forefront of great things. Of course, the other shoe was a six-figure one — a six figure check…

It’s actually worth taking a few minutes to read this great profile of the O.C. Lincoln Club penned by FR Blogger/OC Blog Proprietor Matt Cunningham for Red County Magazine.

We reached out to FR friend Rich Wagner, the President of the Lincoln Club, and asked him if he would put pen to paper (or more likely fingers to keyboard) and share with our readers why his organization, which is quite selective about which battles it chooses to wage, has weighed in to give the CalCounts Initiative a huge push towards qualification… … Read More

I told you so.

Yeah, I know, that is rude, but now that I am no longer in the Legislature, there are very few people who will relate the tale.

I voted for the 2004-05 budget, the Governor’s first budget, because I thought it was a responsible budget that dealt appropriately with the fallout from the Davis spending spree from 1999-2001. In those budgets, Gray Davis and the Democrats (with way too many willing Republicans), increased spending from $58 billion (general fund) to $79 billion (general fund). The next three budgets, 2001-04 moved spending from about $79 billion to $78 billion, and created a $13 billion debt, while revenue went from $66 to $76 billion over those same years. The voters passed the $15 billion bond to cover the Davis mistakes.

Governor Schwarzenegger, with the able help of his then Finance Director, Donna Arduin, brought spending under control in his first budget, increasing spending by only $100 million (as proposed in the May revise and passed by the Legislature). It was the right thing to do. Arduin then left, the Governor began his initiative campaigns, and, in the next six months, the wheels fell off the fiscal… Read More

When the Orange County Lincoln Club endorsed the CalCounts Initiative, you knew it was only a matter of days before the big shoe would drop – a major contribution towards qualification. This is because the Lincoln Club has a long tradition of not just talking, but DOING. If you look back over the history of the Orange County Lincoln Club, you will see that they have spent a generation being at the forefront of great things. Of course, the other shoe was a six-figure one — a six figure check…

It’s actually worth taking a few minutes to read this great profile of the O.C. Lincoln Club penned by FR Blogger/OC Blog Proprietor Matt Cunningham for Red County Magazine.

We reached out to FR friend Rich Wagner, the President of the Lincoln Club, and asked him if he would put pen to paper (or more likely fingers to keyboard) and share with our readers why his organization, which is quite selective about which battles it chooses to wage, has weighed in to give the CalCounts Initiative a huge push towards qualification…… Read More

Today we are formally calling on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare a state of Fiscal Emergency for California state government. The long and short of it is that the anticipated revenues for California for THIS FISCAL YEAR are falling billions short of projections. While it is laudable that the Governor has instructed his agency and department heads to start to look towards cuts for the FY 07-08 budget, which will be very helpful in terms of helping to provide a starting point for massive shortfall that is projected for next year’s budget, what we have is a TODAY problem. Hence the need for a call for Fiscal Emergency.

With the passage of Proposition 58, the Governor has the power to make this declaration, lay out a plan to immediately trim government spending, and call the legislature into session to act on the parts of his plan that cannot be done unilaterally. This would show leadership, and would acutely focus the attention of all of our policy makers on dealing with a very real problem — we don’t have enough income to support all of our spending!

Now I know that the Governor would prefer to keep the focus on his health-care… Read More

Two of the things I am convinced of are:

Jackie Speier was denied the opportunity to be the Lt. Governor of California by Liz Figueroa in the Democrat primary. Had it not been for Figueroa appearing on the ballot with an anemic campaign, the votes she "earned" would have gone to Speier. Further, she was the only one that could have prevented Jerry Brown from returning to the corner office of the State Capitol in 2010. Most of the California Congressional Delegation has lost touch with the politics of California. Out of the 53 of them I would guess less than a dozen are truly active politically any more.

Speier is a formidable political force because of her media presence, compelling story, and shameless pursuit of headlines in a way that makes her appear to be the best friend of the voter/consumer/whatever. Love her or hate her the woman is a really good politician.

The reason for this post is that she is thinking about taking on Congressman Tom Lantos in the primary next year. Here is a story from Matier and Ross,… Read More

Most candidates running for office usually are on their best behavior during the run-up to their election. They attend their meetings, skip the junket circuit, and generally try to avoid getting sucked into anything controversial.

Like I said, that’s MOST candidates.

Recently, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the Citizens Against Government Waste released their annual Piglet Book highlighting example after example of waste in government around the state at its worst.

Pretty safe to say, on either side of the aisle, the Piglet book is not a place a candidate would want to appear prior to their race.

“While those responsible for the worst acts of waste, fraud and abuse may believe that the public is not watching or does not care, most are capable of being embarrassed when they are caught behaving badly. They should feel a sense of humiliation as their incompetence and misconduct receives this additional public scrutiny.”

Amen!

And given that, I could barely believe my eyes when I saw the name of a… Read More

If his website and this morning’s email are any indication, the lingering question of "Will he or won’t he?" seems to be answered by Steve Francis. (Of course, the GOP is in a bit of a panty-twist over the prospects of a Republican taking on a sitting GOP incumbent like Jerry Sanders.)

The following email message, including links to an endorsement form and bio, sure looks like a campaign to me….

I am writing to you to seek your early endorsement in the race for Mayor of San Diego. I recently formed the Francis For Mayor Exploratory Committee to meet with my fellow San Diegans to hear their views about what they need and want in local government, regardless of their political affiliation. I’ve met with Democrats who think City Hall has become a haven for partisan policy making. Some Republicans worry that the current administration has lost its way, while Independents feel their voice has been silenced by the lobbyists who seem to control everything. Most have voiced concerns about the influence of special interest groups in our local government. Although I have not formally announced my… Read More