The first finance reports filed for the special election next February to replace State Senator Lou Correa (D) on the Orange County Board of Supervisors show Carlos Bustamante, Republican Councilman from Santa Ana (pictured to the right), with an early lead of $117,000 raised and $110,000 cash on hand. (I have previously reported that Tom Umberg, former Democrat Assemblyman, would enter the race with a potential financial advantage because of $45,000 in left over funds from his losing State Senate race to Correa, most of which is usable in the Supervisor race.)

But the Bustamante reports reveal a lot more than just his finances: names of Orange County Lincoln Club members dominated the report as giving maximum donations. You can expect that the Lincoln Club will surely endorse Bustamante for the position before the election.

According to the reports, contributors to Bustamante at the maximum amount included Lincoln Club leaders… Read More

Discussions between the American Conservative Union and former House Majority Leader Tom De Lay have apparently lead to a decision by De Lay to form his own new lobbying organization under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(4), to advance conservative causes. De Lay and ACU had previously committed to work together, but that is now apparently off the table, given De Lay’s decision to start a new organization from scratch.… Read More

Over the holidays, I received a couple calls from reporters about the CRP email dated Dec. 8 (received 12/15) entitled, “CRP Board of Directors Answers Victory 06 Questions”. I have taken the liberty to mesh the questions and answers to make some sense and get my point across. I know it is kind of lengthy, but I did spell check the post.

BTW, You cann see the entire email in Brandon’s post here.

I’ve posted the CRP Answers above each question (in red). CRP: Samples of the phone scripts used were handed out for Board members to review. The scripts showed the Republican ticket was mentioned in all phone scripts, and in certain cases individual candidates were mentioned if the calls were going into their areas. It was also noted there were “Monday Night for Tom” calls, “Tuesday Night for Tony”, etc. None of the scripts were Governor only, as has been erroneously stated by some. Q. Mike what did you… Read More

Thanks to Dana Reed and his team at the political law firm of Reed & DavidsonLLP for the updated info on contribution limits per state law.

For 2007/2008 you can now give:

$24,100 to candidates for Governor $6,000 to other statewide candidates (I assume this includes Board of Equalization) $3,600 to candidates for state legislature $6,000 to PACs that support candidates (I think this is different from a pure independent expenditure committee) $30,200 to political party’s (for the purpose of supporting state candidates) UNLIMITED to state parties (for non-State candidate support) $390 in gift value to any decision making government official or staff member

However, I would encourage anyone who writes more than a couple political checks a year to keep in close touch with their favorite political attorney/treasurer to make sure you are not breaking any rules–putting yourself, your business and the candidates you support in a perilous situation.

Happy giving.… Read More

Chuck LiMandri on Mt. Soledad Cross…. A nice year-end message from the fearless attorney in support of preserving the mountaintop memorial:

As this Christmas season winds to a conclusion and we prepare to ring in the New Year, I wanted to take a moment to express my deep appreciation to all of you who helped achieve the stunning success we realized this year in preserving the Mt. Soledad Cross Memorial for generations to come. To think that within just the last six months we witnessed a Stay Order from the United States Supreme Court, new legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Bush and, only last month, a 53-page appellate decision in our favor–these "monumental" accomplishments are nothing short of miraculous. None of this could have been achieved without the hard work and dedication of an army of men and women of goodwill–all following the example of leaders like yourselves. Although the court battles to preserve the Mt. Soledad Memorial Cross are not yet over, it is clear that the momentum is strongly in our favor and, after almost 18 years, ultimate… Read More

Yesterday Governor Schwarzenegger announced the formation of a new commission to look at our state’s soaring pension obligations. The good news is that the Governor is making a proactive effort to look at this issue. The bad news is that public employee unions will NEVER, EVER consider adjusting public sector retirement benefits to mirror those in the private sector. You would have to look really hard to find private companies that offer such lavish ‘defined benefit’ programs (where retiree benefits are guaranteed to be a certain amount each year). In the private sector, retirement programs are almost always based on ‘defined contributions’ where an employer puts aside money into a fund on behalf of an employee while they work, often times matching contributions made by the employee themeselves.

We applaud the Governor for wanting to focus on this all-important issue, and we counsel the Governor to make sure he devotes a good number of his six appointees to this commission (he has set it up where he gets six, and each legislative leader gets three) are from the private sector.

The Governor… Read More

Yesterday, Jon recommended the Governor read a good book during recovery, while subtly linking to a suggestion.

However, that pick may be a bit too much of a tome for someone not bound to be down very long. I suggest the shorter "Anthem," for a novella-like quick grasp of Objectivism and anti-socialistic economics.

If the Guv is not prone to Rand, perhaps "Economics in One Lesson" would serve him well heading into 2007, especially prior to considering any additional bonded indebtedness.

Any other suggestions?… Read More

As we close out the year in just a few days, I thought it’d be fun to reach out to a few friends to get some fearless predictions for what’s bound to happen in 2007.

First to respond were OC GOP Chairman Emeritus Tom Fuentes, and research super guru (and former Cal-YAF Executive Director) Jim Sills.

From the Chairman

1.California Democrats will begin their draft of Maria Shriver as their nominee to follow her husband as Governor.

2.Straining to look more Reaganesque, Ah-Nold will give up motorcycles and take up horseback riding. A Hollywood stunt coach will provide small cue-cards to help him say "Giddy-up" and "Whoa".

3.Following his performance as Master of Ceremonies at the gubernatorial inauguration, Willy Brown will be appointed Social Secretary and Senior Legislative Policy Advisor to the Governor.

4.LA Mayor Antonio Villarigosa will bolt from the Democrats and launch a new Progressive Socialist Party in the Golden State. He will be… Read More