In the weeks leading up to the well-advertised CNN/YouTube GOP Presidential Debate, I was actually getting pretty excited. What a great way to merge modern technology and politics, and get lots of people, especially younger ones, engaged in the process. Recently I gave a keynote address at a Junior Statesmen of America conference, and they had a room set up so that high school students could record debate questions, and I must have seen a hundred e-mails cross my desk referencing the debate, and people sending around their video taped questions for others to see. There was a great deal of buzz, and, for me, a hightened level of expectation.

As it turns out, this debate was totally hijacked by the MSM — and I don’t know whether to blame CNN exclusively, or apply some of the bad credit to the folks at YouTube. That is because I am not sure who was responsible for sifting through the thousands of video clips of questions, and choosing which ones would be asked of… 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

Our publisher Jon asked me to comment on the recent $50 million out-of-court settlement by the City of Dana Point and its insurer, the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (“CJPIA”), in favor of two joggers who were hit and very seriously injured by an uninsured drunk on Pacific Coast Highway last year. They were jogging in the clearly defined bicycle lane of PCH when the drunk driver swerved over the line and hit them. I was on the City Council when the accident occurred in April of 2006, and Jon thought my insight would be valuable regarding what the implications are of a $50 million liability payout by a city and its insurance company.

Well, the primary implication of this huge payout, characterized by Orange County-based personal injury guru Mark Robinson as “one of the top settlements in the county’s” history, is that basically the City of Dana Point has blown the limits of its insurance coverage, (the Dana Point annual budget itself is around $25 million, half the amount of the settlement!), it very likely has no liability insurance left for the rest of its current policy, the CJPIA now has blown a huge chunk of… Read More

Battle-hardened from his post as Communications Director for Congressman John Doolittle, Gordon Hinkle has a new position – courtesy of a Gubernatorial appointment announced today (see the details below). Perhaps the Congressman will be recruiting a replacement for Hinkle from a crisis-communications firm? Hinkle will be hard to replace – a consummate professional with the work ethic of the Energizer Bunny…

From the Gov’s release: “Gordon Hinkle, 34, of Roseville, has been appointed deputy press secretary for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He has served as communications director and senior field representative for Congressmember John Doolittle since February 2007. From 2006 to 2007, Hinkle was senior consultant to the California Assembly Republican Caucus. Previously, he served as communications director for State Senator Jim Battin from 2001 to 2006. Prior to that, Hinkle worked for Hewlett Packard as a logistics process analyst from 2000 to 2001. He is a member of the Roseville Planning Commission. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $87,132. Hinkle is a… Read More

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez is already trying to use the massive financial shortfall of revenues against budgeted expenditures to make the case for why we have to look at tax increases. His Deputy Chief of Staff, Steve Maviglio, reposted on his blog an article that talks about how taxes need to be increased, and targets the 1978 passage of Proposition 13, lamenting the protection it afforded to homeowners.

One of the more credible voices in Sacramento on state finance is Assemblyman Roger Niello. As the lead Republican on budget issues, he lays out the case for why we do, indeed, have an over-spending problem in California State Government…

Revenues Are Not The Problem… Read More